Proxmox + pfSense + multiple ports?

Networking
1

I want to set up what I think might be a bit of a network minefield…

My main PC and my server both have a 2.5Gbe port, but I have no other ports in the house of that speed. I want to connect these devices directly so that they can transfer fast between themselves.

My setup specifically has a separate 1Gbe port for the WAN connection, and a port for the LAN connection in pfSense, as well as one for the Proxmox itself to connect to the LAN.

My intention is to have the 2.5Gbe connected to the pfSense VM and let my computer connect to the network that way instead of through my switch. However, I’d like a gigabit line from my main PC to the switch as well just in case I have the server offline.

Is it possible to set this up? If the answer is yes, will it be more of a headache than it’s worth?

2

If pfsense is running as a vm on the server, what would be the point of having the PC connected to the switch when the server is down? Isn’t your whole network contingent on pfsense being up?

3

To be honest, I think the only reason I can think of is if I have pfSense down and need to access my switch or something?

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4

Yeah. You can plug in both as you’ve described. Assuming your PC is running Windows, someone else will have to tell you how to prioritize the interfaces, but having multiple interfaces on the same network is fine as long as you have a good reason to do it.

5

Yeah, I can do prioritising ports. I would have thought this would confuse the network with a loop, though?

6

I don’t have a complete mental picture of your network but I think you’d only have a loop if you configured your PC as a bridge without STP.

There’s no other layer 3 routing occurring outside of pfsense right? You aren’t defining one network in 2 different places? If you have multiple ports on pfsense servicing the same subnet, those should be bridged.

7

Ah, of course. That does indeed make sense. Thanks for the knowledge!

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8

Wait… I think I’ve just had a realisation that I’m being stupid.

If I have pfSense going out to LAN on 1Gbps and Proxmox on another 1Gbps line, they’re not talking to each other directly and I’ll only get 2.5Gbps to pfSense itself - this is worthless.

What actually makes a lot more sense is if I can set the 1Gbps and the 2.5Gbps ports on Proxmox to act as a switch. Is this possible?

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9

Bridge = software switch (more or less)

10

Yeah, that’s what I thought. I just set it all up in pfSense and then realised my mistake as I looked at the interfaces panel.

I’ve just tried adding the second port to vmbr0 in Proxmox and it comes up with an error. How do you add multiple NICs to a Linux bridge in Proxmox?
Looks like my syntax is wrong:
bridge 'vmbr0' - unable to find bridge port 'enp2s0f0,enp5s0' (500)

1 Like
11

*Cough. I know what I’m doing…

I fixed it. It’s a space, not a comma. Seems to be working - now to test.

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