How to configure pfsense to work with multiple openwrt APs (lan+wifi bridged)?
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I have one pfsense box with LAN and WAN and 6 openwrt boxes that run in AP mode (lan and wifi bridged, with dhcp/etc turned off).
Currently i can connect to any AP but i don't get an ip from openwrt. Are there some settings i need to do in pfsense? If i replace the pfsense box with an openwrt router everything works just fine.Thank you kindly for any piece of advice or help!
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You should have a switch, collecting the 6 APs, wired to pfSense LAN port which has the only DHCP server running.
Each openwrt AP must have different IP on the same subnet of psSense unit. I have a similar config. A netgear wndr3700 (openwrt 192.168.1.2) acting as AP wired to R7000 (192.168.1.1) which makes dhcp (.100 to 150 ip range) and nat/firewalling (dd-wrt firmware). -
Thank you, Wolf666 for your answer. I have that and as far as i can tell everything works ok (tested with iperf, ping, ftp, ssh, etc).
- 1 router with .240 ip
- 2 switches
- 12 lan devices with static in .90-.150
- 5-8 lan devices with dhcp in .1-.75
- 6 AP's with .190-.196 with the same settings to allow roaming.
When the primary router is an openwrt router when I connect a mobile phone or a laptop to any AP, i get an ip in the .1-.75 range and i can roam freely between AP's.
When i power off the openwrt and start the pfsense (with the same WAN and LAN cables) all devices connected with wires get an ip from dhcp while the wifi connection does not.When connecting to an AP this happens:
- authentication works
- no dhcp reply coming from pfsense
All ip addresses are in the same subnet with unmanaged switches, the backbone is gigabit, the last run from the end switch to the ip is on 100Mb/s.
No dropped packets from pfsense to APs. Only 10-20 MB/s traffic on the backbone gigabit lan and almost no traffic on the 100 mbit connections.
If i manually configure a laptop or phone with the normal network settings then it works fine.
I put the openwrt main router back and did an iperf "storm" - all hosts on lan test all other hosts at the same time and dhcp still worked, albeit more slowly. The openwrt is a vanilla install with some port forwardings on WAN.
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I really don't have an idea.
Can you draw a diagram of your LAN?
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All AP's are connected by a LAN port, correct? I mean on the AP itself.
If you plug a laptop into one of the LAN ports on the AP, does it get an ip?Assuming you're using routers as AP's with OpenWRT running.
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It's nothing special:
wan - main router - gigabit - switch 1 - gigabit - switch 2
switch 1 - some lan devices and 3 access points
switch 2 - some land devices and 3 access points
Access points have 1 lan and 1 wifi, bridget, with a static ip on the bridge.Maybe the x64 image has an issue? I will try with x86 next
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It's nothing special:
wan - main router - gigabit - switch 1 - gigabit - switch 2
switch 1 - some lan devices and 3 access points
switch 2 - some land devices and 3 access points
Access points have 1 lan and 1 wifi, bridget, with a static ip on the bridge.Maybe the x64 image has an issue? I will try with x86 next
Seems ok….everything is connected in the proper way.
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It's nothing special:
wan - main router - gigabit - switch 1 - gigabit - switch 2
switch 1 - some lan devices and 3 access points
switch 2 - some land devices and 3 access points
Access points have 1 lan and 1 wifi, bridget, with a static ip on the bridge.Maybe the x64 image has an issue? I will try with x86 next
Meaning only one port, or only one port in use??
If more than one port, try a pc in the other to see if it gets an IP through the wired. It may be just a wireless issue. -
Only one port and one in use. The AP's can install packages from internet and access anything. If I set network to use dhcp i can get an IP. If i replace the ap with a laptop i can also get an ip and access the lan and the internet.
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Put the x32 image on a stick and everything works with the same settings. It is a different stick. I will try putting the x64 on this one and testing again…