Converting an old gaming PC into a PFSSL firewall device
Converting an old gaming PC into a PFSSL firewall device
UniFi offers wireless mesh capabilities. It functions smoothly in my setup. I use a dual-port NIC, directing WAN through one port and LAN out the other. This ensures a reliable Intel NIC for both WAN and LAN, eliminating the need to use the motherboard port. When you install it, the setup wizard will prompt you about the WAN port and configure the firewall accordingly.
I connected it and attempted a swap just in case the labels were mixed, because the names didn’t clearly distinguish them.
The wizard only had WAN connected. You need this setup so PFSENSE identifies the right port fully. If you followed these steps, you didn’t notice a DHCP IP address—does your provider assign IPs via DHCP? I’ve always used a DHCP modem, so if yours doesn’t support this, I can only advise you to research your ISP’s IP assignment method and configure PFSENSE accordingly.
I realized the issue after attempting to configure both devices at once today. The wifi router was set to AP mode, causing some problems that needed troubleshooting. It turned out to be the main reason it wasn’t working last night. I plan to try again using my old PC shortly to see if things resolve.
Avoid using WiFi when configuring PFSense. Connect directly through an Ethernet cable from the device’s LAN to your computer or laptop. Eliminate any possible obstacles or issues as much as possible.
You're experiencing issues where PFSense blocks many websites after you restored your network. It sounds like the problem might be related to how PFSense is configured or what services are running on your modem. Try restarting both PFSense and your modem together, ensuring they’re not interfering with each other. Also, check if any firewall rules or security groups are blocking access. If the issue persists, consider reviewing your network settings or consulting the PFSense documentation for troubleshooting steps.
PFSense operates simply as a firewall without built-in filtering or blocking features out of the box. It only blocks connections originating from outside the network. I think it would be best to review the setup together with the accompanying video and double-check everything is correct.