Pfsense conflict with existing router

[hookitup]

hello i am new to pfsense and just looking for a little help scene it is hard finding information on google. (hope im posting this in the right place, not 100% sure how your forums are regulated)

so quick question, will pfsense mess up anything with my already existing router ??? im not a genius with network stuff so i want to trial it without messing up any settings or anything on my home network and or router.  i have it running on the live cd right now on an old computer.

Thanks in advance for the help.

[Metu69salemi]

Greatly depends what settings you have existing router and pfsense + how you have wired these devices

[stephenw10]

For testing purposes you can simply insert your pfSense box between your existing router and your internal network. This will result in double NAT which is far from ideal but probably won't stop anything functioning.
When/if you're happy you can set your router to bridge mode such that your public IP address is passed on to pfSense.

Steve

[hookitup]

Well right now all I have is it hooked up to my 5 port switch which is connected to a router which is connected to the modem …..So basically it's hooked up like a regular computer would be ...

This is not how this system is supposed to be hooked up correct ??

[stephenw10]

pfSense is a router so it would replace your existing router.
You can connect it between your existing router and switch for testing.

Steve

[hookitup]

hummm ok ,, i only have one Ethernet port on the back of the pc tho , how would i plug my switch into it.. i will need more hardware correct ? although i do have a cable that goes from usb male to Ethernet male, will this work so i can connect it into the switch ? and if this does work will the computers effected by the firewall be the ones plugged into the switch or all of them?

This is what it would look like. https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B8d8On9UPPiPNmJmZDBiMDYtOGQyOC00YmI1LTk1YzAtNzRjOGYxMTYwNzZm&hl=en_US

i could do this as well. will the red side only be affected by the pfsense box ?
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B8d8On9UPPiPMDMwMzYyYTktNTcxMi00Yzk4LTg3ZjItN2MxZjc3NjUzNDU0&hl=en_US

and also is it ok to have two routers ? iv seen this before at my neighbors house.

[stephenw10]

Normally you would have at least two network cards in your pfSense box, one for WAN and one for LAN, you can have as many as you can fit in.
To use pfSense, as a firewall and router, with only one network card requires using VLANs with a managed switch.
You can use a USB Ethernet interface, if it's supported by FreeBSD, but generally speaking they offer poor performance.

You can use two routers chained together, like you show in the first document, but as I said above this means double NAT.

Is there a reason why you don't have all your PCs connected to the switch? Only a 5 port switch?

Steve

[hookitup]

Hey thanks for all your help btw. but ohhh ok i see , i am looking into finding a nic on craigslist and reason is cause i have about 5 computers and 4 laptops just in my room and the router already in place has 4 ports so 2 pcs and my switch are taking a place on the router and just my pcs in my room are on the 5 port switch. basically i needed more ports in my room to manage my pcs….. but ok so which computers will be effected by my pfsense box if its plugged inbetween the router and switch ? all the pcs after the switch will be effected or all pcs on my network.

[stephenw10]

Only the computers behind the pfSense box will be affected by the firewall. So, yes, only the 5 PCs connected to your switch.
8 port switches can be had very cheaply, especially if you only need 10/100.

Steve

[hookitup]

Ok cool cool …. Oh and yeah I was checking out new egg  . There's some good stuff on there ... So do u know where I can find sone really good guide on how to configure things ?

[stephenw10]

There's some great documentation in the wiki. Here.

For everything you could possibly think to ask check out the book!  :)

Steve

[hookitup]

Awesome . Alright thanks for ur help …