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    PF States limit reached.

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Firewalling
    18 Posts 6 Posters 3.9k Views 8 Watching
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    • X Offline
      xciter327
      last edited by

      That was my thinking exactly. I've just added the "max src states" to all the firewall rules(which are pass).

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      • X Offline
        xciter327
        last edited by xciter327

        Also the firewall had a kernel panic on reboot.(decide to reboot it because the graphs were not working).

        0_1537343874714_df984a18-4f5d-424f-a287-2d0fdd66e793-image.png

        I checked in /var/crashes and there was no dump.

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        • H Offline
          heper
          last edited by

          So this problem happens every 200 days or so? Uptime in screenshot.....

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          • X Offline
            xciter327
            last edited by

            No it happens once a day for the last 3 days. I don't reboot the firewall, I just flush the states. "pfctl -F states all"

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            • X Offline
              xciter327
              last edited by

              Just wanted to report it has not happened since I put the limits on.

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              • B Offline
                beatvjiking
                last edited by

                You can probably find in your logs what device(s) are attempting to open so many sessions and address whatever is happening - i.e. malware or what have you.

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                • X Offline
                  xciter327
                  last edited by

                  Just to report it happened again. In my eyes, there are two options: Option 1 is adaptive timeouts are not working. Option 2 is the device somehow running out of memory. I can see in the monitoring graph that when the states reach roughly 900k the device becomes un-resposive. I've set much lower adaptive timeouts now and put the max states to 5mil(8G RAM). max src states is at 8096 on each firewall rule.

                  If anybody has a suggestion on how to simulate a lot of connection states from multiple IP, I would love to hear it.

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                  • S Offline
                    SteveITS Rebel Alliance
                    last edited by

                    You're not alone: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&channel=cus&q=pfsense+pf+states+limit+reached

                    this one mentions a Spiceworks scan of a large subnet:
                    https://forum.netgate.com/topic/81059/zone-pf-states-pf-states-limit-reached-how-to-find-the-offender/10
                    Given that post (simultaneous scan), how often are the adaptive timeouts processed/changed/updated by pfSense? (instantly, every 5 minutes, etc.)

                    Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
                    When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to reboot, or more depending on packages, and device or disk speed.
                    Upvote 👍 helpful posts!

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                    • B Offline
                      beatvjiking
                      last edited by

                      When I recommended 8k states, that was a very high ceiling. It works well in my environment but in most environments that can be far far lower with no negative impacts on user experience. 512 is a reasonable limit to impose on your allow rules. You may want to try that as an alternative to more RAM :)

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                      • DerelictD Offline
                        Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                        last edited by

                        Is this running on Hyper-V?

                        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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                        • X Offline
                          xciter327 @Derelict
                          last edited by

                          @Derelict said in PF States limit reached.:

                          Is this running on Hyper-V?

                          Appreciate your reply. It is on a physical box. Supemicro Atom C2750.

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