Dual WAN Failover doesn't failover back to WAN 1 [Resolved]

pfrickroll

So, in real setup in small offices where i have pfsense. I got static IP WAN 1 and DHCP WAN 2.
I have IPsec, and IP Phones service that we pay for. When WAN 1 comes up, I would like Failover to switch to it lets say in 5 minutes. So that IPsec would up and running as fast as possible. I am not script savvy.

netblues

@pfrickroll If phones or vpn keep sending keepalives, these connections will only switch to wan1 either by manually killing them, or wan2 goes down.
This is a wanted feature. Connections should be not dropped while exchanging data.

Raffi_

@pfrickroll said in Dual WAN Failover doesn't failover back to WAN 1:

So, in real setup in small offices where i have pfsense. I got static IP WAN 1 and DHCP WAN 2.
I have IPsec, and IP Phones service that we pay for. When WAN 1 comes up, I would like Failover to switch to it lets say in 5 minutes. I am not script savvy.

Unfortunately, there is no GUI method to do what you're asking for automatically. I wish there was too. You don't have to be script savvy. Did you even look at the thread? They spell everything out for you. I'm not script savvy at all but I got someone else's script running on pfSense (different script) but it's the same idea. If I can do it, anyone can do it. I believe in you :)

johnpoz

Well in the default normal optimization for states.. Once a state is established it will stay open, even without any traffic for 24 hours

https://pfsense-docs.readthedocs.io/en/latest/config/advanced-setup.html

So unless the server/client involved in the conversation close the session/state with fin, or rst the state will stay open.. You could adjust the timeouts for established, but even in the aggressive mode your still looking at 5 hours.. For an established state without any traffic - and that counter would restart every time there is any traffic on that session.

If you want all traffic to switch back to wan 1 after it comes up by forcing it - you would really need to clear the states for anything using wan2

pfrickroll

@Raffi_ I skimmed through it but didnt find script there. I am just doing few things at a time at the moment.

johnpoz

That link he provided took you right to the post with the script

#!/bin/sh

# get active gateway and current time
CURRENT_TIME="$(date +"%c")"
CURRENT_GW="$(netstat -rn | grep default | awk '{print $4}')"

if [ $CURRENT_GW = "em2" ]; then
	#check if WAN1 is up or not
	WAN1_STATUS="$(pfSsh.php playback gatewaystatus brief | grep WANGW | awk '{print $2}')"
	if [ $WAN1_STATUS = "none" ]; then
		#WAN1 is back online, stop/start WAN2
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Bringing down WAN2"
		ifconfig em2 down
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Sleeping for 30s"
		sleep 30
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Bringing up WAN2"
		ifconfig em2 up
	else
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: WAN1 is still down"
	fi
else
	echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Nothing to do!"
fi

And just below post was another with the cron info and slightly modified script :) so not sure what link you followed?

serbus

Hello!

There is also a built-in script /etc/rc.kill_states that can be modified.

https://forum.netgate.com/topic/135614/failback-from-primary-wan-after-failover-to-secondary-wan

John

Raffi_

@serbus said in Dual WAN Failover doesn't failover back to WAN 1:

Hello!

There is also a built-in script /etc/rc.kill_states that can be modified.

https://forum.netgate.com/topic/135614/failback-from-primary-wan-after-failover-to-secondary-wan

John

@serbus thank you. I knew I remember reading about another script/method to get the job done. Now that I'm looking at these again, I might take a little time to give one a try. The built-in script seems to make more sense since it's already there.

@pfrickroll said in Dual WAN Failover doesn't failover back to WAN 1:

I am just doing few things at a time at the moment.

Understood. You mentioned this being a new setup which you were beginning to test. This would be the best time to try any of these options out, especially if you haven't put this network into production yet. That is the most ideal scenario for testing anything you're not familiar with.

serbus

Hello!

There is a built-in system for packages that allows custom plugin code to be called on certain events.

It is in /etc/inc/pfsense-utils.inc in function pkg_call_plugins

It looks like several packages use the callback plugin (carp, certs). The gateway system also uses the callback in /etc/inc/gwlb.inc when there is a state change.

It is calling for a package that has setup a plugin called "plugin_gateway". I dont see any official packages that have a plugin named that, but it could be the one referenced in this post:

https://forum.netgate.com/topic/139455/list-of-hooks

https://github.com/jazzl0ver/pfSense-pkg-gatewayhook

I dont know why they would modify the official gwlb.inc code to call a plugin for a package that is not part of the official release...

John

Raffi_

FYI, I ended up using the first script in the original thread I linked (take wan2 down and back up when wan1 is back up). I didn't do that because it was a better solution, but I found it easier to modify. I only had to change the defined interface for WAN2.
https://forum.netgate.com/topic/84269/multi-wan-gateway-failover-not-switching-back-to-tier-1-gw-after-back-online/67?_=1601399952603

The second script below it seems fundamentally better (killing states), but I have a DHCP wan2 and didn't want to use that since I wasn't sure how to modify it for my scenario.

I haven't tested it yet since it's not big deal for me whether this works or not. I'm going to wait for a real event and see what happens.

pfrickroll

@johnpoz said in Dual WAN Failover doesn't failover back to WAN 1:

That link he provided took you right to the post with the script

#!/bin/sh

# get active gateway and current time
CURRENT_TIME="$(date +"%c")"
CURRENT_GW="$(netstat -rn | grep default | awk '{print $4}')"

if [ $CURRENT_GW = "em2" ]; then
	#check if WAN1 is up or not
	WAN1_STATUS="$(pfSsh.php playback gatewaystatus brief | grep WANGW | awk '{print $2}')"
	if [ $WAN1_STATUS = "none" ]; then
		#WAN1 is back online, stop/start WAN2
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Bringing down WAN2"
		ifconfig em2 down
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Sleeping for 30s"
		sleep 30
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Bringing up WAN2"
		ifconfig em2 up
	else
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: WAN1 is still down"
	fi
else
	echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Nothing to do!"
fi

And just below post was another with the cron info and slightly modified script :) so not sure what link you followed?

When i said I dont know about scripting I meant as I dont know anything pretty much.
This script, do I run it in Diagnostics-Command Prompt-Execute PHP Commands or I put it somewhere in Diagnostics-Edit File?

Raffi_

@pfrickroll said in Dual WAN Failover doesn't failover back to WAN 1:

When i said I dont know about scripting I meant as I dont know anything pretty much.
This script, do I run it in Diagnostics-Command Prompt-Execute PHP Commands or I put it somewhere in Diagnostics-Edit File?

Alrighty, let me see if I can help.

Edit, I forgot the most important step. Backup your config before doing anything you're not familiar with.

First, take that script and copy/paste it into a text editor on your PC, e.g., Notepad ++.

Now figure out what your WAN2 interface is. Go to Interfaces > WAN2. In my case it is em1.
Substitute that in place of anywhere it says em2 in the script. If your WAN2 is by chance also on em2, then you're in luck and don't have to edit anything.

Save that text file and then change the name to something like failover_script.sh

Now to upload that file go to Diagnostic > Command prompt. Use the Upload File and chose that file you just made. It will by default go to /tmp/. For the sake of simplicity you can leave it there if you want. I think you should be able to run it from there.

Now you have to create a cron job to run that script on a schedule. Download the cron package if you don't already have it. System > Package Manager >Available Packages

Go to Services > Cron > Add
Here is what mine looks like as an example.

This is set to run every 2 minutes. You can adjust that as you want. Also note that my script is in the root folder and has a different name.
So in your case the command should be
/tmp/failover_script.sh >> /tmp/failover_script.log

Again, I'm not an expert on this either so if someone can point out better ways to do this or if I'm wrong, please let me know.

pfrickroll

@Raffi_ My WAN 1 - igb0, WAN2 - igb2
Is this correct?

#!/bin/sh

# get active gateway and current time
CURRENT_TIME="$(date +"%c")"
CURRENT_GW="$(netstat -rn | grep default | awk '{print $4}')"

if [ $CURRENT_GW = "igb2" ]; then
	#check if WAN1 is up or not
	igb0_STATUS="$(pfSsh.php playback gatewaystatus brief | grep WANGW | awk '{print $2}')"
	if [ $WAN1_STATUS = "none" ]; then
		#WAN1 is back online, stop/start WAN2
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Bringing down igb2"
		ifconfig em2 down
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Sleeping for 30s"
		sleep 30
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Bringing up igb2"
		ifconfig em2 up
	else
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: igb0 is still down"
	fi
else
	echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Nothing to do!"
fi

Raffi_

@pfrickroll said in Dual WAN Failover doesn't failover back to WAN 1:

@Raffi_ My WAN 1 - igb0, WAN2 - igb2
Is this correct?

#!/bin/sh

# get active gateway and current time
CURRENT_TIME="$(date +"%c")"
CURRENT_GW="$(netstat -rn | grep default | awk '{print $4}')"

if [ $CURRENT_GW = "igb2" ]; then
	#check if WAN1 is up or not
	igb0_STATUS="$(pfSsh.php playback gatewaystatus brief | grep WANGW | awk '{print $2}')"
	if [ $WAN1_STATUS = "none" ]; then
		#WAN1 is back online, stop/start WAN2
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Bringing down igb2"
		ifconfig em2 down
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Sleeping for 30s"
		sleep 30
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Bringing up igb2"
		ifconfig em2 up
	else
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: igb0 is still down"
	fi
else
	echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Nothing to do!"
fi

Close but not quite right. You missed two em2 lines. See below. I forgot to mention the WAN1 interface but it looks like you got that right.

#!/bin/sh

# get active gateway and current time
CURRENT_TIME="$(date +"%c")"
CURRENT_GW="$(netstat -rn | grep default | awk '{print $4}')"

if [ $CURRENT_GW = "igb2" ]; then
	#check if WAN1 is up or not
	igb0_STATUS="$(pfSsh.php playback gatewaystatus brief | grep WANGW | awk '{print $2}')"
	if [ $WAN1_STATUS = "none" ]; then
		#WAN1 is back online, stop/start WAN2
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Bringing down igb2"
		ifconfig igb2 down
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Sleeping for 30s"
		sleep 30
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Bringing up igb2"
		ifconfig igb2 up
	else
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: igb0 is still down"
	fi
else
	echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Nothing to do!"
fi

Raffi_

Never mind, you don't have to do anything with WAN1. That was right. Put that back to the way it was as shown below.

#!/bin/sh

# get active gateway and current time
CURRENT_TIME="$(date +"%c")"
CURRENT_GW="$(netstat -rn | grep default | awk '{print $4}')"

if [ $CURRENT_GW = "igb2" ]; then
	#check if WAN1 is up or not
	WAN1_STATUS="$(pfSsh.php playback gatewaystatus brief | grep WANGW | awk '{print $2}')"
	if [ $WAN1_STATUS = "none" ]; then
		#WAN1 is back online, stop/start WAN2
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Bringing down WAN2"
		ifconfig igb2 down
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Sleeping for 30s"
		sleep 30
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Bringing up WAN2"
		ifconfig igb2 up
	else
		echo "$CURRENT_TIME: WAN1 is still down"
	fi
else
	echo "$CURRENT_TIME: Nothing to do!"
fi

pfrickroll

@Raffi_ Are you sure? I thought any line without # I should modify WAN into my firewall interface name?

Raffi_

@pfrickroll said in Dual WAN Failover doesn't failover back to WAN 1:

@Raffi_ Are you sure? I thought any line without # I should modify WAN into my firewall interface name?

I edited my script above. Only where it specified em2 is what had to be changed to igb2. references to WAN1 or even WAN2 is not hard coded to an interface so you should be able to leave that.

pfrickroll

@Raffi_ said in Dual WAN Failover doesn't failover back to WAN 1:

@pfrickroll said in Dual WAN Failover doesn't failover back to WAN 1:

@Raffi_ Are you sure? I thought any line without # I should modify WAN into my firewall interface name?

I edited my script above. Only where it specified em2 is what had to be changed to igb2. references to WAN1 or even WAN2 is not hard coded to an interface so you should be able to leave that.

It didn't switch after 10 mins

So, i after pfsesne reboot I checked in Diagnostics-Edit File and my uploaded script there is gone and failover_script.log is empty

Raffi_

@pfrickroll said in Dual WAN Failover doesn't failover back to WAN 1:

It didn't switch after 10 mins

I guess I was wrong on the script. Sorry, looks like mine won't work either :/
You should see WAN2 taken down and then brought back up after 30 seconds if WAN1 is running again.
Maybe you will have to adjust those variables in that case. Let me know if you get it to work. I will have to adjust mine. At least you know how to work with scripts now. I'm sure you'll get it working.

@pfrickroll said in Dual WAN Failover doesn't failover back to WAN 1:

So, i after pfsesne reboot I checked in Diagnostics-Edit File and my uploaded script there is gone and failover_script.log is empty

I was afraid that leaving the script in /tmp/ might lose it on reboot, but I wasn't sure.
What you can do to solve that is upload it again, and then after uploading go to Diagnostic > command prompt execute the command mv /tmp/failover_script.sh /root/
That will move the file from /tmp/ to /root/. Then you will have to modify your command in the cron job for that new location, /root/failover_script.sh.

pfrickroll

@Raffi_ In cron under command i have "/root/failover_script.sh. >> /tmp/failover_script.log"
But in under root its "failover_script.sh.txt " Should i change cron job command to "/root/failover_script.sh.txt >> /tmp/failover_script.log"
pfsense edit.PNG