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    Malformed syn-ack

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Firewalling
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    • C
      cjlambiii @KOM
      last edited by

      @KOM Its a Lenovo desktop that I've added a second NIC to. It's the same behavior if I connect the RPI directly to the pfsense box. In fact I went down this rabbit hole because I wanted to put pfsense between my wireless access point and my cable modem and it killed my whole network. From this laptop I was able to ping and resolve names but no joy on tcp.

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      • KOMK
        KOM
        last edited by

        TCP retransmissions are a symptom of the problem and not the cause. It could be cable, port, duplex mismatch...

        Your capture shows the initial SYN from your server, and the top capture shows that it gets a SYN ACK back, but it doesn't reply with an ACK to finish the handshake (or at least not in the snippet you showed), so each end starts retransmitting. Do you have an IP address conflict, packet storm or switch loop going on? He's retransmitting his SYN ACKs, and you're replying with SYNs as if you're trying to start the handshake.

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        • johnpozJ
          johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
          last edited by

          I have 4 pi's on my network, and cisco sg300 switch.. Have zero issues..

          Do you have other devices that can go through pfsense?

          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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          • C
            cjlambiii
            last edited by

            No switching issues or IP conflicts. I am able to get to the management UI of pfsense on that same nic. Which tells me TCP works on the RPI. UDP and ICMP work perfectly to destinations on the other side of the firewall.

            This is the only node on this network aside from pfsense.

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            • C
              cjlambiii @KOM
              last edited by

              @KOM said in Malformed syn-ack:

              TCP retransmissions are a symptom of the problem and not the cause. It could be cable, port, duplex mismatch...

              Your capture shows the initial SYN from your server, and the top capture shows that it gets a SYN ACK back, but it doesn't reply with an ACK to finish the handshake (or at least not in the snippet you showed), so each end starts retransmitting. Do you have an IP address conflict, packet storm or switch loop going on? He's retransmitting his SYN ACKs, and you're replying with SYNs as if you're trying to start the handshake.

              Those syn-acks are becoming rx_errors on the RPI which makes me think they are malformed packets.

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              • KOMK
                KOM
                last edited by

                Do a capture on pfSense LAN to see how those packets are leaving the interface to your Pi. Try and find where the breakdown happens.

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                • C
                  cjlambiii @KOM
                  last edited by

                  @KOM I already did. :) The syn-ack makes it to the switchport that the RPI is connected to. The RPI doesn't like the packet for some reason. Something is wrong with it.

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                  • KOMK
                    KOM
                    last edited by KOM

                    So the packets are fine out LAN, but are seen as bad after being processed by the Pi NIC...? The traces you showed don't show any bad packets but your NIC stats show receive errors.

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                    • C
                      cjlambiii
                      last edited by

                      I am beginning to wonder if it is the el'cheapo usb nic that I am using for the LAN interface. I've got a pcie nic arriving tonight.

                      The bottom line is this should work with all of the default settings out of the box right?

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                      • KOMK
                        KOM
                        last edited by

                        Yes.

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                        • C
                          cjlambiii
                          last edited by

                          It was that miserable USB nic. I put the new pcie nic in and as soon as I powered it back on I was online.

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                          • C
                            cjlambiii
                            last edited by

                            For what its worth it was a Sabernet 10/100 USB nic.

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                            • DerelictD
                              Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                              last edited by

                              "Don't use USB NICs."

                              "Why?"

                              "Reasons."

                              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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                              • KOMK
                                KOM
                                last edited by

                                Yes, if you would have mentioned that the NIC was USB we would have zeroed in on it immediately. I just assumed you were using the NIC on your Pi.

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