Virgin Media Modem Mode Cannot Retrieve a WAN IP.

Jun 10, 2020, 7:39 AM

I'm using community edition on my thin client with a HP NC364T NIC. When I first setup, it failed to retrieve a WAN address. But when I restarted the modem it did work. It worked great initially, but then the lights on both LAN and WAN ports went off overnight. Restarting results in it failing to retrieve my WAN address. It does give me a LAN address but the port doesn't light up and it's unreachable. The NIC is working I've tested it in other devices. When I plug-in my old router to the modem (TP-Link WR1043ND that is flashed with OpenWRT), it does work and retrieves my WAN just fine.

I found this blog post (removed as it's being detected as spam) which suggests running service checks, restarting the modem and the turning on pfsense to force a new IP but it's not worked. I've even left the modem and pfsense offline for eight hours but it's still not picking-up a WAN.

I figured it must be because I was using a really old version of my ISP's router/modem combo so I requested an upgrade. I now have the superhub 3 in modem mode and it does the exact same thing. The green connection warning light switches off when I start pfsense, it sends a couple of packets and then the port light switches off on both ends. Any ideas?

chrisgtl · Jun 10, 2020, 9:03 AM

@adowson

Can you ping 192.168.100.1

Jun 10, 2020, 9:42 AM

@chrisgtl said in Virgin Media Modem Mode Cannot Retrieve a WAN IP.:

192.168.100.1

Nope. Can't even ping pfsense on 192.168.11.1, both the LAN and the WAN seem to go down simultaneously which seems unusual.

DaddyGo · Jun 10, 2020, 10:10 AM

@adowson

In principle, this NIC is supported, because Intel 82571EB

So this not a pfSense problem, you wrote: the LAN and WAN "go down simultaneously" - this is rare right?

this seems like a very hardware problem to me
what kind of MOBO the NIC is connected to

Jun 10, 2020, 10:12 AM

It's connected into a T620 Plus rev b motherboard. Pretty common config.

DaddyGo · Jun 10, 2020, 10:29 AM

@adowson
This seems perfectly good, so what is a reasonable explanation?

since the LEDs also turn off, the NIC or cable is faulty
but I think you've already checked the cables

look in the shell to make sure all (em4) are well recognized
(of course if you have a serial consol connection)

Jun 10, 2020, 10:34 AM

Here's the funny thing. When I plug something into em3 and em4 (both unconfigured) they do light up and stay illuminated (with flashing packet light). My laptop doesn't connect with DHCP though.

When I connect the same laptop to em2 (configured, LAN). It behaves like the WAN port and switches off after a few moments.

Something weird is going on. I need an old preist and a young preist. Going to reinstall pfsense and see if I can get it working just with my laptop connected into LAN.

DaddyGo · Jun 10, 2020, 10:41 AM

@adowson

this was what I wanted to suggest 2.4.5 -p1

pay attention to the first settings in the shell, leave the WAN on DHCP and configure only the LAN

assign interface + IP + DHCP (for default)

chrisgtl · Jun 10, 2020, 11:21 AM

@adowson

Has the HP ever worked with pfSense or did it just bork all of a sudden?

I would start by disconnecting that NIC completely if it is an expansion card. Reseat it.

Reset BIOS to factory defaults and reinstall pfSense.

Think I had a similar experience (not with pfSense) and it was down to the negotiation method/link/speed.

DaddyGo · Jun 10, 2020, 11:27 AM

@chrisgtl Has the HP ever worked with pfSense or did it just bork all of a sudden?

@adowson "But when I restarted the modem it did work. It worked great initially, but then the lights on both LAN and WAN ports went off overnight. Restarting results in it failing to retrieve my WAN address. It does give me a LAN address but the port doesn't light up and it's unreachable. The NIC is working I've tested it in other devices.

@chrisgtl and reinstall pfSense.
@adowson Going to reinstall pfsense and see if I can get it working just with my laptop connected into LAN.

BIOS alone is a usable idea, although the box has already worked

Jun 10, 2020, 11:28 AM

It's a good point though, I haven't updated the BIOS. I'll give that a try if this doesn't work.

DaddyGo · Jun 10, 2020, 11:30 AM

@adowson

My friend, the health of the hardware is always first
but you said it already worked, hmmm
(this raises additional questions)

pwood999 · Jun 10, 2020, 3:24 PM

I also have Virginmedia cable, but have no issues at all. Is your virgin connection stable ?

Jun 11, 2020, 9:16 AM

This is a weird one. I have reinstalled and I'm only seeing em0 (WAN) and em1 (LAN) as listed interfaces on that card. FreeBSD does correctly recognise it as an Intel gigabit NIC. It lists both interfaces as down, setting them up does nothing.

If I plug into the two other unlisted and uncofigured ports (em3 and em4) they do light up and flicker (orange which is gigabit), but no connection is acheived from my laptop using DHCP. I've got nothing plugged into em0 (WAN) just to keep things simple (I only want to reach the web gui).

I've upgraded the BIOS and reset all of it's settings but no change in behaviour.

If it was DOA I would understand, but why is worked initially I don't know. I did have some issues when I first setup and had to direct connect em1 (LAN) to my laptop which allowed me to reach the web gui and then plug into WAN which allowed it work for two days. Other than network gremlins I can't see any other reason why it would suddenly drop at 1am.

pwood999 · Jun 11, 2020, 10:31 AM

@adowson said in Virgin Media Modem Mode Cannot Retrieve a WAN IP.:

T620 Plus rev b motherboard

Clean the PCIe connector on the NIC.
Test the PC & all NIC ports using a different OS, and make sure they are stable for >>24 hours.
Then re-install PfSense and start from scratch.

And disable the bios power-saving options.

tomashk · Jun 11, 2020, 10:40 AM

Do you find anything interesting in logs for the time of problematic situation? Without logs it looks like guessing game :)

Jun 11, 2020, 10:53 AM

No I didn't really know where to look if I'm honest. I've not previously used FreeBSD, does it have a equivalent /var/log?

I'll remove the card and riser and clean them with some 90% isopropyl and test with Debian.

DaddyGo · Jun 11, 2020, 5:16 PM

@adowson said in Virgin Media Modem Mode Cannot Retrieve a WAN IP.:

I have reinstalled and I'm only seeing em0 (WAN) and em1 (LAN) as listed interfaces on that card. FreeBSD does correctly recognise it as an Intel gigabit NIC. It lists both interfaces as down, setting them up does nothing.

this is normal behavior - two interfaces WAN / LAN recognized done
have you set up the initial configuration for the LAN? (via shell)

with these steps:

🔒 Log in to view

after that you get access to the GUI and everything will be easier, if you don't know FreeBSD, don't think about shell instructions

Jun 11, 2020, 5:28 PM

Yup I've setup the config via the inital installer choosing em0 for WAN and em1 for LAN both are on the HP/Intel NIC. I have tried re-assigning the interfaces and the IP address is set to the default.

DaddyGo · Jun 11, 2020, 5:37 PM

@adowson

Ok, you can go for a full reboot and the GUI will be available hereupon and you can give me more or more info