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    How to setup loadbalancing with 2 dhcp account from 1 isp

    Routing and Multi WAN
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    • T
      tinoy69
      last edited by

      hi to all:

      i've manage to create myself a pfsense box from a p4 socket 478 computer, 512mb ram, and 2 intel pro nics, but just puzzled about how to setup loadbalancing with 2 isp (wireless) with dhcp. here's my setup

      isp1 (dynamically assigned ip via dhcp, gateway 111.222.333.444)–
                                                                                                |
                                                                                                  ---pfsense----switch----lan
                                                                                                |
      isp2 (dynamically assigned ip via dhcp, gateway 111.222.333.444)--

      my initial configuration in the loadbalancing pool (this is working)

      Loadbalance
      gateway
      loadbalance
      wan1:111.222.333.444(wan1's gateway)
      opt1:111.222.333.444(opt1's gateway)

      wan balances opt
      gateway
      failover
      wan1:111.222.333.444(wan1's gateway)
      opt1:111.222.333.444(opt'1's gateway)

      opt balances wan
      gateway
      failover
      opt1:111.222.333.444(opt1's gateway)
      wan1:111.222.333.444(wan1's gateway)

      also setup the firewall rules

      • lan subnet * * * loadbalance
      • lan subnet * * * *

      this setup is working for me as reading the multiwansetup(1.1) not the 1.2 or 1.3 in the documentation

      my question is
      1. is my setup correct, will using the same gateway in the loadbalancing pools correct?

      2. can i achieve correct failover while using same gateway for loadbalancing and failover pools? if not, how
      can i correct my setup for failover?

      3. obviously, been reading the multiwan-setup 1.3 in the pfsense docs, by using third party dns (opendns)
      in 1 isp and using internal dns of 1 isp as the other, and also setting up static routes if using opendns
      but really having a hard time digesting the idea, also, i would rather not use opendns as the monitor ip
      as pinging the gateway of the isp (111.222.333.444) is alot faster

      4. also one problem arises if both isp goes down (frequently), i have to reboot the pfsense box because after internet goes up, loadbalancing does not work correctly, even i filter reload...only after rebooting the
      pfsense box, does the loadbalancing use the 2 isps...also does pfsense "automatically detects" each interface if isp assigned an ip? like when i plug the cable to my old asus router, it "senses" if there is
      internet, unlike pfsense, you have to manually press the renew ip? can i mess with it and script it to
      automatically renew like for 5 seconds?

      really like pfsense for the multi wan, loadbalancing, it is the only product i know which is FREE, that uses
      multi-wan, loadbalancing...hope i can correct all this problems...any suggestions, help will be highly appreciated...

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • GruensFroeschliG
        GruensFroeschli
        last edited by

        @tinoy69:

        my question is
        1. is my setup correct, will using the same gateway in the loadbalancing pools correct?

        No.
        You cannot have the same gateway multiple times.

        @tinoy69:

        2. can i achieve correct failover while using same gateway for loadbalancing and failover pools? if not, how
        can i correct my setup for failover?

        You could put a NATing device in front of one of the WANs.
        For the pfSense it appears as if one of the WANs is a different subnet (different gateway).

        @tinoy69:

        3. obviously, been reading the multiwan-setup 1.3 in the pfsense docs, by using third party dns (opendns)
        in 1 isp and using internal dns of 1 isp as the other, and also setting up static routes if using opendns
        but really having a hard time digesting the idea, also, i would rather not use opendns as the monitor ip
        as pinging the gateway of the isp (111.222.333.444) is alot faster

        The current multiwan guide is for 1.2.x. (1.3 doesnt exist).
        You can have more than 2 DNS entries.
        I would configure it, that you have at least one DNS bound to one WAN.
        Dont use OpenDNS as monitor ip.
        Do a traceroute from each WAN and take the next hop from your ISP.
        Make sure you have different monitor IPs for each WAN.

        @tinoy69:

        4. also one problem arises if both isp goes down (frequently), i have to reboot the pfsense box because after internet goes up, loadbalancing does not work correctly, even i filter reload…only after rebooting the
        pfsense box, does the loadbalancing use the 2 isps...also does pfsense "automatically detects" each interface if isp assigned an ip? like when i plug the cable to my old asus router, it "senses" if there is
        internet, unlike pfsense, you have to manually press the renew ip? can i mess with it and script it to
        automatically renew like for 5 seconds?

        really like pfsense for the multi wan, loadbalancing, it is the only product i know which is FREE, that uses
        multi-wan, loadbalancing...hope i can correct all this problems...any suggestions, help will be highly appreciated...

        I think this is related to the fact that you connect to the same subnet.
        Try again after moving one of the WANs to a different subnet.

        We do what we must, because we can.

        Asking questions the smart way: http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • T
          tinoy69
          last edited by

          GruensFroeschli:

          thanks for the great explanation, sorry for the multiwanversion, that's really 1.2, sorry, anyways:

          loadbalancing is working perfect in my current setup, but really can't get failover to work
          (because of what you just explained)

          so, will adding a router to isp2 will solve my problem? like this?

          isp1 (gateway 111.222.333.444)–router–-
                                                                            |
                                                                              ---pfsense----switch----lan
                                                                            |
          isp2 (gateway 111.222.333.444)-----------------

          is this what you are suggesting?
          if this is what you're suggesting, since loadbalancing is working right now without failover,
          i might skip this configuration because of an additional router, since failover is not really important
          (because if 1 isp goes down, the other goes down also, defeating the purpose because their the same isp)
          just asking if i can find a way to make failover to work without an additional router, since it's not
          possible, that'll be just the end of it...

          thanks for the help...pfsense is really just great

          and btw, i know im really breaking rules here, since i want to ask another question that's off topic

          can i create firewall rules that block a specific program (i.e. like windows firewall), WITHOUT squid or squidguard? just firewall rules? and do you have a good "creating firewall rules tutorial" that i can reference?
          just want to harden my pfsense and gain better understanding of how to create firewall rules

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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