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pfSense / ESXi 5 / vMotion

D

DarkDiamond

n00b
Joined
Sep 21, 2011
Messages
32
I used to virtualize pfSense with a dedicated NIC for my WAN connection, but this had a disadvantage - if I needed to reboot the host, I temporarily lost my internet connection. Is there a way I can configure my network and/or ESXi to be able to vMotion the pfSense VM to another host and still have it serve up my internet connection without interruption?

I'm aware of the arguments against virtualizing pfSense. This is for a home lab. I don't have much of value on my servers.

Thanks :)
DarkDiamond
 
Yeah..don't dedicate a NIC. No reason to...just use VLANs assuming your switch does it.
 
Please forgive my lack of knowledge regarding VLANs and their uses/configurations within ESXi when I ask this question...

How would I set this up?

In my head, it sounds like I need to do the following steps:

1. Plug the cable modem from Comcast into my switch (Dell Powerconnect 2816).

2. Configure that port in the switch management software to tag it with a VLAN #.

Here's where my confusion gets crazy :D

3. Configure a vSwitch on my ESXi hosts, tagging it with the same VLAN that I've assigned in the switch management software.

4. Assign a virtual NIC to the pfSense VM which is attached to the newly created vSwitch / port group.

I'm more than a little confused on how this would work. If I don't have a dedicated NIC, how would this know where to find the cable modem to connect to it and request an IP address from Comcast? Or will it work just be sheer virtue of the cable modem acting as a DHCP server for the WAN connection on the pfSense box?

This sounds like it will be an interesting learning experience with more advanced networking concepts.

Thanks :)
Dark Diamond
 
Remember, a VLAN is like a separate physical network. So you can have one NIC with two VLANs on it going to your ESXi host. On the ESXi host you would have an "external network" port-group tagged with the VLAN your cable modem is on and an "internal network" for your house. The pfSense VM would have two NICs, one attached to the external network and one to the internal. The external network vnic is going to DHCP an IP from your cable modem and the only thing on that network will probably be the cable modem and that external pfSense vnic.

That's what I do with my Untangle system. I have four NICs in each ESXi box but none are dedicated to anything. I just use VLANs and the appropriate port-groups.

EDIT: Just make sure anything in the house that connects to the Dell switch is set for the internal VLAN.
 
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