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    Bridging LAN and WLAN (again).

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Wireless
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    • D
      doktornotor Banned
      last edited by

      @ak:

      So I bought a supported Atheros card and wish to add wireless.

      Beyond that, you are doing that in wrong order.

      P.S. For goddamn sake, someone remove this bridge usage "example"/"suggestion" from the wiki.  >:(

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      • DerelictD
        Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
        last edited by

        ~~OMFG.

        Edit your Wireless interface.  Set IPv4 and IPv6 to None.  Save and apply.

        Create a bridge with members re1 and your wireless interface.

        Go to System > Advanced, System Tunables tab

        Set net.link.bridge.pfil_member = 0
        Set net.link.bridge.pfil_bridge = 1

        Go to Interfaces > (assign)  And CHANGE the assignment for LAN from re1 to BRIDGE0.

        And you're done.~~

        Those steps probably do not undo things enough for it to work.  Delete everything and start over.

        Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
        A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
        DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
        Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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        • D
          doktornotor Banned
          last edited by

          @Derelict:

          Those steps probably do not undo things enough for it to work.  Delete everything and start over.

          Yeah, it's extremely tricky to get this right once you already have LAN assigned and are actually connected via LAN; chances are high you'll cut yourself off at some point as well.

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          • A
            ak
            last edited by

            So from what dokornotor says/implies, I don't need to bridge. and someone should remove the entry from the wiki due to this being misunderstood by the majority?

            Derelict suggests that following what has been said before is wrong and should be undone - however, backing out the changes is probably not enough and should start from scratch.

            So is there a sticky, resource or thread available with regards to the best practice for this? - the last post implies that it would be difficult as typically a LAN is assigned up front to gain access and start using pfSense.

            Can any one point me to some form with setting up a AP with 2 (or more) SSID, where one of the SSID is permissioned for the LAN and the other is a guest?

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            • D
              doktornotor Banned
              last edited by

              @ak:

              Can any one point me to some form with setting up a AP with 2 (or more) SSID, where one of the SSID is permissioned for the LAN and the other is a guest?

              You certainly don't achieve this by bridging… and unless that AP is VLAN-capable and can tag traffic per SSID, you need two separate APs on two separate physical interfaces for this (unless you want to do something stupid, like using the AP as router with double/triple... NAT).

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              • K
                kejianshi
                last edited by

                :D when did everyone get bridge-happy?

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                • A
                  ak
                  last edited by

                  @kejianshi:

                  :D when did everyone get bridge-happy?

                  Probably the same time people started to google to find out how to add a built in AP and only have what is available to read. It would be useful for a sticky or some form of documentation for this so it is correctly done - so far there has been nothing (here or otherwise) for this or am I looking in the wrong place?

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                  • K
                    kejianshi
                    last edited by

                    Oh - Its because of the bad choice to go with a built in AP.  Then one mistake leads to the next?

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                    • ?
                      Guest
                      last edited by

                      Here is some information on the "Standalone" method without the need for a bridge. This method is required for a pfSense based Access Point -Captive Portal- as they do not allow bridged interfaces with Captive Portal.

                      http://www.interspective.net/2012/07/one-pfsense-wireless-config-to-rule.html

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                      • K
                        kejianshi
                        last edited by

                        Everyone does realize:

                        1.  There would be no need for any of this if you used and external AP

                        2.  You would probably get much faster and more stable wireless using all the latest wireless protocols

                        3.  1 and 2 aren't enough?

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                        • ?
                          Guest
                          last edited by

                          Well 802.11 has been built in to pfSense since 2004 and people been saying its broke ever since.

                          Why do so many people ask "why" in  regards to something that has been built in forever? I don't get it. This is open source. Think different. ie cheap.

                          I think pfSense wireless works superb. Maybe not for big setups, but for home use.

                          Back on topic i have to disagree with info contained in this post here. You can do this with one physical wireless interface. You can create 8 separate Access Points with one module. The only kicker is they must all be in the same band, either 2.4ghz or 5ghz. Not both

                          For example Main wlan0 on 5ghz with own SSID and Guest wlan1 on 5ghz with own SSID.
                          Totally doable, rules for each interface must be applied. See the wireless tab under interfaces.

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                          • K
                            kejianshi
                            last edited by

                            How much does one of those cards plus some antennas cost?  What modes and speed are supported reliably?

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                            • ?
                              Guest
                              last edited by

                              Well the atheros driver is working well so anything on thier list. Ar5BXB112 is around 12 bucks and 450M rate. I dont have any 3X cleints to test 450M yet. Still needing to do some laptop antenna mods for 3X MIMO.

                              They sell dipole antennas for 3-5 bucks each. rp-sma to u.fl pigtails around the same.

                              I should note -on my above instructions- that different rules would be needed for the main and guest networks so your LAN remains unexposed.

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                              • A
                                ak
                                last edited by

                                @Phishfry:

                                Here is some information on the "Standalone" method without the need for a bridge. This method is required for a pfSense based Access Point -Captive Portal- as they do not allow bridged interfaces with Captive Portal.

                                http://www.interspective.net/2012/07/one-pfsense-wireless-config-to-rule.html

                                Thanks for pointing me to a resource and the right direction. Really appreciate the help.

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                                • ?
                                  Guest
                                  last edited by

                                  So once you get one wireless network up with the rules correct and working then setup the guest network. I would also spread the channels out to lowest and highest to add separation of different signal best you can. With that in mind i would only do 5ghz.

                                  Note this link is only one persons way of doing the filtering. I am see there are other ways  to apply rules while researching pfsense guest wireless..

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                                  • ?
                                    Guest
                                    last edited by

                                    Here is another approach. Forget that its an external AP, rules are rules. OPT1 internal or external -it don't matter for rules.

                                    https://oitibs.com/pfsense-guest-wifi-alt-setup/

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                                    • ?
                                      Guest
                                      last edited by

                                      I need to correct my post above. It is only possible for 4 separate Access Points from one miniPCIe module. One main and three clones under the wireless tab. All can use separate channels. All must be in either 2.4 or 5ghz band not both.

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                                      • A
                                        ak
                                        last edited by

                                        Thanks - managed to get it to work WITHOUT a bridge. And also get a guest WLAN on the same single card setup and isolated from the LAN.

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                                        • johnpozJ
                                          johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                                          last edited by

                                          @doktornotor:

                                          P.S. For goddamn sake, someone remove this bridge usage "example"/"suggestion" from the wiki.  >:(

                                          What do you want edited/remove dok

                                          I was searching through the docs and found this

                                          https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/What_is_a_bridged_interface_and_how_would_one_be_used

                                          So I edited the portion that says bridge lan to wireless to

                                          Bridging a wireless interface to a LAN - Not a good idea, Don't Do This!

                                          Point me to what else you think is wrong and be happy to edit/delete

                                          An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                                          If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                                          Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                                          SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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                                          • DerelictD
                                            Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                                            last edited by

                                            If you want a wireless card and your LAN to be on the same subnet/broadcast domain you have no choice but to bridge them.

                                            Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
                                            A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
                                            DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
                                            Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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