Navigation

    Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Register
    • Login
    • Search
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search

    Is it possible to create "virtual" WAN interfaces? (not VLANs)

    Routing and Multi WAN
    3
    9
    172
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • V
      vizi0n last edited by vizi0n

      Hello everyone!

      I am currently running pfSense as an VM inside ESXi and I would like to move it outside of the box, as a standalone machine with a 4x 1Gbps ports card.

      Here's my setup to help understand what I am trying to achieve

      • I have a symmetrical 10gig EPON connection provisioned at 1.15gbps and my ONT (modem) has 4x 1 gbps ethernet ports

      • I have multiple LAN VLANs entering my router through 2 physical ports (my main LAN VLAN is alone on port #1, all other LAN VLANs are on trunk port#2)

      • I have 4 DHCP WAN currently setup on 2 physical ports (my main WAN associated to the main LAN is alone on port #3, all 3 other WANs are on port #4).

      • Physical ports #1-2-3 are passthrough from ESXi so 100% managed by pfSense.

      • Physical port #4 is the uplink port of my WAN vSwitch from ESXi, on which I have 3 virtual interfaces assigned to pfSense acting as WAN2-3-4.


      Actual question : Is there a way to create virtual interfaces for my WAN2-3-4 so that I can use only 1 physical uplink to my modem for these WANs, just like it is right now in ESXi?

      I know that I could create VLANs on the WAN2 physical interface and trunk them to my switch and setup 3 ports in access mode for these 3 VLANs to link to the modem. This will take up 4 ports on my 3560X switch which I would prefer not to.

      I would like all for my WAN to link directly to the modem as it is right now. I don't plan on using the onboard port of the new machine as it is a Realtek NIC and I prefer my Intel quad gig card.

      Someone mentionned Open vSwitch to me but I can't seem to find much information regarding what I want to do.

      Virtual IPs feature is out of the question because I am using DHCP.

      No my provider will not provide me a /29 IP block as I am a residential customer, and anyways the price would be outrageous if I were a business customer.

      Thanks for your input!

      bingo600 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • bingo600
        bingo600 @vizi0n last edited by bingo600

        @vizi0n

        How would you transport Multi Lan ethernet frames (down the same wire), without encapsulating them with vlan tags ?

        A little Ie. D-Link DGS-1100-08 (8-port Vlan capable) costs less than 50$ , is fanless & power effective.
        Use such a solution if you want to save on your 3560 ports.

        Ps: Don't even Consider a TP-Link (VLAN leaking)

        PPs: A simple drawing would not be bad here.
        /Bingo

        V 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • V
          vizi0n @bingo600 last edited by

          @bingo600 I dont need them to be tagged, I just need a virtual switch with virtual interfaces, exactly like ESXi is providing

          bingo600 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • bingo600
            bingo600 @vizi0n last edited by

            @vizi0n

            I'm not sure i even understand your setup.
            You want to transport 4 interfaces down one wire wo. tagging ?

            Look into Firewall -> Virtual IP's , where you can make aliases.
            If all you need is multi-ip's on the same IF.

            chpalmer V 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • chpalmer
              chpalmer @bingo600 last edited by

              @bingo600 said in Is it possible to create "virtual" WAN interfaces? (not VLANs):

              Look into Firewall -> Virtual IP's

              https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/firewall/virtual-ip-addresses.html?highlight=virtual

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • V
                vizi0n @bingo600 last edited by vizi0n

                @bingo600 Unfortunately this is not going to work because it's only for static IP addresses, and my provider is forcing me to use DHCP.

                My current setup is :

                ESXi host

                • pfSense VM
                • ethernet ports 1,2,3 : passthrough directly to the pfSense VM
                • ethernet port 4 : managed by ESXi as a vSwitch uplink port
                • virtual ethernet ports 1-2-3 : created by ESXi on the same vSwitch as ethernet port 4, assigned to the pfSense VM and used as "WAN2" "WAN3" "WAN4"

                I would like to retain this type of setup, without using ESXi

                And yes, I want to transport 4 interfaces on 1 wire, just like any uplink from a switch to another

                bingo600 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • bingo600
                  bingo600 @vizi0n last edited by bingo600

                  @vizi0n said in Is it possible to create "virtual" WAN interfaces? (not VLANs):

                  @bingo600 Unfortunately this is not going to work because it's only for static IP addresses, and my provider is forcing me to use DHCP.

                  My current setup is :

                  This is where the drawing would come in handy.

                  I would like to retain this type of setup, without using ESXi

                  Understandable.

                  And yes, I want to transport 4 interfaces on 1 wire, just like any uplink from a switch to another

                  How would that be possible wo. vlan tagging ?
                  You even mentions switch & uplink (implies tagging).

                  Edit:
                  I hear ... : I want to go from 1 physical IF, and "fan out" to 4 physical IF's

                  Doable with a switch & tagging

                  V 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • V
                    vizi0n @bingo600 last edited by

                    @bingo600 said in Is it possible to create "virtual" WAN interfaces? (not VLANs):

                    How would that be possible wo. vlan tagging ?
                    You even mentions switch & uplink (implies tagging).

                    Well, switching and uplink don't necessarily mean trunk/tagging. By saying "uplink" I simply mean a connection to a cascading switch further up the tree (in this case, to the ethernet switch inside the modem).

                    If you directly connect a basic switch (no VLAN support, just plain access ports) to a modem, and connect 3 different routers to your switch, they will all obtain IP addresses from the ISP, without any VLAN tagging. It's exactly what I want to achieve, by creating 3 virtual interfaces in pfSense that I could then bridge together with my physical port #4, which would act as an uplink to my modem. Basically, I want pfsense to act a a switch by using a bridge of interfaces that would combine 1 physical IF and 3 virtual IF.

                    Maybe it's clearer explained this way?

                    I don't have time for a drawing right now because I'm already in bed but maybe tomorrow if I have some spare time

                    bingo600 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • bingo600
                      bingo600 @vizi0n last edited by

                      @vizi0n

                      Ahh ... Now i see.
                      But i doubt you can do that w. pfSense.

                      I think you have either physical interfaces , or vlan tagged interfaces.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • First post
                        Last post

                      Products

                      • Platform Overview
                      • TNSR
                      • pfSense Plus
                      • Appliances

                      Services

                      • Training
                      • Professional Services

                      Support

                      • Subscription Plans
                      • Contact Support
                      • Product Lifecycle
                      • Documentation

                      News

                      • Media Coverage
                      • Press
                      • Events

                      Resources

                      • Blog
                      • FAQ
                      • Find a Partner
                      • Resource Library
                      • Security Information

                      Company

                      • About Us
                      • Careers
                      • Partners
                      • Contact Us
                      • Legal
                      Our Mission

                      We provide leading-edge network security at a fair price - regardless of organizational size or network sophistication. We believe that an open-source security model offers disruptive pricing along with the agility required to quickly address emerging threats.

                      Subscribe to our Newsletter

                      Product information, software announcements, and special offers. See our newsletter archive to sign up for future newsletters and to read past announcements.

                      © 2021 Rubicon Communications, LLC | Privacy Policy