Show Posts
1
General Discussion / New install a success, but general network problem. Please help.
« on: December 28, 2015, 04:41:06 pm »
Just came over to Opnsense last week. Install went smooth. Love the GUI interface. System is working great. I have limited knowledge on networking in general, so I am unable to solve my current, extremely annoying network problem (I'll get to that soon). So, I was running Sophos UTM, but decided to switch to an open source program instead. I have had FreeNAS for years, and love it.
Moving forward: My network consists of 4 Windows 7 machines, a FreeNAS, and one access point for phones/tablets. Everything has worked great for years. After I installed Opnsense on the machine that was running Sophos UTM, I noticed some of the machines on my network could not connect to the internet. They would have a yellow little box on the internet icon (lower right on Windows) indicating a network error. I can connect to my network, but not the internet. If I allow Windows to "fix" the problem, an error comes back saying it could not find the primary DNS server. So, I googled this, and messed around. In the end, I have tried many things over the last week. All unsuccessful. I will list what I have done, along with some other behaviors I have seen.
I am able to connect one PC directly to the Opnsense machine. Everything works perfect. If I connect the Opnsense to my switch, which is a cheap unmanaged switch (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BU0EKW?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s03), that's where it all goes south. In the past, I would use the Sophos UTM as my rounter and it would provide DHCP to my network. Before that, I used a cheap Linksys router to do the same. All was well. This switch would then connect to my various devices and life was good.
If I attach the Opnsense machine to the switch, some of the machines will have internet access, while others won't. Their access will last hours to days, but in the end, they all fail. I tried plugging in my old router inplace of the Opnsense machine to try and replicate what once was. Same problem. I have tried replacing the switch with an older one that I used in the past. Same problem. So, it's probably not a hardware issue. If I have tried replacing the router, and switch, the only thing left are cables and machine settings. Since I am able to connect directly to the Opnsense, I don't believe it's a cable issue. Plus, i am able to connect to my local network with all devices, so that also tells me it's not a cable issue. So, I assumed it was a machine setting (Windows 7). Of course I messed with those settings for a week now. Hence, this long write up.
All machines are connected with a static address. Yes, I tried to have TCP\IP v4 to obtain IP address automatically, but the same problem persists. Here are my settings
IP address: 192.168.1.136
Subnet: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.1
DNS: 192.168.44.1
My ISP is charter. If I connect a machine directly to my modem, everything works great. The above settings are the same for all machines, except I obviously change the IP address, but it's within 192.168.1.2-192.168.1.150.
I am unable to connect to my router (Opnsense, Linksys) if the machine has the little yellow box. I am still able to connect to my network though, but not the router. Since I have been screwing around with this for a week, I am not sure if I am to blame for a setting change, or if there truly is a hardware issue. Yes, I have tried power cycling down everything multiple times. Yes, I have cursed and screamed. Nothing seems to work. Please help so that I can start enjoying my new Opnsense machine.
Cheers,
Patrick
Moving forward: My network consists of 4 Windows 7 machines, a FreeNAS, and one access point for phones/tablets. Everything has worked great for years. After I installed Opnsense on the machine that was running Sophos UTM, I noticed some of the machines on my network could not connect to the internet. They would have a yellow little box on the internet icon (lower right on Windows) indicating a network error. I can connect to my network, but not the internet. If I allow Windows to "fix" the problem, an error comes back saying it could not find the primary DNS server. So, I googled this, and messed around. In the end, I have tried many things over the last week. All unsuccessful. I will list what I have done, along with some other behaviors I have seen.
I am able to connect one PC directly to the Opnsense machine. Everything works perfect. If I connect the Opnsense to my switch, which is a cheap unmanaged switch (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BU0EKW?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s03), that's where it all goes south. In the past, I would use the Sophos UTM as my rounter and it would provide DHCP to my network. Before that, I used a cheap Linksys router to do the same. All was well. This switch would then connect to my various devices and life was good.
If I attach the Opnsense machine to the switch, some of the machines will have internet access, while others won't. Their access will last hours to days, but in the end, they all fail. I tried plugging in my old router inplace of the Opnsense machine to try and replicate what once was. Same problem. I have tried replacing the switch with an older one that I used in the past. Same problem. So, it's probably not a hardware issue. If I have tried replacing the router, and switch, the only thing left are cables and machine settings. Since I am able to connect directly to the Opnsense, I don't believe it's a cable issue. Plus, i am able to connect to my local network with all devices, so that also tells me it's not a cable issue. So, I assumed it was a machine setting (Windows 7). Of course I messed with those settings for a week now. Hence, this long write up.
All machines are connected with a static address. Yes, I tried to have TCP\IP v4 to obtain IP address automatically, but the same problem persists. Here are my settings
IP address: 192.168.1.136
Subnet: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.1
DNS: 192.168.44.1
My ISP is charter. If I connect a machine directly to my modem, everything works great. The above settings are the same for all machines, except I obviously change the IP address, but it's within 192.168.1.2-192.168.1.150.
I am unable to connect to my router (Opnsense, Linksys) if the machine has the little yellow box. I am still able to connect to my network though, but not the router. Since I have been screwing around with this for a week, I am not sure if I am to blame for a setting change, or if there truly is a hardware issue. Yes, I have tried power cycling down everything multiple times. Yes, I have cursed and screamed. Nothing seems to work. Please help so that I can start enjoying my new Opnsense machine.
Cheers,
Patrick