Recommended Posts

Hello Everyone,

I have managed to install pfSense onto an old computer with 2 nic's i can access the web gui and it says that both the nic's are up and sending data.

However i am unable to get access to the internet and i am sure there must be something i haven't done or done wrong. Is anyone able to guide me or show me what i might have missed.

I am not sure where it says what subnet i should be using or how to sucessfully configure the DHCP..

Cheers

Rich

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/982090-pfsense-installed-but-no-internet/
Share on other sites

I can hit the gui 192.168.33.1 which takes me to the control panel but if i setup the network settings on the computer to use 192.168.33.1 as the gateway instead of my old modem i get no internet which makes me think i have done something wrong.

Maybe someone with pfSense installed could post some screenshots?

Rich

^ what??

If you can access the web interface then clearly your on the lan network.

"I am not sure where it says what subnet i should be using or how to sucessfully configure the DHCP.."

What?? Post a screenshot of your dashboard or interfaces screen

Been running pfsense for years now, currently using 2.0 rc1 and setup the ipv6 development stuff from 2.1, etc.

So lets see the output of your status interfaces screen so we can see what we are working with - feel free to block out the last couple of octets of your wan side.. But need to see that your on public IP on wan, and private on lan, etc.

post-14624-0-29106400-1299953848.jpg

ok so here is output of dhcp server.. this means that it will hand out IPs between 192.168.1.200 to 239, it will also tell clients to use itself 192.168.1.253 as the dns server, and that local domain is called local.lan

post-14624-0-63744700-1299953547.jpg

What questions do you have exactly?

Budman please forgive me i am trying to learn and i read the documentation i just can't get it to work and some of it is admittedly over my head that is why i came here.

Yes the server is on the lan network as i can access it BUT i can't access the internet when passing traffic through it.

The WAN stuff looks not right to me but i am sure you will be able to tell me what i have done wrong.

pfsense.png

Well no **** that will never work, you have the same exact network on both the wan and the lan.

Your clearly behind a NAT device with that 192.168.33 (Private) network on the wan side.

What is your pfsense box connected to?

why did you set a /25 bit mask on your lan side??? Where did you get the idea to use 192.168.33 on your lan network??

Lan card? And you don't have a modem you have a NAT router, I don't care if they call it a modem or not?? Its doing NAT!! you got a private IP.

What is the model number of the device your psfsense box is plugged into?

And where did you plug the lan side into?? Into the same "modems" lan ports?

goes like this

internet - modem -- <wan> pfsense <lan> -- switch - PCS

You can work with a double nat (private on the wan side of your pfsense) but I highly suggest against it..

but you could do something like this for double nat

pfsense wan = dhcp

192.168.33.?/24

gateway 192.168.1.254 <-- your "modems" IP

lan static

192.168.2.1

netmask 255.255.255.0, 24 bits

dhcp server on pfsense

192.168.2.100 - 200

dns 192.168.2.1 or opendns, whatever

Pfsense is designed to be the NAT router/firewall of your network you do not need another device in front of it doing NAT.. you just need a modem connecting you to the internet, if you have what they are calling a DSL modem, clearly its really a gateway since you getting a private IP on your wan side of your pfsense. You would want to put the device into bridge mode. -- What is the make and model number of what your calling your modem and we can look to see if supports bridge mode, ie it will not longer do nat, and your pfsense box will get a PUBLIC IP on its wan interface.

edti: btw if going to run double nat mode like that, which I do not suggest, then on your "modem" your going to want to put your pfsense boxes wan IP into the DMZ of your "modem".. So want to set it to static or set reservation on your "modem" so it always gives pfsense same IP address on the 192.168.33 network.

How freaking hard is to post the make and model of the "modem"???? Example I use a Motorola SB6120

Model Name: SB6120

Vendor Name: Motorola

Firmware Name: SB612X-1.0.3.3-SCM00-NOSH

Boot Version: PSPU-Boot 1.0.0.4m1

Hardware Version: 1.0

Serial Number: 1869019126052260<snipped>

Firmware Build Time: Aug 12 2010 13:58:19

Did you power cycle your "modem" before connecting a new device?

Its impossible to help you without knowing what device you plugging into.

Are you DSL - Its less likely to see cable users with a gateway, so I would assume DSL. If so do you have to use PPPoE??

Okay okay sorry.

Netgear DG834G

Firmware V3.01.38

Network Type PPPoA

Did you power cycle your "modem" before connecting a new device?

No, i have never done this before so didn't know it was required now.

Are you DSL - Its less likely to see cable users with a gateway, so I would assume DSL. If so do you have to use PPPoE??

ADSL using PPPoA

Well with PPPoA, I will have to look if that device supports half bridge mode - cuz I dont believe pfsense supports PPPoA.

Half bridge means you use the gateway device to login, etc. but it puts the public IP on the device behind it. Let me take a look at the manual.

if not you can use the double nat mode I already went over.

btw what version of that router - I see up to v5, with that firmware version guess OLD v1?

From a quick look does not seem to support half bridge.. found this article about doing it with different firmware on the device

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/archive/index.php/t-139095.html

But if you have to ask about dhcp, and did not know why pfsense was not working - I would HIGHLY suggest you not do anything of the sort.

Your best bet would be to just run in double nat mode.. So put your "modem" how it it was before - setup static IP on pfsense wan to be in that 192.168.33 network. Put that IP into the DMZ of your netgear router.. And then setup lan side of pfsense to be like 192.168.2.0/24

if your connection is PPPoA, you can not just switch over to PPPoE.

Yeah I would agree this is over your head if you do not even understand basic networking, ie what dhcp is, what a subnet is, etc. What a Private IP is, etc.

if your connection is PPPoA, you can not just switch over to PPPoE.

Yeah I would agree this is over your head if you do not even understand basic networking, ie what dhcp is, what a subnet is, etc. What a Private IP is, etc.

I know what a DHCP is and a Subnet just never done much with NAT or anything simillar.

I want to broaden my knowledge on this kind of thing...

"I know what a DHCP is and a Subnet just never done much with NAT or anything simillar."

Thats not what this statement says to me

"I am not sure where it says what subnet i should be using or how to sucessfully configure the DHCP.."

But you can still use pfsense in a double nat setup.. Like I said just put its wan IP into the dmz of your netgear and setup a lan side network that is different than your wan network and your good to do. Not best option and you might run into some issues with double nat.. But those are rare - it should work just fine.

As to not done much with NAT?? WTF you think you have been using since you've been connected to your netgear router.. 192.168.33 is a private network, ie a NAT ;)

Hey Budman,

Just wanted to let you know i persisted with the problems i was having with my inability to understand basic networking and finally got my pfSense box up and running after lots of reading etc.

I changed the DG834G router into modem only mode which makes it into a modem only device (i think this is called a bridge) so it won't handle any of the authentication etc.

I then went into pfSense and setup the WAN interface on PPPoE and filled in my username and password for the internet - and submitted the changes, looking on the interface status it has now connected to the ISP got my public IP and also pulled the gateway and DNS servers. :woot:

update2.png

One problem i did come across tho was pfSense seemed to 'cache' my gateway instead of pulling it from the modem so i had to reset the pfSense box back to basics and start again but after that everything is now working and seems to be lots faster than a standard router.

I just need to have a go at getting a web blocking application setup and the ability to block websites based on IP or MAC.

Thanks for all your help and being patient with me

Rich

Thought you said you were using PPPoA? But great you got it working.. Yup that is a public IP on your wan side!

If you want to do content filtering just install the squid and squidguard packages - personally don't use them, but tested them on 2.0 and working.

Yeah you'll notice net is prob a lit faster with a real router vs that little box with like 200mhz cpu and 4MB of ram to work with ;)

HAVE FUN!!!

I've been playing with the ipv6 development code lately - its a little buggy still but everything seems to be working other than having some issues the the RRD graphs, etc.

post-14624-0-58722700-1300138428.jpg

Tell you what you will never go back to a simple soho router now that you have a taste of a full featured router/firewall with some horsepower to play with ;)

edit: if me I would get away from all those isp dns, and just run your own caching recursive server - install the unbound package, and you can even do dnssec -- get borat giving you a thumbs up.

http://test.dnssec-or-not.org/

I didn't mean to feel like a 'tool' on the weekend i just really want to try and get my head into some of this networking lark and thought this would be a cool way of jumping right in there.

"Thought you said you were using PPPoA? But great you got it working.. Yup that is a public IP on your wan side!"

Yea i am using PPPoA but i sent a email to the ISP and they said they are using pfSense with PPPoE on the network and it works great, so i gave it a shot and here i am.

"If you want to do content filtering just install the squid and squidguard packages - personally don't use them, but tested them on 2.0 and working."

Thanks :) That is my next task to get Squid up and running, need to sort out some content filtering for the Kids :devil:

I hope never to go back, i am going to get the pfSense book later in the month so i can have a proper read at what this thing can do.

Once again thanks :D

Rich

Yeah if your looking to filtering the kids, the squidguard is great and install the reporting package "lightsquid" and you can get full reports of what they are doing... You can prob even log their IM messages with imspector ;)

Looks like the imspector is only on 1.2.3 release - you running 1.2.3 or 2.0? I didn't catch it from any of the screen shots, etc.

The squidguard is fine even though says it beta, your really going to want that if you want to filter by categories - you can grab blacklist and then then just pick categories, etc. If you run into issues just let me know, I don't run it since my kids are now 24 and 22 and no longer even at home ;)

But I have played with them, and pretty simple to get running - there was a thread a while back about blocking bbc.co.uk I threw it on to show how easy it is with the right tools - took like 10 min tops to get it all up and running and filtering on specific urls, they wanted to block /news or something but not the main url sort of thing.

Once you feel comfortable with the product in general, 2.0 is stable enough for production use so you might want to move up to that sometime - even before it hits final release.

The squidguard is fine even though says it beta, your really going to want that if you want to filter by categories - you can grab blacklist and then then just pick categories, etc. If you run into issues just let me know, I don't run it since my kids are now 24 and 22 and no longer even at home ;)

But I have played with them, and pretty simple to get running - there was a thread a while back about blocking bbc.co.uk I threw it on to show how easy it is with the right tools - took like 10 min tops to get it all up and running and filtering on specific urls, they wanted to block /news or something but not the main url sort of thing.

Once you feel comfortable with the product in general, 2.0 is stable enough for production use so you might want to move up to that sometime - even before it hits final release.

I have installed Squid Squidquard tinysquid just need to configure them and get them up and running.

Will see if i can dig out that link tomorrow and find out how you blocked the BBC :) could be a good starting point.

Yea might give 2.0 a go once i have had a go with this for a while :)

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • How many people can actually use a 2.5gig ethernet port? Most people do not have more than a 1gig internet connection, heck most have less than that. Most people at home do not have a switch that has multiple 2.5gig ports either.
    • Vantrue knocks up to 38% off two of its newest Dash Cams for Prime Day by Steven Parker Vantrue reached out to us here at Neowin saying they have a couple of dashcams with deep discounts during the Prime Day Sale. First up we have the Vantrue N4 Pro S that received a mega 36% off its normal MSRP of $419.99 (buying links below). Here are a few of its highlights: Flagship 4K 3CH Dash Cam w/ Triple STARVIS 2: Vantrue's flagship N4 Pro s Dash Camera features 4K+2.5K+1080P /30FPS 3 channel recording powered by Triple STARVIS 2 sensors. Dash cams deliver 155°+160°+165° wide-angle coverage for complete blind-spot-free protection. Whether navigating city traffic, monitoring passengers, or capturing scenic views, this professional-grade car dash camera ensures smooth, detailed footage day and night. Night Vision 4.0 & License Plate Recognition Unleash superior clarity at night with 360 dash camera for cars. Powered by PlatePix tech, dashcam combines 3 STARVIS 2 sensors (enhanced low-light sensitivity) and triple HDR (balanced exposure) for 2x higher license plate accuracy in dimly lit nights or intense backlight. Experience unmatched performance on nocturnal drives, where the system captures clear, readable license plates of vehicles traveling at speeds up to 31mph. Flexible 360° Rear Camera & Front+Rear Recording Modes: The rear dash camera features a 2.5K STARVIS 2 sensor with 360° rotation, enabling seamless traffic or trunk monitoring. Switch to Front and Rear mode (4K+2.5K) to prioritize road recording—this dual-channel mode reduces heat by 30% and saves power compared to triple recording, ensuring 4k dash cam cooler operation and 24/7 reliability even in summer. Captures clear, readable license plates at speeds up to 31mph on lit streets at night. 24/7 Protection with Buffered Parking Mode: Gain round-the-clock security for your parked vehicle with reliable dash cam 3 channel system. Buffered motion and impact detection ensure events are captured from 10 seconds before they occur. All three cameras remain active in parking mode, providing comprehensive surveillance while efficient recording maximizes storage. To activate parking modes, a hardwire kit (sold separately) is required for permanent connection to your vehicle's fuse box. 5G WiFi, Precision GPS, Voice Control: This advanced car video camera dash cam maintains a stable connection to your phone. Its 5GHz WiFi ensures lightning-fast video transfer, making downloads a breeze. The built-in high-precision GPS tracks your route, speed, and location—providing vital data for any incidents. Control settings hands-free with simple voice commands like "Take a photo," keeping you focused on the road. Loop Recording & Super Capacitor & up to 1TB Support: Dash cams revolutionize convenience with loop recording featuring 1/2/3-minute segments. When memory is full, it automatically overwrites older footage. Engineered for reliability, its robust super capacitor withstands extreme temps(-4°F to 140°F), guaranteeing uninterrupted operation even in scorching sun. Expand storage with up to 1TB microSD support, enabling 37+ hours of continuous 4K triple-camera recording (front+inside+rear). VANTRUE Memory Card Recommendation: Note: Dash cam does not include an SD card. Avoid using low-quality memory cards to prevent the camera from malfunctioning. We recommend using VANTRUE industrial-grade microSD cards, which offer longer lifespan (over 3 years) compared to consumer-grade. VANTRUE memory cards are rigorously tested specifically for dash cam recording to ensure optimal performance. Available on Amazon in 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB capacities to suit your storage needs. So marketing jargon aside, what do you actually get? What's in the box? N4 Pro S Dash Cam, Rear Camera, 20ft rear camera cable Charging Cable Installation Tool Car Mount Quick Guide Vantrue also claims it is easy to install and comes with an 18-Month Warranty, 24/7 email support, and a 100% satisfaction guarantee. The Dash cam is said to also receive regular firmware updates for continuous improvements. With the 20ft rear camera cable, it is versatile enough to fit most vehicles, including cars, SUVs, minivans, trucks, and buses. Vantrue N4 Pro S for $269.99 (was $379.99) 36% off its MSRP of $419.99 No code required. Discount expires on June 26. Vantrue N4S (2026) Next up, there's an even bigger discount on the new (2026 edition) N4S Dash Cam. 2026 New 3-Channel Dash Cam & 360°Coverage Equipped with triple STARVIS 2-powered sensors, the Vantrue N4S dashcam records in super HD clarity: 2.7K front + 1440P interior + 1440P rear.Its 158° front, 165° cabin, and 160°rear wide-angle lenses eliminate blind spots, while HDR and PlatePix technology deliver sharp details and license plates day or night. This dash cam for cars is perfect for rideshare drivers and daily commuters. Night Vision 4.0 & High Temperature Proof Powered by STARVIS 2 Tech, the N4S dashcam for cars enhances light sensitivity and dynamic range in extreme low light. Triple HDR balances harsh contrasts—like headlights against dark roads—while PlatePix sharpens license plates by 2X, capturing crisp, identifiable footage on dark streets, in tunnels, or garages. This New N4S dashcam's supercapacitor design withstands extreme temperatures(-4℉ to 140℉), ensuring stable operation—safer and greener. Easy to Install & 360°versatile Rear Camera Set up effortlessly with our magnetic GPS mount, static cling film, and cable clips. Everything is tool‑free for a clean, wire‑hidden installation, and the mount stays stable on any drive. The rear camera rotates 360°, letting you monitor rear traffic or pivot it inward to keep an eye on cargo, luggage, or pets inside the vehicle. Versatile coverage whenever you need it. 24/7 Smart Parking Mode for Peace of Mind With 4 proprietary parking modes, the N4S 3-channel dashcam for cars lets you customize your protection. Motion detection triggers 10 seconds pre-event recording to capture full event. Collision detection auto-locks footage on impact/collision. Low bitrate/frame rate modes extend recording by reducing file size. Whatever the hour, your vehicle is always protected. 5GHz Wi-Fi & Support up to 1TB SD Card Access and download footage instantly with high‑speed 5GHz Wi-Fi. No need to remove the memory card or wait for transfers—critical clips are ready to view or share in seconds. This dash cam front and rear supports up to 1TB microSD cards (sold separately), giving you ample space for long trips or continuous loop recording. OTA firmware updates ensure your dashcam stays current with the latest features and improvements. So, again, aside from the marketing fluff mentioned above what do you actually get? What's in the box? Vantrue N4S Front and Inside Dash Cam x 1 Rear Camera x 1, Rear Camera Cable (20ft) x 1 Transparency Program card (with digital setup guide) x 1 Car Charger(11.5ft) x 1 USB Data Cable(3.3ft) x 1 GPS Adhesive Mount x 1 Crowbar x 1 Quick User Guide x 1 Electrostatic Stickers x 2 Spare Bracket Base Cable Clips The 2026 Edition of the N4S lets you track your journey with quad-mode GPS + BeiDou positioning. Experience supposedly faster satellite acquisition and reliable logging of your speed, location, and time in any environment. For rideshare or road trips, you can also trust the N4S dash cam front rear and inside cameras as your reliable co-driver. Like the Vantrue N4 Pro S, it is also backed by 24/7 support and extended warranty for complete peace of mind. Vantrue N4S (2026) for $174.99 (was $249.99) 38% off its MSRP of $279.99 No code required. Discount expires on June 26. Good to know This Amazon deal is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • The concern of this article is not getting "hacked". No one is taking over my Google account and anyone that was is far away from self-hosting their passwords. It was about your big tech account of choice deciding to reduce features or getting out of the password manager business altogether. Bitwarden (or say Proton) is professional security company offering opensource solutions. They are going no where and one can easily download or export their passwords to another password manager service regardless. They again also offer self-hosted option. I doubt many people were sold on this solution based on the write up. The author had a number of warnings and caveats themselves. A local, self-managed solution is not for 99% of users.
    • I've owned nothing but ATi/AMD GPUs since 2002, after my last nVidia GPU in 2001 (3dfx before that), IIRC, and in all of that time I recall getting this error maybe once, certainly no more than twice. Despite all the scuttlebutt as to how poor AMD drivers are supposed to be that has certainly not been my experience at all... Usually it has been a configuration problem of some kind. Then again, since we're dealing with OS versions that are EOL, it could easily be an OS version discrepancy. It's still weird to think that Win11 has been officially out for more than five years!
    • AI will never be the jobs panacea some companies fantasize about today. Oracle is likely using it as an excuse, which we will see a lot of companies doing, I'm certain. They love their "plausible" excuses for their downturns. A couple of weeks ago my wife asked me to call Krogers about some discrepancy in a online grocery order, and it will be the last time either of us does that. I'll just do emails with humans from now on... The AI experience was horrible--the obviously recorded voice started asking a bunch of questions about our orders six months prior(!) and saying, "Is this in reference to your order on January 6, for $****?" You say "No!" and immediately the next question is "Is this in reference to your order on January 29th, for $****?" again, I answered "No!"--and it was incredible--on and on it went like that for fully 20 minutes until we finally got to the present, and only then was I put through to a human with authentic intelligence... I wondered why on Earth the idiot AI didn't start with the most recent orders and work back from there, as it was something anyone with a functioning brain would have done. And why didn't the AI have enough sense to ask me what the problem was in the first place? It didn't take too much deduction to understand that the goal of this "AI" was to cause the person on the phone to hang up in disgust, with no resolution of the problem. That begs another question: why pay for a tool-free problem line if the goal is to avoid solving your customer's problems?... Fortunately, Krogers does have real humans capable of reading an email and understanding it, and if she sees another situation in the future that's route she or I will take. The online grocery delivery service from Krogers has been great, over all, but their AI truly sucks.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      timbobit earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      nates earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Almohandis earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Rookie
      dorf went up a rank
      Rookie
    • First Post
      mike_rumble earned a badge
      First Post
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      480
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      172
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      103
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      88
    5. 5
      neufuse
      70
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!