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    Pfsense internet goes down all the time

    General pfSense Questions
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    • U
      unf0rg0tt3n @stephenw10
      last edited by

      @stephenw10 said in Pfsense internet goes down all the time:

      Some quick googling shows there's a good chance that modem still has a management interface at 192.168.100.1 when it's in bridge mode. So if you're not using that subnet already I suggest adding an IPAlias VIP on the WAN interface at, for example, 192.168.100.10/24 and then trying to ping it from pfSense.

      If that works add a manual outbound NAT rule on the WAN to allow LAN clients to access that IP via the VIP.
      See: https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/recipes/modem-access.html

      Steve

      Didn't quite get how to get that done. Can't add interface. But I'm on the phone with my ISP, they saw it go down twice in 7 min and 40 second. They tried to blame my internal network, but that can't be because their modem goes offline. Even made a new pfsense box and moved that directly next to the modem and yeah that worked for 10 minutes. Before it went down. So all new box, all new cables.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • stephenw10S
        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
        last edited by

        Yeah, you don't need to assign an interface for a DHCP modem, just add a VIP on the existing WAN so pfSense has an IP ion the same subnet as the modem management IP.

        johnpozJ U 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • johnpozJ
          johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @stephenw10
          last edited by johnpoz

          Why are using 1.1.1.1 as your monitor? Does your gateway not answer ping?

          Problem with using something like 1.1.1.1 is maybe they throttle you, hit so many packets from you even in zero sized data pings and they might say F this guy and firewall you for X amount of time.. Now pfsense sees loss of its monitor and goes through trying to recover, etc. Something on a constant cycle of X amount of time could point to something like this happening.

          You should whenever possible check that you have connectivity to the internet, by checking the first IP you hit going to the internet, ie your isp gateway.

          If they have that not answering pings for some asinine reason, then move up the stream - but picking something like 1.1.1.1 could have you think your offline when all it is peering problem to that network with your isp, or an issue with their routing, and nothing really with overall internet..

          You could always just tell pfsense that connection is always up - ie turn off gateway action and see if actually internet still works, when monitoring fails..

          action.png

          I have this set because sometimes I saturate my connection.. HUGE downloads filling up my pipe, and monitor sometimes would fail the pings when doing this.. So just turn off the action, and you can check if monitoring is showing packet loss, but your actually still working.. Which could point to either something upstream, or your monitoring IP throttling you because you talk to them too much.. Default I think pfsense send 2 pings a second.. Maybe 1.1.1.1 doesn't like that..

          Just throwing ideas out there is all.

          An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
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          • U
            unf0rg0tt3n @stephenw10
            last edited by

            @stephenw10 said in Pfsense internet goes down all the time:

            Yeah, you don't need to assign an interface for a DHCP modem, just add a VIP on the existing WAN so pfSense has an IP ion the same subnet as the modem management IP.

            So I figured it out thanks to you guys, This gives me so much more information like:
            the modem does a reboot

            27-06-2021 11:42:40	notice	REGISTRATION COMPLETE - Waiting for Operational status;CM-MAC=<MAC>;CMTS-MAC=<MAC>;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
            27-06-2021 11:42:32	warning	MIMO Event MIMO: Stored MIMO=-1 post cfg file MIMO=-1;CM-MAC=<MAC>;CMTS-MAC=<MAC>;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
            01-01-1970 01:01:26	notice	Cable Modem Reboot - due to power reset;CM-MAC=<MAC>;CMTS-MAC=00:00:00:00:00:00;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
            27-06-2021 11:29:35	notice	REGISTRATION COMPLETE - Waiting for Operational status;CM-MAC=<MAC>;CMTS-MAC=<MAC>;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
            27-06-2021 11:29:27	warning	MIMO Event MIMO: Stored MIMO=-1 post cfg file MIMO=-1;CM-MAC=<MAC>;CMTS-MAC=<MAC>;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
            01-01-1970 01:01:25	notice	Cable Modem Reboot - due to power reset;CM-MAC=<MAC>;CMTS-MAC=00:00:00:00:00:00;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
            

            Which I didn't initiate
            Also this one is fairly interesting:

            01-01-1970 01:01:41	critical	No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out;CM-MAC=<MAC>;CMTS-MAC=<MAC>;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
            

            @johnpoz said in Pfsense internet goes down all the time:

            Why are using 1.1.1.1 as your monitor? Does your gateway not answer ping?

            Problem with using something like 1.1.1.1 is maybe they throttle you, hit so many packets from you even in zero sized data pings and they might say F this guy and firewall you for X amount of time.. Now pfsense sees loss of its monitor and goes through trying to recover, etc. Something on a constant cycle of X amount of time could point to something like this happening.

            You should whenever possible check that you have connectivity to the internet, by checking the first IP you hit going to the internet, ie your isp gateway.

            If they have that not answering pings for some asinine reason, then move up the stream - but picking something like 1.1.1.1 could have you think your offline when all it is peering problem to that network with your isp, or an issue with their routing, and nothing really with overall internet..

            You could always just tell pfsense that connection is always up - ie turn off gateway action and see if actually internet still works, when monitoring fails..

            action.png

            I have this set because sometimes I saturate my connection.. HUGE downloads filling up my pipe, and monitor sometimes would fail the pings when doing this.. So just turn off the action, and you can check if monitoring is showing packet loss, but your actually still working.. Which could point to either something upstream, or your monitoring IP throttling you because you talk to them too much.. Default I think pfsense send 2 pings a second.. Maybe 1.1.1.1 doesn't like that..

            Just throwing ideas out there is all.

            Yes! Thanks, set that up now. no ping, only monitor for online status.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • stephenw10S
              stephenw10 Netgate Administrator @stephenw10
              last edited by stephenw10

              @stephenw10 said in Pfsense internet goes down all the time:

              You are monitoring 1.1.1.1 which is generally a good idea but it might be interesting to switch that back to the gateway IP to see if that also fails.
              If you have only one WAN you should disable the gateway monitoring action on that gateway ( not the monitoring itself) there is no point restarting everything when there is no secondary WAN to failover to.

              Yup. That^.
              I've never seen 1.1.1.1 throttle ping response but they certainly could. They are under no obligation to respond to ping at all.

              But, yeah, it you can see the modem really is rebooting there is nothing pfSense could do to cause that.

              Steve

              P 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • P
                pete35 @stephenw10
                last edited by pete35

                There is a good chance, that the DOCIS Error ( t3 timeout) is caused by noise on the line between your modem and the CMTS of the cable provider. This leads to timeouts on layer 3, e.g. paket loss. The only way to solve this to is contact your provider. They usually totally ignore this kid of t3 timeouts. usually there are severall t3 timeout failures, some if them are harmless, some cause the modem reboots.

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                • U
                  unf0rg0tt3n
                  last edited by

                  Okay,

                  Everyone, Thank you so much for helping me out this far! It isn't a pfsense issue.
                  I will go to my ISP, again... but this time with hard evidence (thanks to you all).

                  GertjanG 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • GertjanG
                    Gertjan @unf0rg0tt3n
                    last edited by

                    @unf0rg0tt3n said in Pfsense internet goes down all the time:

                    It isn't a pfsense issue.

                    Before you seal the 'pointing finger' in concrete, you could do one more test :
                    Exclude pfSense for a while, hookup the modem directly to a PC and set it up for a connection.
                    Or use another 'off the shelves' router.

                    You should be seeing the same issue.

                    No "help me" PM's please. Use the forum, the community will thank you.
                    Edit : and where are the logs ??

                    U 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • U
                      unf0rg0tt3n @Gertjan
                      last edited by

                      @gertjan Thanks for the supplement. I have tried that, but after a few minutes it rebooted again.
                      I literally did everything they asked buut nothing worked.

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                      • GertjanG
                        Gertjan @unf0rg0tt3n
                        last edited by

                        In that case :

                        @unf0rg0tt3n said in Pfsense internet goes down all the time:

                        I will go to my ISP, again... but this time with hard evidence (thanks to you all).

                        Try another ISP, no need to bring along the evidence.
                        Just ask for a working connection.

                        No "help me" PM's please. Use the forum, the community will thank you.
                        Edit : and where are the logs ??

                        U 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • U
                          unf0rg0tt3n @Gertjan
                          last edited by

                          @gertjan The next best thing would be DSL with a 20Down and 6Up (guaranteed).
                          When there is Fiber I will leave Ziggo for sure, until then it's something I need to cope with

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                          • U
                            unf0rg0tt3n
                            last edited by

                            It has been a while and I think I found out the issue!
                            Actually it's an 2 part issue

                            • my isp has very bad power plugs
                            • my solar panels got errors

                            So everytime the solar panels got the error codes and went idle the modem did a reboot.
                            I don't know why that power plug is the only one in the house that's sensitive enough to the issue.

                            The thread is solved, thanks everyone for their help, the tweaking helped a lot in many ways

                            GertjanG 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                            • GertjanG
                              Gertjan @unf0rg0tt3n
                              last edited by

                              @unf0rg0tt3n said in Pfsense internet goes down all the time:

                              my solar panels got errors

                              Never knew that solar panels should be hooked up to your 'ethernet' path ;)
                              Mine just produce 230V AC, injected into the local grid. They are (I will not) allow them to mess up the power.

                              Btw : ISP router, pfSense etc have their own UPS, and your life will be easier.

                              No "help me" PM's please. Use the forum, the community will thank you.
                              Edit : and where are the logs ??

                              U 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • U
                                unf0rg0tt3n @Gertjan
                                last edited by

                                @gertjan said in Pfsense internet goes down all the time:

                                Mine just produce 230V AC, injected into the local grid. They are (I will not) allow them to mess up the power.

                                Mine too :p installed by some solar panel company. But for some reason the error messed with the the grid (inv over current). I already contacted them and they are looking for a solution.

                                Btw. I got my UPS in like 2 days ago 😁

                                johnpozJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • johnpozJ
                                  johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @unf0rg0tt3n
                                  last edited by johnpoz

                                  I am on solar as well - have never seen any sort of issue with any powered devices..

                                  But!! My modem has always been on a ups, along with all my networking gear.. But do have some weirdness of my TV just turning off for no reason.. And I don't recall if it does it at night, or only in the daytime.

                                  I think I will put a ups on it - and see if that corrects the problem with the TV ;)

                                  edit: Pure SineWave ups ordered - stupid delivery delays these days. Says won't be here for like week to almost 2 (19th to 24th).. I am really curious if issue with the TV is blips on the power, no matter how slight they might be. I didn't even think of that because not seeing anything else with any sort of power problems. But all my electronic gear, other than the TV is on ups. its on a surge protector only.. Side benefit, is should be able to watch TV through short power outages ;) Even with crazy storms (just had some) power wasn't out for more than a few minutes at a time.. But was not a fan of it going on and off in quick succession.. Shitty thing is when do loose power, when it comes back on - every smart light in the house turns on ;) hehehe

                                  An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                                  If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                                  Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                                  SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

                                  GertjanG 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • GertjanG
                                    Gertjan @johnpoz
                                    last edited by Gertjan

                                    @johnpoz said in Pfsense internet goes down all the time:

                                    of my TV just turning off for no reason.

                                    Put on the TV, and set a countdown on your phone of 59 min and 30 sec.
                                    After x times reaching the countdown, you'll see your TV going 'down'.
                                    If you're awake (that's where the phone comes in), you could saw the message like "press any key (on the remote) otherwise I shut down" as any modern TV does so to gain the 'green' label.

                                    😊

                                    edit : had my father coming over a couple of years ago, and he told me, after a couple of days, while I was absent for work :
                                    He : Your TV switches off after 6 hours sharp - why ?
                                    Me : How do you know ?
                                    He : I had to put it back on again 4 times today !
                                    Me : WTF ....

                                    This really happened.

                                    No "help me" PM's please. Use the forum, the community will thank you.
                                    Edit : and where are the logs ??

                                    johnpozJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • johnpozJ
                                      johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @Gertjan
                                      last edited by johnpoz

                                      No its not it just turn off because of non interaction.. It just goes poof off.. Can be hours into watching, or just a few minutes.. Sometimes seen it happen a few times in a row..

                                      If you look up the tv brand - you see quite a few people complaining about.. But wonder if it is power related. Not going to hurt to have a ups on it ;)

                                      When it shuts down for normal reason you see icon in top right showing power down.. When this happens its just "poof" off.. Like you pulled the plug or something.

                                      An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                                      If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                                      Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                                      SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

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