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    pfsense, in vmware esxi, with quad ethernet as lan - can only connect one ethernet at a time

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    • T
      TorbjornJ
      last edited by

      Fresh install of pfsense here. Have a onboard ethernet that I use as WAN and a intel quad card that I use for LAN: (0 = wan, 1-4 = lan)
      a25ab0f5-3897-4c09-b133-7512f99dce6e-image.png

      The four LAN ports are grouped togheter as switch:
      d153bb1f-4102-4e9f-9fc7-ecbfeb90bdd5-image.png
      So that pfsense only sees one ethernet/LAN.

      I can connect any of the physical LAN ports to my PC and IP/internet from pfsense.
      But if i connect more than one ethernet to the physical LAN, my connection drops. My PC cant ping out (8.8.8.8) until I unplug the ethernet cable then my PC can ping out on the internet again.

      In pfsense i have configured the DHCP to use a /24 (with a few reserved IPs), so the pool is not full.
      Right now I have connected a router to LAN and connected all other devices to the router - that works but not the way I need it for the long run.

      Any suggestions on where to start debugging?

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      • dotdashD
        dotdash
        last edited by

        Are you trying to use the lan ports as a switch? Don't do that. Switches are cheap.

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        • T
          TorbjornJ
          last edited by

          It's not the cost - i just don't want any more gear where pfsense today is located.
          Would it help if I used vlans on the different ethernet ports? I was planning to do that eventually, just have to plan my setup more.

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          • dotdashD
            dotdash
            last edited by

            What you are trying to do is not how vswitches work. You might be able to map each nic to a separate switch and have a virtual nic on the firewall for each one, but that's kind of crazy.

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