SG-1100 WAN interface goes down very frequently.

I want to preface this by saying that I am by no means an expert with networking, nor am I even particularly knowledgeable about it, I suspect, compared to many individuals on this forum. That said, I will try to be as comprehensive about this as I can.

I have an SG-1100 set up on my home network behind a modem/router combo, and two WiFi networks: one that goes through the SG-1100, and one that is broadcast by the modem/router, therefore not going through the SG-1100 at all. The one that DOES go through the SG-1100 is broadcast by an Apple Airport Extreme (3rd or 4th Gen, can't exactly remember which) which is acting as an access point.

My issue is this. The setup works, however not well. As stated in the title, the WAN interface on the SG-1100 drops very often. Every 5 minutes or even less. It comes back up after about 10 seconds, but needless to say, it's very frustrating especially when I am trying to do something that requires consistent internet access.

What I've tried so far:

Assigning a reserved IP to the SG-1100 through the modem's control panel (briefly solved the issue; fix lasted for less than a day)
Changed the IP configuration of the SG-1100 to static, rather than using DHCP (did not work at all)

I am at an impasse. As it stands, it is about as useful to me as a paperweight. Any suggestions would be much appreciated, and I do apologize if my explanation did not make sense or if this thread is in the wrong place entirely.

Derelict

You need to provision the WAN port according to the instructions provided by whatever the upstream device indicates. If that is DHCP, then DHCP. If that is static, then static. If pppoe, then pppoe.

I would start by looking at Status > System Log, System then perhaps Status > System Log, DHCP and filtering on command dhclient (if the WAN is set back to DHCP as I am guessing is actually the correct setting).

Alright, I'll give that a shot. I did have it set as DHCP before as I knew that was what my modem/router combo used...sadly, no luck, but I'll try the more specific instructions you've given me and let you know if that fixed the problem.

stephenw10

If you can still connect via wifi to the ISP modem/router then it is still acting as a router and the SG-1100 behind it is almost certainly connected via DHCP. You need to check the system and dhcp logs to see why it disconnects.

Is the SG-1100 connected directly to ISP device or via a switch?

Steve

Gertjan

@onlinecanuck said in SG-1100 WAN interface goes down very frequently.:

did have it set as DHCP before as I knew that was what my modem/router combo used...

Using DHCP on WAN is fine. But ....
There is one thing that needs to be checked : if your pfSense is using the default 192.168.1.0/24 and your upstream router has it's LAN in the same network 192.168.1.0/24, well, then things break.
Change your pfSense LAN network, for example 192.168.2.0/24 - or change the LAN network of your upstream router.

edit : keep in mind : when you connect a router like pfSense using it's WAN interface to a local, existing network, pfSense behaves as any other device that you already have on this LAN (there could be other PC's, printers, media stuff, whatever). All these devices are hardwired - or even using Wifi) to the upstream ISP router. This connection should always be stable and up. If not, check your cables and or switches.