Tutorial: Configuring pfSense as VPN client to Private Internet Access

[cableguy]

first post so scuse the newbie here….

what are the speeds you guys have been getting vs. ddwrt flashed routers? I recently upgraded to gigabit fiber, and was looking at building a machine this weekend since 40mbps through a Nighthawk leaves me a little disappointed.  I looked at the SH4860 as well, but I'd rather built something myself if I can hope for anything atleast 150-200mbps

[Bobbob]

Hi all, newbie with a query here

I've followed this guide to get a vpn setup and working fine for normal use, my issue is that port forwarding just wont work as advertised, I have literally gone through a dozen guides, they all say basically the same thing and I swear I've done it all, but nowt actually gets through…  My VPN provider has forwarded the relevant ports to me and says its all good on their end.

Do I need NAT reflection to forward a port through the vpn to a LAN IP?  Are my NAT rules ok? Please help, screenshots are here http://imgur.com/a/iZOwd , I'm losing my mind here…

[Derelict]

You didn't post your port forward config.  Firewall > NAT > Port Forward Tab.

[Bobbob]

Hiya, thanks for replying!  Its in the album now, at the bottom…

[Derelict]

Destination address on your port forward should not be * it should be the interface address for the appropriate VPN interface.

[Bobbob]

Thanks.  Erm, this might be a stupid question but which address is that? All traffic for that pc goes from the LAN through my Iceland VPN interface so is it the virtual address of that VPN interface or my LAN interface?  And since my VPN interfaces are using "IPv4 Configuration Type: None", wont the virtual address change over time? i dont think I can make them static…

I don't know if this will help, probs not ;) but this is a rough idea of my setup

r  WAN <<<  Iceland-VPN Gateway <<<< 192.168.1.248
Modem<<< WAN <<<  UK-VPN Gateway        <<<< All other LAN IPs
                L  WAN xxx                                      xxxx  All LAN traffic

[Derelict]

In the Destination address type you select the OpenVPN interface.  If you haven't assigned an interface you need to look up OpenVPN assigned interfaces.  Port forwards won't work without one.

[Bobbob]

I assigned an interface to each of the OpenVPN clients in the screenshot above, the TORGUARDICELAND interface is the one the pc @ 192.168.1.248 is using, that OpenVPN client has the virtual address 10.8.0.6, is this what you mean or does its interface have a different address?  Do i need to setup a new interface somewhere?  Sorry to be a pain but I've googled around this and can't find anything about a separate OpenVPN interface….  Thanks for your help with this, you're a lifesaver

[Derelict]

In your port forward entry, the Destination needs to be your OpenVPN interface address, not '*'  I don't know how to make it more clear.

[Bobbob]

Ok, I have set the destination to the VPN interface address, see screenshot, but the port is still not open, is there still something I'm missing?  Thanks again


[Derelict]

You need to get proof that the port is properly forwarded to you.  Turn logging on on the pass rule, check the logs.  Attempt a connection, check for states.  Do a packet capture on WAN.  Do you see the inbound packets?  Do a packet capture on LAN. Do you see the outbound packets?  What is returned from 192.168.1.248?

You also need to test from outside.

Do all this.  Don't skip anything:

https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Port_Forward_Troubleshooting

[Bobbob]

Nice one, I'm on it…

[Bobbob]

Ok, we have some results,

Firewall checks, with logging on the forwarding rule and utorrent running on 62465, I'm also repeatedly trying to connect externally using a 4g connection (timedout everytime i tried a connection):

I can find loads of outgoing LAN entries on 62465, see first screenshot, nothing at all on TORGUARDICELAND or WAN for 62465.
I cant see any logged entries with a destination port 62465 on any interface, I also cant see anything with a destination 192.168.1.248.  As far as i can tell nothing is triggering the forwarding rule.  See screenshot 2

States:

There are plenty of entries in the states table for port 62465, see screenshot 3.  I can't find my external connection in the table but since it keeps timing out that doesn't surprise me…

Packet capture:

On WAN i get only a tiny handful of packets coming in to 62465 from outside to my WAN IP, i.e. the IP assigned to my modem. I assume this is just random non-requested traffic.  See screenshot 4.  There is plenty of 443 activity between my VPN IP and my WAN IP, i assume this is the vpn tunnel.

I can see plenty of LAN activity on 62465, both inbound and outbound, see screenshot 5.  The incoming packets and the returns have different lengths, incoming are short, are these errors of some kind?

On TORGUARDICELAND I can see some packets coming from 10.8.0.6 (the VPN interface virtual address) to my VPN IP and the other way, this seems hopeful!  See Sh 6.

I went through the common problems on the list, I think I can tick off all of them, the fact that the forwarding works when using my regular connection instead of the vpn connection dealt with most of them.

Phew, never even seen a states table before this, this is a proper learning experience ;)  Hope I've done the correct testing, interpreting these results is killing me though, anything obvious catch your eye?  Thanks


[Derelict]

If they are supposed to be forwarding a port to you and you have logging on the pass rule for the NAT entry on TORGUARDICELAND and you never see any log entries when you try to connect to it from the outside, their forward isn't working and there is no reason to look at anything else.

[Bobbob]

Good advice!  After a spanking Torguard fessed up and got things working, the port is open :)  I swear to god I'm happier seeing this port open than I was when I saw my first girlfriends legs open, its been one frustrating week…

Mate you've been truly awesome, thanks for the help and patience

[User1503]

I'm trying to allow both VPN and local Lan users to access a networked printer.  Is there a way to do this?  I've searched the forums and found pieces but no straight tutorial.  Thanks!

[Derelict]

I'd start a new thread.

[lweddin1]

slow speeds on 2.2.4?

I am not sure if it's me or something to do with the new update.

[Derelict]

I'd start a new thread.

[joejoe123]

This is probably a dumb question, but how can I make sure connections don't go out via my WAN gateway if the VPN drops? I've tried a few things, but every time I shut down the VPN service and check my connected devices they have reverted back to using my WAN gateway.

–-EDIT---

Based on what I read in another thread I created a floating rule blocking WAN access to my VPN connected devices and that seems to be working okay.