Two switches and one OPNSense device.
Two switches and one OPNSense device.
Hey there, I'm looking for some expert advice on OPNSense setup. I'm just starting out with networking and not super familiar with advanced configurations. I have two switches—one 2.5Gbps and another 1Gbps. Right now I'm connecting them in a daisy-chain for my network, which isn't the best setup. I just bought a new OPNSense box designed for pfSense and wanted to try it out. I plan to use three of the 2.5Gbps ports: one for WAN, two for LAN. One LAN port will connect to my 2.5Gbps switch and the other to the 1Gbps switch. Can this work? Would you mind sharing a detailed guide on how to do this? Thanks!
Sure, I can help with that. We can go through the steps to separate the switches without daisy-chaining them. It’s a common issue, and I’ll walk you through it to avoid losing speed.
I've only configured this switch on pfSense, which is a bit unsettling because you need to adjust all the settings before applying them. Otherwise, your LAN could become misconfigured and you might lose internet access. After setup, any data moving between those ports is limited by the router's CPU, which can slow down your internet connection. With two separate LANs that can't communicate, it shouldn't be a problem since they only use the router to reach the internet. Daisy-chaining isn't an issue here—it's actually a standard method for connecting switches. On higher-end switches, dedicated uplink ports are used to prevent a single device from overwhelming the bandwidth between them.