Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search
    • Register
    • Login

    Can pfsense support up to 16 Nic?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
    6 Posts 4 Posters 1.8k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • gpradaG
      gprada
      last edited by

      Hi everyone!,

      I have a pfsense box on a proliant G5 with 2 quad processors and 24 GB RAM for high troughput and multiple captive portal. The pfsense has 16 Tagged Vlan distributed on 4 intel nics. But sometimes some vlans stops working and the IP address cannot responses. With many tests I found this not happend if no vlan setup in a nic. I think the problem is something in the vlan support on freebsd and a solution can be not using vlan, but a dedicated nic for each Network.

      Can pfsense support up to 16 nics?

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • DerelictD
        Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
        last edited by

        What version of pfSense are you running?

        I would diagnose and fix the problem you are having before swapping gear and ditching dot1q on intel NICs. It works fine.

        If one stopped responding I would sniff the traffic both using pfSense packet capture and a switch mirror port to see what's really going on. Could be pfSense is working fine and it's the switch that's acting up.

        Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
        A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
        DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
        Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • gpradaG
          gprada
          last edited by

          Hi Derelict,

          Thank you very much for your response.

          I am using pfsense 2.2.6, but the problem comes since 2.2.1 version.

          I was reviewing the configuration of the switches and I found some ports in access/trunk mode, I decided to change them all to trunk mode. But the problem persists.

          Making a tcpdump on the pfsense only shows incoming traffic, but there is no outgoing traffic from pfsense. The firewall rules are any to any and any service and protocol.

          I attach some tcpdump capture

          vlan_107.txt

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • DerelictD
            Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
            last edited by

            Which is why I also suggested sniffing at a mirror port in the switch. Without knowing anything about what device is what IP address that capture tells me pretty close to nothing.

            Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
            A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
            DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
            Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • C
              cmb
              last edited by

              I presume the firewall's IP on that interface is 10.107.0.5. That capture proves it's still functioning at sending traffic out on the VLAN, since ARP is working. No reply to pings though, could be for any number of reasons. Probably firewall-related, like maybe Snort blocking the IP if you're running it.

              Agree you should troubleshoot the problem further, adding NICs isn't likely to help judging by that capture.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • ?
                Guest
                last edited by

                Can pfsense support up to 16 Nic?

                Yes it will be able and there are appliances out there that will be able  to offer you many LAN ports as you
                need it. One of them would be the scope7-8771 from Landitec it is a official European distributor from Lanner.

                But if you think it might be that you change even the hardware if something is not really running likes expected
                this would be a hard and expensive trail for you as I see it right. Perhaps you might be getting a Layer3 switch
                that is then proper routing the VLANs for your network and the pfSense firewall is then only routing the WAN-LAN
                part. It would be perhaps the better option, or perhaps if money is not rare booth will fit and makes you happy.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • First post
                  Last post
                Copyright 2025 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate). All rights reserved.