How to troubleshoot Lost Traffic or Disappearing Packets on Netgate Router

Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team

1. Introduction

How to troubleshoot Lost Traffic or Disappearing Packets on Netgate Router

2. Resolution

If there are issues with traffic being lost, or packets that seem to disappear or never show up (or leave) an interface, try disabling Checksum Offloading as follows:

• Navigate to System > Advanced on the Networking tab
• Check Disable hardware checksum offload under the Network Interfaces header.
• Click Save.

Then try to reproduce the problem.

A reboot may be desired after applying this option, but it should not be necessary. 

This has historically been an issue with Realtek NICs and in some scenarios with Via Rhine NICs. Also, some specific Intel fxp chips, as well as virtualized/emulated NICs in some hypervisors, especially those that use VirtIO.

The problem may also manifest as a PPPoE connection that will establish a login and bring up the interface but will not pass traffic.