6xNIC with bridged ports configuration "issue"
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Let me start off with the mandatory disclaimer of how I am a networking idiot. I realize that fact, which is why I am trying to better myself messing with pfsense!
On to the "issue"… I put issue in quotes because of two reasons: First, I know it is something simple that I am missing because, as I mentioned before, I am an idiot. Secondly, I think it may because of what I am trying to do is possibly incorrect in practice?
My network is a cable modem, which hooks into a 24 port switch. The six lan drops of my home connect into said switch. On my pfsense box, I have WAN set to the on board NIC, and LAN on one of the 6 ports of a 6x ethernet card.
Configured like that I have no issues, and everything works hunky dorey. However, I wanted to connect 5 more ethernets to the pfsense box from the switch.
I followed these instructions to bridge the remaining ports, as it was my understanding that it would be the best way to replicate the LAN ports of any run of the mill router. (Here is the link that I followed): https://www.infotechwerx.com/blog/Creating-a-Simple-pfSense-Bridge
After following those instructions, whenever I connect any ethernet cables to those remaining ports from the switch, I lose connectivity to my pfsense box.
That is the gist of it. There is no real reason for wanting to do this, besides learning the basics/limitations of networking. Having redundant pathways to the pfsense box wouldnt improve my throughput, I don't think.. but if I needed that sort of thing in a future network I built, I guess it would be good to know where I went wrong!
That is pretty much it… any help for an idiot?
EDIT: I also restarted the box since making the changes. I noticed in another tutorial (I found a few that have you do essentially all the same steps) that if you modified the filtering after creating the bridge, that a restart may be needed.
It's in this tutorials EDIT: https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=48947.0
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You are creating a loop. Don't do that.
Also, stop using pfsense as a switch: it isn't.
If you want multiple links towards a switch you need a managed switch that supports lagg/lacp.
edit: fixed typos
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Thank you! I thought there had to be something intrinsically wrong with making those parallel connections. I could see the scrolling errors on the bridge interface after making just the second connection. Glad someone smarter than me could talk me down.
Thanks again!