• Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • Users
  • Search
  • Register
  • Login
Netgate Discussion Forum
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • Users
  • Search
  • Register
  • Login

Pool, ponds and other Sticky stuff

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Routing and Multi WAN
7 Posts 2 Posters 3.0k Views
Loading More Posts
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • M
    MadDawg
    last edited by Feb 11, 2008, 12:36 AM

    Hello all
    First off thanks to all who have created or contributed to pfsense being what it is
    and also much thanks to those who provide support on this forum it has been a wealth of info for me
    I have been lurking for quite sometime here
    but until now I have always found the info I needed searching the forums
    and didn't need to post for assistance

    But I am having some difficulties getting the multi wan load balancing to work correctly (understatement of the year lol!)

    Anyways I have followed the MultiWAN 1.2 guide and had no success with it at all
    but after some self experimenting with my own rules I am pretty sure I have it now using both wans
    as the graphs from the dashboard does show almost equal traffic on both pipes anyways
    but I am getting alot of time outs and page not founds which would on
    the surface appears to be dns problems but I suspect it is more likely do to the sticky connections setting
    as some other posts refer to it as being an issue

    But in my case sticky connections is no longer even a listed option  ::)
    In the system advanced tab under load balancing there is a save button but nothing else
    the tic box and description for stickies is gone but it was there before
    any ideas on that one I am using version 1.2-RC4

    Also my rules look nothing like some of the examples I have seen …go figure lol!

    My load balance pool for example is simply wan and opt1 (wan2)
    with no failover pools oddly though if I unplug one connection
    it does seem to failover to the other connection regardless

    I would say my setup is pretty basic really I have 2 x 6 meg DSL connections both with static IPs
    unfortunately though I have had to use the second dsl modems internal pppoe connection interface
    to make wan 2's pppoe connection work which gives wan 2 a 192.168.2.1 address on pfsense

    Which is currently not a big deal but since
    There is a one pppoe connection limit on the wans in pfsense
    is there anyway to have more than one pppoe connection ?
    I would eventually like to add a third WAN line but with both the dsl modems I have
    it seems I cannot change the modems internal Ip address of 192.168.2.1
    which then means that any others I might add would also have the same WAN gateway Ip
    (which i have read wouldnt work at all)

    Anyways I would greatly appreciate any assistance anyone would be willing to provide as to
    how to actually configure this and have it perform well
    there is no doubt in my mind that pfsense functions just fine and my settings are likely all wrong :(

    Could someone provide a configuration example for me to muddle my way through

    Thanks & Best Regards

    MD

    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
    • S
      sai
      last edited by Feb 11, 2008, 1:24 PM

      did you set up static routes for the ISP DNS servers? why dont you post your settings so that we can see what has been done?

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • M
        MadDawg
        last edited by Feb 11, 2008, 4:52 PM

        Hello sai

        thanks for the reply
        Nope I didn't see anything in the MultiWanVersion1.2 guide
        that refers to having to create any static routes :(
        I also don't have the DMZ 1 & 2 that they show as
        it was unclear to me where to put that info so I ignored it
        (I thought it was actually meant to be put into the dsl modems settings somewhere
        which isn't even an option in my case)

        because the sticky connections is completely missing from my menu
        I am thinking that the pf box has gotten borked and probably related to
        squid …I had tested running squid before and found it actually seemed to slow things
        down so I uninstalled it
        but I have read numerous posts on issues with squid

        I am expecting to do a complete reinstall of pf on this box
        but would really appreciate some form of definitive guide on the steps necessary
        to set it up properly for a relative newbie to this
        it is rather unclear imho

        I will try and create an outline of the steps I am following
        if someone can make corrections
        to my posts hopefully I will get it right for any others who need the help
        after is functional I would be happy to post some screen shots for others
        as I think screenies may help us newbs more than anything

        1. In my case my dls modems offer no method to change any settings so
          wan is set to pppoe and opt1(wan2) is set to DHCP and wan2s connection
          shows up as gateway 192.168.2.1 and gives pf a 192.168.2.x address

        2. pfSense general settings

        Primary DNS server 207.164.234.193
        Secondary DNS server 207.164.234.129
        (both my dsl lines us the same DNS servers but have different gateway ips)
        Allow DNS server list to be overridden by DHCP/PPP on WAN is Unchecked

        1. Under  Services' - 'DNS Forwarder', on
          Register DHCP leases in DNS forwarder on
          Register DHCP static mappings in DNS forwarder on

        2. Interfaces - OPT1
          enable Optional 1 interface checked
          Type DHCP
          Bridge with None
          IP address None (would it be best to assign it a static of say 192.168.2.2)
          Gateway 192.168.2.1

        3. Setting Pools 
          Pool1
          name LoadBalance
          description LoadBalance
          Type Gateway
          Behavior Load Balancing
          Port Unused
          1st Monitor IP DNS server 207.164.234.193
          1st Interface name WAN
          2nd Monitor IP DNS server 207.164.234.129
          2nd Interface name WAN 2

        pool2
        name WAN1FailsToWAN2
        description WAN1FailsToWAN2
        Type Gateway
        Behavior Failover
        Port Unused
        1st Monitor IP DNS server 207.164.234.129
        1st Interface name WAN2
        2nd Monitor IP DNS server 207.164.234.193
        2nd Interface name WAN

        pool3
        name WAN2FailsToWAN1
        description WAN2FailsToWAN1
        Type Gateway
        Behavior Failover
        Port Unused
        1st Monitor IP DNS server 207.164.234.193
        1st Interface name WAN
        2nd Monitor IP DNS server 207.164.234.129
        2nd Interface name WAN2

        1. Sticky Connections unshure to enable or not lol!

        2. Firewall Rules
          Rule Load Balance
          Position in rule list Last
          Action Pass
          Disabled Unchecked
          Interface LAN
          Protocol any
          Source LAN subnet
          Source OS any
          Destination any
          Log no
          Schedule none
          Gateway LoadBalance
          Description Everything else gets shared out

        (I suspect there should also be two other rules allowing all
        traffic for each wan pipe
        an eaxmple with my addresses would be helpful and greatly appreciated)
        I am aware that I will need to add other rules for things such as https sites ect
        by specifing a certain pipe for such traffic
        but I can resolve them later on
        but as a side note wan does not show as an option currently
        for such rules only opt1 (wan2) can be specified is this because the wan
        is a pppoe connection

        8)NAT I have disabled the creation of automatic nat rules in settings
        and also set it to advanced in the NAT section outbound rules
        and have created two rules one for each WAN and opt1 (WAN2) to allow all

        1. create any static routes
          Havent a clue so an example with my settings would be welcomed

        10)I would think by this step it should be functioning :)

        Thanks much for any assistance

        Best Regards

        MD

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • S
          sai
          last edited by Feb 11, 2008, 5:35 PM

          You dont need to set up static routes for the DNS servers because you are using DNS servers as monitor ips - if you have them as monitor ips, the static routes get setup automagically.

          Sticky connections had problems (with PPoE, I think) and so are currently not available

          You are using http://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/MultiWanVersion1.2 right?

          Advanced Outbound NAT. You dont need it, dont mess with it. Just let pfsense do NAT automatically.

          Probably a good idea to reinstall and try again.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • M
            MadDawg
            last edited by Feb 11, 2008, 6:13 PM

            Hi Sai
            Just reinstalled pf and stickies is back now
            so are you saying that as soon as I set wan as a pppoe connection
            I will loose that option again
            and yes I have been using MultiWanVersion1.2 docs

            Also was I correct about the DMZ's 1 & 2 in the instructions 
            being a item that should be set on the dsl modems

            and Would I be better off getting two new DSL modems
            that at least allowed me to change their basic LAN settings

            if so any recommendations on decent cheap dsl modems that will work with bell
            and permit me to make some basic changes to it and
            would It also probably be a good idea to have modems that can run in bridged mode
            so that the WAN and OPT1(WAN2) on the pf box actually get passed my real world static IPs
            (both DSL lines can give me a static IP)
            would that be a correct assumption or am I wrong about that

            Thanks Again

            MD

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • S
              sai
              last edited by Feb 12, 2008, 4:54 AM

              If your dsl modems run in bridge mode then you do get the real ip address on your pfs opt interface. Just make sure that they do not have overlapping subnets.

              DMZs - looks like this is where you are confused. DMZ is like a LAN subnet except it houses servers that are accessed from the Internet. So it is nothing to do with the modems. Ignore DMZ untill you have the load balancing setup and running

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • M
                MadDawg
                last edited by Feb 12, 2008, 5:20 AM

                Thanks again Sai

                My current DSL modems will run in bridge mode but
                only if the something else handle the pppoe login info
                If the modem handles the pppoe connection then it stays unchangeable at 192.168.2.1

                Now because I can only have the option of one pppoe connection in pf
                I am sorta stuck in this situation

                So I have just ordered two new DLS modems that are also routers
                but can run as bridges while managing the pppoe connection too

                This should resolve the configuration limitations with my current dsl modems
                In case anyone is wondering my searching indicates that the

                THOMSON SPEEDTOUCH 516 ADSL2+ EXT ETHERNET MODEM/ROUTER
                is one of the best out there for the price plus there also is modified firmware available for it
                many claim modest to 30% in increased throughput speeds over the standard bell modems
                cost was 60$ each Canadian

                I will post updated info when I have a chance to configure it all

                Thanks again
                MD

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                1 out of 7
                • First post
                  1/7
                  Last post
                Copyright 2025 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate). All rights reserved.
                  This community forum collects and processes your personal information.
                  consent.not_received