Help with Multiple WAN setup.

leimrod · Feb 28, 2007, 3:58 PM

Ok well i've gotten both the wireless line and one of the router lines set up and load balanced. I now need to setup failover. Has the option to set up failover been removed from the load balancing section? Is it located somewhere else?

Attached is a screenshot of the load balancing configuration screen in my version of pfSense, and below is the screenshot from the tutorial I was following to set up load balancing.

http://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Image:EditPool.jpg

You can see there is a section called "behaviour" that has been removed or is not available in the screenshot i've attached.

hoba · Feb 28, 2007, 10:43 PM

The failovercode can only be found in the latest snapshots. Please upgrade. You'll find them at http://snapshots.pfsense.com/FreeBSD6/RELENG_1/

leimrod · Mar 1, 2007, 11:02 AM

Ok, i'll update to the latest snapshot. I'm having some other weird problem now. When I set the wireless internet line up as the main connection (WAN) I have internet access. When I set the main routered connection as the WAN connection I have internet access, but when I set them up together and load balance them my internet connection is intermittant, sometimes it connects sometimes it doesn't. I'll have pages where they'll begin to load then half the pictures won't display.

I've attached the connection logs below, the ICE connection is my wireless connection. Maybe you can explain whats going on with my LAN connection, it seems very odd.

leimrod · Mar 1, 2007, 11:59 AM

Ok I upgraded to the latest release. I'm not getting this error in my status>interfaces section for the wireless ICE line, it says "Status: no carrier". Do you have any information on why it would be giving this error?

hoba · Mar 1, 2007, 4:56 PM

Make sure your pools don't go up and down and up and down due to bad quality links. If pings to the monitor IPs fail the link will be excluded from the pool. You can try to setup local monitor IPs, just to test if this is the case. It won't detect a dead link then of course.

No carrier means no cable plugged in. No link.

leimrod · Mar 1, 2007, 5:29 PM

thanks again. Yeah the cable was loose at the back of the pc, i've since replaced it and the error is gone. The connection with the wireless DSL line is too intermittant at the moment, so i'm going to exclude it from the pool until our suppliers can guarantee a better service. i might throw it into the pool as a worst case scenario failover, whereby its only used when both of the other lines fail.

Is there a way of telling pfSense to not exclude a connection from the pool? Will it ever include it again?

Ok well, since removing the wireless connection, I've set up both of the routered DSL lines to be load balanced. However the load balancing does not seem to be working. I've tried both connection on the "WAN" connection alone and I can get access to the internet, but when I set either connection up as opt1 I can't get internet access. I've attached some screenshots below of the loadbalancing rules, the static route rule and the status/load balancing screen.

The only reason I can imagine that this problem is happening is that both connection share the same DNS servers. But i've assigned one DNS server to each and testing the failover by just unplugging one connection at a time from the back of the PC.

If you have any advice on what I might be doing wrong i'd really appreciate the help

hoba · Mar 1, 2007, 6:53 PM

Looks like you used the dns servers as monitor IPs? Then you don't need to add a static route for the dns server at OPT1. The system generates static routes to monitor IPs through the correct interface behind the scenes to make sure the monitor ping leave through the correct interface. Delete the static route and try again. I guess you have DNS problems atm. Try to ping a public IP instead a domain name. If this works your Problem is DNS related.

leimrod · Mar 2, 2007, 4:21 PM

Ok I deleted the static route, and I set WAN1 to have www.google.com as its monitor and WAN2 to have www.yahoo.com as its monitor. My problem now is when I plug out my WAN1 connection in status>load balancer it shows that both connections have gone offline? What would be causing this? When I plug the connection back in again both connections go online again.

Surely it they are both pointing at different external monitors, one line shouldn't be affected by the other?

hoba · Mar 2, 2007, 5:59 PM

Only successful monitopr pings determine if a link is up or down. This is pretty strange. Maybe try a reboot. You seem to have changed quite a bit back and forth. Btw, I recommend using other monitors than google or yahoo. You usually should use your gateways or something few hops away from you.

leimrod · Mar 5, 2007, 5:21 PM

Just as a note. I've done a few factory resets so far so there are little or no settings changed.

The problem i'm having is very weird though and I can't think of a possible solution.

I have 2 connections ok:

The first has IP: 192.168.1.222 GW: 192.168.1.254
The second has IP: 190.165.0.10 GW: 190.165.0.254

When I plug either connection into the "WAN" connection in pfSense and set the IP and GW I can get access to the Internet, but if I set up either connection on the Opt1 connection I can't. Is there some setting I need to enable to get access using only the Opt1 connection? I notice in the "status>interfaces" screen that there are no DNS servers listed for the Opt1 connection, is there any way of setting DNS servers for the Opt1 connection.

Also is there anything else I need to configure for failover to work correctly? Or will it work just by setting up failover rules in the loadbalancing section?

hoba · Mar 5, 2007, 6:22 PM

@hoba:

…

http://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Multi-Wan/Load-Balancing has quite some extensive information about multiwan setups.

It really should work just like this. We are not hiding any options just to cause users headaches ;)

sai · Mar 6, 2007, 5:35 AM

Post your current settings. I just got my dual want to work (DNS is a problem when I switch stuff on, but it starts up soon).

What is you load balancer setting? What are the LAN firewall rules?
Can the firewall ping the 2 gateways?
Did you make any other changes?

leimrod · Mar 6, 2007, 12:23 PM

Ok so it appears to be working now, I did a few tracert and it seems to hop between both gateways. I had neglected to put in the any firewall rules. I wasn't aware that load balancing will only work if you but in firewall rules? Maybe there should be a link in the load balancing section linking to the firewall rules section.

I followed the firewall rules implemented in the picture linked below:

http://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Image:FirewallRulesLan.jpg

I have a query though, as I haven't set up a DHCP Hostname, what do I set as the Gateway for the 4th rule from the top in the picture lined above?

Also if these firewall rules are in place do I still need to implement the NAT rules found in this guide: http://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Multi-Wan/Load-Balancing what difference do they make implementing them

hoba · Mar 6, 2007, 12:40 PM

You only need the portforwards if you provide services to the public (like hosting a webserver). It's optional.

I don't understand the first part of your question though. Btw, I recommend using failoverpools instead of single gateways. This way you will be able to switch traffic over to another connection if a link goes down (at least when using policybased routing instead of loadbalancing).

leimrod · Mar 6, 2007, 2:04 PM

Ok I was getting too confused following the DHCP guide so I reset all my settings to factory defaults then followed this guide right to the end: http://pfsense.iserv.nl/tutorials/outgoing_loadbalancing/outgoing_loadbalancing.pdf

Now, load balancing appears to be working. I've tested a few tracert's and for different URLs it points to different gateways. Also testing at http://dynamic.zoneedit.com/checkip.html shows different IPs every few refreshs

I have a few questions. In work I regularly access HTTPs sites. How do I set up pfSense to allow HTTPs access? When I did the tracerts I noticed that if, say google.com, used Opt1 as its gateway, any subsequent tracert for google.com would also use the same gateway. I had to change the URL to see it trace on the second gateway. Is there a reason why pfSense would allocate different gateways to different URL's?

Also hoba, could you elaborate what you meant by "I recommend using failoverpools instead of single gateways" I don't quiet understand how I would implement this?

hoba · Mar 6, 2007, 2:19 PM

Just create pass a firewallrule at LAN for protocol tcp, source any, destination any, port https, gateway <name of="" your="" failoverpool="">. This way all https will only go out one single gateway and stay there.

Failoverpools are just like loadbalancingpools but they won't do doundrobin of every new connection to the next link in the pool. Instead they will always use only the most top in the list available link and failover to the next one in the list if one of the top links fail. You create the failoverpools and use them exactly the same way like the loadbalancing pools. It's just an option when you edit/create a pool.

Already established states will remain at the same gateway as long as they don't time out or are closed. This means tracerouting to a specific IP will keep at the same gateway till the state gets closed or times out.</name>

leimrod · Mar 6, 2007, 2:45 PM

Ok I implemented what you said but it doesn't seem to be working for HTTPs. I can get access to HTTPS only when I bybass pfSense.

I've attached some screenshots below of my firewall rules, NAT setup and loaf balancer rules.

sai · Mar 6, 2007, 3:45 PM

to get https to work you need a LAN rule:

LAN
source ip: LAN net
source port: any
dest ip: any
dest port: HTTPS
gateway: netfailoverdray

This needs to be the first rule.

Your lan fw rules: only the first one will ever be used as it is the first and will match anything coming out of the LAN net. Second rule will never be matched because of this

You do not need the two failover pools - just one will do. netfailoverdray or drayfailovernet.

Check if your DNS works if one interface dies.

leimrod · Mar 6, 2007, 3:58 PM

@sai:

to get https to work you need a LAN rule:

LAN
source ip: LAN net
source port: any
dest ip: any
dest port: HTTPS
gateway: netfailoverdray

This needs to be the first rule.

Your lan fw rules: only the first one will ever be used as it is the first and will match anything coming out of the LAN net. Second rule will never be matched because of this

You do not need the two failover pools - just one will do. netfailoverdray or drayfailovernet.

Check if your DNS works if one interface dies.

Ok i've attached a screenshot of it set as the first rule, it is set exactly as you outlined. One question does this rule allow access for other HTTPS ports such as 22, 444, 3389 and 8443?

Also, should I delete the first rule in lan_fwrules? The one set as

Proto Source Port Destination Port Gateway
TCP LAN net * * 443 (HTTPS) NetFailoverDray

I still can't get access to the HTTPS site though, it has a port extension of 8443. Also how would I go about testing the port is correctly allowing HTTPS connections?

EDIT: Just wondering, do I need to do any sort of port forwarding in my NAT setup to allow HTTPS connections?

jeroen234 · Mar 6, 2007, 7:47 PM

if you need port 8443 then you need to make a rule for that port
https is only port 443
port 22 btw is ssh not https