The new if_pppoe doesn't write to logs

pfpv

My ISP uses PPPoE. Before the if_pppoe I could see a "conversation" with the ISP end in the logs. It was very useful for some things, such as a confirmation that my ISP supports baby jumbo frames. Now I see only one line for each reconnect and it's useless. Is it possible to make if_pppoe write to logs like the previous one? I am looking in the PPP subsection of the system logs. I searched through General and nothing there.

patient0

@pfpv what pfSense version are you using? If you're on CE 2.8.1 then if_pppoe logging is something they work on.

https://forum.netgate.com/topic/198626/new-if_pppoe-module-no-logging-in-status-system-logs-ppp/2

Quoting @stephenw10 from the linked thread (August 2025):

"Yes it doesn't log much of anything by default. You can check the status with: pppcfg pppoe0
Or you can enable debug output with ifconfig pppoe0 debug but that logs a lot!"

pfpv

@patient0, thank you. I tried to search before posting but didn't find that post. Yes, I am on 2.8.1. It looks like they are working on logging for many things. Kea DHCP has the same issue. After switching from ISC there were no logs and debug mode logged a lot. I hope they will make chages soon. It's been a while.

Gertjan

@pfpv said in The new if_pppoe doesn't write to logs:

After switching from ISC there were no logs ...

Read here how to add Leases logs as ISC DHCP did.

pfpv

@patient0 said in The new if_pppoe doesn't write to logs:

If you're on CE 2.8.1 then if_pppoe logging is something they work on.

CE 2.9.0 and it's not there.

stephenw10

You still have debug logging as an option if it's failing to connect.

pfpv

@stephenw10
The old mpd5 produced very useful, detailed and short logs. I used it to confirm whether my IPS's OLT, or whatever I connect to, supported baby jumbo frames. It also reported its MAC, which was sometimes useful for troubleshooting. I tried if_pppoe debug mode, and it produced a lot of text but there was no that information, so it was useless.

Can it be made to report that information? Also, a GUI toggle would be nice. If not, please, please don't remove mpd5. It can be used for troubleshooting.

stephenw10

Yes the logging needs to be improved there and it's something we have on the list. It's just not very high priority at the moment unfortunately.