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    Browser freezes when loading 2000+ rows of firewall rules

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved webGUI
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    • E
      ekanthan
      last edited by ekanthan

      WebGUI freezes the web browser when trying to load the firewall rules and NAT rules page with 2000+ firewall/NAT rules. The pages will load after ~3 minutes if we chose to wait.

      pfSense version: 2.4.5-RELEASE-p1

      As a workaround, Disabling the dragging option in System -> General Setup resolves this freezing issue.

      Is it a known issue already or need to be raised as an issue?

      DaddyGoD viktor_gV jimpJ 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • provelsP
        provels
        last edited by

        🍿

        Peder

        MAIN - pfSense+ 24.11-RELEASE - Adlink MXE-5401, i7, 16 GB RAM, 64 GB SSD. 500 GB HDD for SyslogNG
        BACKUP - pfSense+ 23.01-RELEASE - Hyper-V Virtual Machine, Gen 1, 2 v-CPUs, 3 GB RAM, 8GB VHDX (Dynamic)

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • H
          heper
          last edited by

          Just out of curiousity, what are you doing with 2000+ rules?

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

            @ekanthan said in Browser freezes when loading 2000+ rows of firewall rules:

            NAT rules page with 2000+ firewall/NAT rules

            I join----- @heper
            what is the size of the network, that requires such a large number of rules?

            yeah another question what kind of hardware handles this amount of rule?

            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
            • viktor_gV
              viktor_g Netgate @ekanthan
              last edited by

              @ekanthan it seems that you need to use aliases (IP/host/ports) to reduce it to some reasonable number

              See https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/book/firewall/aliases.html
              and https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/firewall/aliases.html

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • E
                ekanthan
                last edited by

                I was stress-testing pfSense in a VM.
                Regardless of hardware spec, this is a client-side issue. So, I raised it for discussion.

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

                  @ekanthan said in Browser freezes when loading 2000+ rows of firewall rules:

                  this is a client-side issue.

                  SOHO category hardware needs time to load and handle the lot of rules....

                  yes, this can cause temporary GUI unavailability (it depends on the resources)

                  as @viktor_g suggested, many rules can be simplified using aliases

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

                  E 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • E
                    ekanthan @DaddyGo
                    last edited by

                    @DaddyGo As I mentioned earlier this is a client-side issue, the server provides the response in seconds, But the client-side DOM rendering and processing makes the browser to freeze as the page tries to restructure 2000+ rows to sortable drag and drop elements. It takes ~3 mins only on browser(client) end.

                    Disabling that option resolves the issue and the page renders in seconds.

                    Code to check -> https://github.com/pfsense/pfsense/blob/master/src/usr/local/www/firewall_rules.php#L1006

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • viktor_gV
                      viktor_g Netgate
                      last edited by

                      Right, this is System / General Setup option:
                      Screenshot from 2020-07-05 19-16-58.png

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • provelsP
                        provels
                        last edited by

                        Well, as long as it's easily disabled, I don't think I'd consider it a bug. But that's just me.

                        Peder

                        MAIN - pfSense+ 24.11-RELEASE - Adlink MXE-5401, i7, 16 GB RAM, 64 GB SSD. 500 GB HDD for SyslogNG
                        BACKUP - pfSense+ 23.01-RELEASE - Hyper-V Virtual Machine, Gen 1, 2 v-CPUs, 3 GB RAM, 8GB VHDX (Dynamic)

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • jimpJ
                          jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate @ekanthan
                          last edited by

                          @ekanthan said in Browser freezes when loading 2000+ rows of firewall rules:

                          As a workaround, Disabling the dragging option in System -> General Setup resolves this freezing issue

                          That is the reason that option exists. It's a client browser issue, not a firewall bug, and that option helps your browser cope with large rulesets.

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