SG-3100 purchase for client - PPPOE Failure
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I've rarely been so thoroughly embarrassed in my professional career. I purchased the SG-3100 for a client installation that had a new requirement for a tenant space in their upstairs (8-12 users), and the plan was to replace their Calyx router with the SG-3100 and use Captive Portal and OPT1 for a segregated network providing separate WiFi (using Unifi gear) with a captive portal for the tenants (for easy tenant replacement/password changes).
I wasted 3 hours on site. The fiber optic connection is a straight Ethernet handoff with PPPOE authentication. My SG-3100 is on pfSense 2.4.2 (supposedly correcting the PPPOE bug from 2.4.1). It would not connect. A test router Asus connected instantly. Their original reconnected instantly. It wasn't a username/password issue. Out of the box, pfSense 2.4.2 on the 3100 would not, and could not be made to, connect to standard PPPOE. I had to have them return it and completely revise my plan for their setup. I obviously couldn't charge them for equipment problems, so I used up 3 hours of my own time, after hours (to avoid downtime for their grocery store). Never could get it working. Logs weren't helpful. I could not believe that such a simple thing would ever be a problem on an appliance box, purchased for a premium price expressly to "just work". Got home just after 10pm, and I have to go back to complete the job, again, after hours.
Look, I love pfSense. I use it at home, at a few satellite sites, and for a few office VPN locations. However, if I can't reliably expect the most basic WAN connection types to reliably work out of the box, then I've got to stop using or recommending it. I don't have hours to troubleshoot and debug for Netgate while onsite at a client location. Edit: removed non-related complaining.
This post may come off as angry, but as far as I'm concerned, Netgate owes me three hours of time. :/
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This doesn't appear to be related to pfSense. I understand you're upset but then wait and cool down before complaining. Have you called our support? Have you asked anyone here for help? Have you previously ever set up PPPoE on pfSense? I find it hard to believe this was impossible to set up. Additionally, you're complaining but not providing any logs with WAN or PPPoE issues and supposed IPsec problems, both of which work just fine on pfSense. This appears to be a result of poor planing or even lack of experience with pfSense. I strongly suggest you contact our support once you're back on site.
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This doesn't appear to be related to pfSense. I understand you're upset but then wait and cool before complaining. Have you called our support? Have you asked anyone here for help? Have you previously ever set up PPPoE on pfSense? I find it hard to believe this was impossible to set up. Additionally, you're complaining but not providing any logs with WAN or PPPoE issues and supposed IPsec problems, both of which work just fine on pfSense. This appears to be a result of poor planing or even lack of experience with pfSense. I strongly suggest you contact our support once you're back on site.
Yes, I use PPPOE at several other sites, with no issues. I've been using pfSense since 2008. Support is not fast enough when you're onsite after business hours. Yes, I have no logs, but also, it should have worked out of the box. When the setup wizard fails to complete a simple PPPOE connection, the device has failed me. I tried moving the PPPOE connection to OPT1 instead to eliminate the possibility of a bad port, and a DHCP connection WAN worked fine when chaining it to their original router. I even replaced cables, just in case. I tested with a separate router.
Again, I've never had an issue with PPPOE on a home-built or an x86 based version. Your post comes off as very combative and not the least supportive, though. I've been working in the industry for 20+ years. Thank you for telling me that it's my poor planning and lack of experience causing the initial setup wizard to not setup a working PPPOE connection. Really, man? The point of these devices is that a basic setup is painless.
What I'm complaining about is a failure "out of the box" and not an inability to troubleshoot and repair over a period of days/weeks. I would think that would have been clear from my original post. I've found many things in my career, "hard to believe", and yet, they were so.
The IPSEC stuff I have used paid support for with no resolution, and they were provided with logs galore. That was site-to-site IPSEC with standard Cisco equipment on the other side. Shouldn't have brought it up in this thread, and for that, yes, I should have removed it. I'll edit the original post. I understand that you're a moderator, but I find this exchange to be less than civil, which I would like it to be.
To recap: I'm not an idiot. I've used pfSense for a long time, and have supported the project financially for many years. PPPOE generally works. It didn't on the SG-3100 when I needed it to. My plan was sound, and has been used in many locations over the years. Lack of logs doesn't mean it didn't happen. Support isn't open 24/7/365.
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I think you should cool down before further responding here. Our support is 24/7 and they could have helped you if you just called. pfSense does not have any known issues with PPPoE and neither does SG-3100, as many of our employees use that exact scenario. As I said, please contact our support once you're on site and they will be able to help you.
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I think you should cool down before further responding here. Our support is 24/7 and they could have helped you if you just called. pfSense does not have any known issues with PPPoE and neither does SG-3100, as many of our employees use that exact scenario. As I said, please contact our support once you're on site and they will be able to help you.
Will do, and I'll definitely be contacting support.
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Thank you! Please let us know how the deployment goes.
