pfSense VM on ESXi is down — network inaccessible, need help

Posted by kus222@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 11 comments

Hey folks,

I have pfSense running as a VM on my ESXi host. It's set up as the main gateway, DNS, and DHCP server for my network.

For some reason, pfSense suddenly stopped working. I can't access the pfSense UI, and since it's handling all core services, the entire network, including ESXi and other servers, is down.

I'm completely stuck.

Any advice on how I can troubleshoot or recover from this?

I do have access to iDRAC and the ESXi server via console if that helps.

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alpha417@reddit

open a ticket with the r/helpdesk or r/techsupport?

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lart2150@reddit

start up a dhcp server somewhere, anywhere and then unplug and replug the esxi network interface to hope it pulls dhcp sooner then later.

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WDWKamala@reddit

I’m all for virtualization but you can get redundant hardware running pfsense that will easily push a gig for under $1000.

By all means run a bunch of virtual firewalls behind that for segmentation, but the whole network having a dependency on a single VMware server is wild.

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I think you are on the wrong sub, better try /r/homelab and learn why running your core router as a VM is not a good idea (neither is your firewall). Simply access the console by accessing the ESXi management interface on the VLAN directly via a notebook or other client.

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z0d1aq@reddit

Why not open a pfsense vm console and check what the heck is going on?

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Crazy-Panic3948@reddit

This is why you segment networks...

On each host, or guess if you are lucky or know, run these commands

vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms

vim-cmd vmsvc/powergetstate vmid#

If you think you can reboot it, do this first:

vim-cmd vmsvc/power.reboot vmid#

otherwise:

vim-cmd vmsvc/power.off vmid#

vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on vmid#

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DapperAstronomer7632@reddit

Go to the console and check system status through the menu. And why are you posting pfSense questions in an Opnsense subreddit?

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FireTech88@reddit

Static IP a laptop and hit the esx web interface, you should be able to get to the pfsense vm console from there and see what’s happening, no dns or dhcp needed. I’d check storage first if a reboot doesn’t fix it.

If your esx host was dhcp (for shame if so) plug in a monitor and keyboard, you can change it to static from the minimal console interface then return to the first bit and static a laptop to get at the web ui.

Been here before, sucks and is frustrating but far from unrecoverable.

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coreycubed@reddit

reboot the pfSense VM?