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    Losing WAN connection intermittently

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
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    • JKnottJ
      JKnott @comatose_tortoise
      last edited by

      @comatose_tortoise said in Losing WAN connection intermittently:

      Why does pfsense first make DHCPREQUEST to one address, but after a while changes to another?

      Do you have a packet capture of the full DHCP sequence?

      PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
      i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
      UniFi AC-Lite access point

      I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

      C 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • C
        comatose_tortoise @JKnott
        last edited by comatose_tortoise

        Ok, so now I changed the NIC for my WAN to one I know for sure is an Intel NIC.

        @JKnott said in Losing WAN connection intermittently:

        @comatose_tortoise said in Losing WAN connection intermittently:

        Why does pfsense first make DHCPREQUEST to one address, but after a while changes to another?

        Do you have a packet capture of the full DHCP sequence?

        Nope, never done that. I'll try to look into it. But I guess I would need to do it at the exact moment the error occurs? Could be problematic due to the intermittent behavior.

        JKnottJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • Raffi_R
          Raffi_
          last edited by

          I didn't see this mentioned or suggested yet, so I'll be that guy... you did check the cable between pfSense and the modem? If you have no way of checking it, replace it with a known good cable.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • JKnottJ
            JKnott @comatose_tortoise
            last edited by

            @comatose_tortoise

            That depends on how you do it. If you use Packet Capture, it would be difficult to catch the first half, though you might be able to if you do a release/renew. The other way is to use a data tap, as I mentioned above, then reboot pfSense to get the initial sequence and as many renews as you want. One advantage of this method, using Wireshark, is you can watch what's happening, without stopping the capture. On the negative side, if it really is a NIC negotiation issue, this might mask it.

            PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
            i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
            UniFi AC-Lite access point

            I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • DaddyGoD
              DaddyGo @JKnott
              last edited by

              @JKnott said in Losing WAN connection intermittently:

              Is there something triggering a disconnect/reconnect?

              Who knows deeply the Realtek’s inner world?
              The fact is, causes intermittent problems as we are already past this examination and I have read about similar problems in on the other forums.

              What do you think of a periodic heat run?
              (since it starts with a significant packet loss and not basically with dhcp problem)

              something more came to mind because the ISP is not a god:

              our other typical case is with Telecom (HU) ISP DOCSIS Cisco CMTS and edgeQAM, using the DHCP allocation method...

              the problem is caused by the tightly configured Cisco IOS - Prerequisites for Cable DHCP Leasequery + DHCP MAC Address Exclusion List

              the error phenomenon is very similar to the OP s issue

              BTW:
              -Raisecom replaced the ONT ethernet controller with i211 and all problems went away.

              Cats bury it so they can't see it!
              (You know what I mean if you have a cat)

              JKnottJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • S
                serbus @comatose_tortoise
                last edited by serbus

                @comatose_tortoise said in Losing WAN connection intermittently:

                After this the gateway goes up and functionality is restored. As I said in the thread start, if I manually release and renew IP on WAN when I notice that I've lost internet connection, it does this last part immediately instead of waiting a long time before asking 255.255.255.255.
                Any ideas on why this is? If I could just make renew IP on 255.255.255.255 as soon as WAN gateway goes down, the problem would be, if not solved, radically less severe.

                Hello!

                Are the 10.x.x.x DHCP servers relays? Maybe they wont accept unicast dhcp request and require broadcasts?

                https://forum.netgate.com/topic/112869/dhclient-on-wan-occasionally-fails-to-renew-lease-with-cable-isp

                https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/69a3a8f6-8199-4f24-8d4a-a4b5a083176b/why-cant-windows-7-be-forced-to-use-dhcp-broadcast-lease-renewal

                John

                Lex parsimoniae

                DaddyGoD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • DaddyGoD
                  DaddyGo @serbus
                  last edited by

                  @serbus said in Losing WAN connection intermittently:

                  Maybe they wont accept unicast dhcp request and require broadcasts?

                  the problem is only intermittent, so it is not relevant 😉

                  Cats bury it so they can't see it!
                  (You know what I mean if you have a cat)

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • JKnottJ
                    JKnott @DaddyGo
                    last edited by

                    @DaddyGo said in Losing WAN connection intermittently:

                    What do you think of a periodic heat run?

                    That could be a possibility. I've seen stuff fail when it gets warm. Many years ago, I learned about some stuff called "Freeze Mist", which was handy for locating thermal problems. It was also useful for putting frost on a penny. 😉

                    PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
                    i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
                    UniFi AC-Lite access point

                    I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

                    Raffi_R 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • Raffi_R
                      Raffi_ @JKnott
                      last edited by

                      @JKnott said in Losing WAN connection intermittently:

                      @DaddyGo said in Losing WAN connection intermittently:

                      What do you think of a periodic heat run?

                      That could be a possibility. I've seen stuff fail when it gets warm. Many years ago, I learned about some stuff called "Freeze Mist", which was handy for locating thermal problems. It was also useful for putting frost on a penny. 😉

                      A can of compressed air held upside down does the same thing. I think the "freeze mist" and compressed air are the same product with the can and labels flipped :)

                      DaddyGoD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • DaddyGoD
                        DaddyGo @Raffi_
                        last edited by

                        @Raffi_ said in Losing WAN connection intermittently:

                        A can of compressed air held upside down does the same thing.

                        óóóó, the blessed physics and the expanding gases 😉

                        Cats bury it so they can't see it!
                        (You know what I mean if you have a cat)

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
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