NIC/Networking config help for pfSense

[dealbakerjones]

Hey everyone, I'm running Unraid 6.8.3 on a headless Dell PowerEdge R620. I'm trying to get pfSense running in a VM and I've hit a few snags:

 

My NIC situation:

 - 1x Intel I350 Gigabit, which has 2x RJ-45 connectors (one port is connected to my Verizon router, this is how I currently access the server)

 - 1x Intel 82599ES SFP+, which has two... empty slots??

 - 1x RJ-45 connector that (I think?) is part of the server itself, it's next to the VGA output for managing the server, labeled "iDRAC" (picture attached).

 

I mistakenly thought there were two additional RJ-45 ports on the Intel 82599ES, allowing me to (following SpaceInvaderOne's pfSense tutorial) disable them in Unraid's boot flash by PCIe ID so they could be used for the pfSense VM.

 

Questions:

1. Should I buy SFP+ jacks for the 82599ES NIC? How would I even know what to buy? I think this is the link to the 82599ES NIC. Is something like this (Amazon) compatible? Or maybe this (FS.com)? I have no devices that use fiber.

 

2. In the meantime, can I use the iDRAC plug to connect to & manage the server while I use the I350 NIC for pfSense? Since I'm accessing the server through one of the I350 ports and both ports share the same PCIe ID, I'm worried that disabling one would could prevent me from accessing the server. They are in different IOMMU groups.

 

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated! I tried to get all the required info/diagnostics from the sticky. If I'm missing something please let me know!

-DBJ

jeeves-diagnostics-20200914-2037.zip

Edited September 15, 2020 by dealbakerjones
formatting, clarity

[danioj]

My understanding is that IDRAC ports are similar to SuperMicro (and others) dedicated ports for server management (ie you cannot use them on your server as an available interface for your OS - in this case unRAID).

You “could” (I think) go down the route (if you have a managed switch) of using your spare RJ45 port as the port for PfSense (available to the VM as a bridge) and use VLANS for LAN and WAN. I won’t elaborate on that.

I think the best bet though is to use your Intel SFP+ card. I’m making assumptions that you’re not going 10G here and you just want to use your SFP+ ports as additional RJ45 ports for pfSense.

A quick search found this link appearing to relate to someone wanting similar SFP+ to RJ45 modules for your Intel card:

https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/intel-82599es-transceiver-compatability-sfp-to-rj45-1g.25729/

If you can get ones that work, then I imagine you can just pass that card through to the VM (assuming you server supports it) and use them for LAN/ WAN respectively.

Then off you go.


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[dealbakerjones]

Thanks for the link, I'll check those out -- hopefully they're compatible with my NIC.