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    DHCP Server Setup with a Layer 3 Switch

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved DHCP and DNS
    28 Posts 6 Posters 6.6k Views
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    • DerelictD
      Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
      last edited by

      I know OP doesn't have any hairpinning.  I'm discouraging the suggestion of hairpinning.

      I know pfSense's DHCP doesn't support the config, which is why I suggested another DHCP server.

      Everyone seems so hell-bent on getting pfSense to do it (including OP with his outside-GUI config of ISC dhcpd) when it's clearly not the right tool for this job (And that's OK. Really.).

      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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      • jahonixJ
        jahonix
        last edited by

        OK, looked it up. It works the way I described it above. I have this running at one site (without pfSense but that's another story).

        You could, of course, setup the network with two segments and a trunk port (or two physical connections if enough interfaces available) to pfSense as done regularly and add a route to the other segment in the host's routing table pointing to this L3 switches gateway. Intra-VLAN routing will be done by the switch, the rest is handled by pfSense in a common way.
        Or did I miss anything?

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        • johnpozJ
          johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
          last edited by

          And why put host routes on all your boxes??  When all you have to do is use a transit network to connect your downstream router to your edge router and your done..

          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 2.7.2, 24.11

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          • jahonixJ
            jahonix
            last edited by

            Intention was to have pfSense handle DHCP etc to VLAN1 and VLAN2 as well. Cannot be done with one transit network, right?

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            • johnpozJ
              johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
              last edited by

              No it can not be dhcp unless it has an IP in the interface.. So run a different dhcp server ;)

              host routing on every host he has, so he can run dhcp on pfsense seem like a really bad trade off to me.. Especially since I have never seen a L3 switch that didn't have dhcp as a feature..  So just run it at the switch..

              If he is a AD shop he should be running dhcp on his AD anyway, etc..  What advantage is there to running it on pfsense in a scenario that is not supported, so you going to have to put host routes on every box or your hairpinning.

              There are always multiple ways to skin the cat, doesn't mean some of them are good ideas ;)

              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 2.7.2, 24.11

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              • jahonixJ
                jahonix
                last edited by

                This setup is so basic that we seem to lose the big picture.
                One APU, one L3 switch with 2 segments. DHCP (and probably DNS etc as well) for both segments.
                This probably is the most basic +1 setup all of us can imagine.

                Now add inter-VLAN routing at the L3 switch to it and we cannot come up with a solution that does not need additional hardware? Come on!

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                • D
                  doktornotor Banned
                  last edited by

                  @jahonix:

                  Now add inter-VLAN routing at the L3 switch to it and we cannot come up with a solution that does not need additional hardware? Come on!

                  People have already come with a solution. That solution has turned into bitrot for absolutely inexplicable reason.

                  Patch has conflicts and cannot be merged. Can you please re-submit and I'll take care of testing and get it merged. Sorry for the long delay

                  No shit, Sherlock. After 1,5 year it can no longer be automatically merged? Shocking. No, seriously. It was already resubmitted once and once again ignored for another 6 months. You suppose people will keep resubmitting every half year, they don't have better things to do with their time for sure.

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                  • johnpozJ
                    johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                    last edited by

                    What extra hardware?  The L3 switch I am quite sure can hand out some dhcp addresses ;)

                    As to why this is not a current feature of pfsense I would guess its not a really needed feature by the majority of the user base..  Normally you would have pfsense do your intervlan routing - this also added feature of full firewall features that many L3 switches would lack.

                    Would it be nice feature - sure it would come in handy for this sort of scenario.

                    If your so large that that your wanting to handle intervlan at a L3 switch, then your prob so large that your already running a dhcp server be it AD or not, etc.  Which again reduces the actual need of pfsense being able to handle this specific sort of scenario.

                    Kind of a special case if you ask me, large enough network that you need multiple vlans but no firewall between them and so much traffic between them that your pfsense box does not handle it well, etc.  So you want to do it at L3 switch - but you still want to run dhcp on your edge router/firewall?

                    I would think the best solution for this OP is just use 1 segment so just doing L2 and pfsense can be his dhcp server, etc.  But he has not given details to why he need 2 segments or even if doing any ACLs at the switch between them, etc.  Would really need a lot of devices to have vlans to shrink your broadcast domains, etc.d

                    I don't think the devs or even the users expect pfsense to be all things for all scenarios.. In a scenario where your running down stream L3 switches and pfsense is your edge I don't really think pfsense being your dhcp server is a huge userbase..

                    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 2.7.2, 24.11

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                    • DerelictD
                      Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                      last edited by

                      pfSense, as it is now, does not do this.  To come up with cockamamie schemes involving putting static routes on hosts just to use the pfSense DHCP server is just ludicrous.

                      As has been mentioned, the switch probably does DHCP on its L3 VIFs.

                      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)

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • kalessinK
                        kalessin
                        last edited by

                        @johnpoz:

                        What extra hardware?  The L3 switch I am quite sure can hand out some dhcp addresses ;)

                        As to why this is not a current feature of pfsense I would guess its not a really needed feature by the majority of the user base..  Normally you would have pfsense do your intervlan routing - this also added feature of full firewall features that many L3 switches would lack.

                        Would it be nice feature - sure it would come in handy for this sort of scenario.

                        If your so large that that your wanting to handle intervlan at a L3 switch, then your prob so large that your already running a dhcp server be it AD or not, etc.  Which again reduces the actual need of pfsense being able to handle this specific sort of scenario.

                        Kind of a special case if you ask me, large enough network that you need multiple vlans but no firewall between them and so much traffic between them that your pfsense box does not handle it well, etc.  So you want to do it at L3 switch - but you still want to run dhcp on your edge router/firewall?

                        I would think the best solution for this OP is just use 1 segment so just doing L2 and pfsense can be his dhcp server, etc.  But he has not given details to why he need 2 segments or even if doing any ACLs at the switch between them, etc.  Would really need a lot of devices to have vlans to shrink your broadcast domains, etc.d

                        I don't think the devs or even the users expect pfsense to be all things for all scenarios.. In a scenario where your running down stream L3 switches and pfsense is your edge I don't really think pfsense being your dhcp server is a huge userbase..

                        I was looking for hte same working with some l3 switches. it will be an option at pfsense at some point.
                        =)

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