Curiosity "Available network ports" already used on WAN still shows as available

AllGamer

so I got:

WAN = PPPOE
LAN = em0
OPT1 = em1
OPT2 = em2
OPT3 = em3
OPT4 = em4
Available network ports: em5

The physical network port "em5" is already used to connect to the modem for PPPOE, but it still shows up as available under "Available network ports" is that normal?

Can I actually use that "em5" port for something else, even thought it's already connected to the modem doing PPPOE ?

You know like for example in Lenovo / Dell / HP servers, the same network port can be shared for both regular LAN traffic and remote management simultaneously.

ptt

@AllGamer:

The physical network port "em5" is already used to connect to the modem for PPPOE, but it still shows up as available under "Available network ports" is that normal?

Yes, because a PPPoE WAN is actually assigned to a virtual PPPoE adapter, not the physical port (quoted from this Doc.) https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/How_can_i_access_my_PPPoE_Modem_on_WAN