IPFire supports various connection types to connect to the Internet. They all differ in the way of being set up.

Static

This is the most simple mode, where IPFire is connected to an Ethernet network and is assigned a static IP address in the same network. Most commonly used in data centers.

The Internet Service Provider (ISP) should provide the following information:

  • The IP address
  • the network mask
  • the gateway address

See Static for more information.

DHCP

In this mode the IPFire is connected to a network and is leasing an IP address over the DHCP protocol. This is most commonly used for Fibre and Cable connections or if IPFire is running behind another router.

Note - some ISPs will call this IPoE.

See DHCP for more information.

PPP Dialup (PPPoE, modem, ATM ...)

In order to connect to a DSL provider, IPFire needs credentials to connect.

See Dialup for more information.

Mobile Networks

With an appropriate wireless modem IPFire is able to connect to Mobile Networks (LTE/4G/UMTS/3G/2G).

FAQ

Can IPFire load-balance multiple Internet connections at the same time?

No, this is best done on layer 2 of the network and in conjunction with the ISP. Using multiple Internet connections at the same time is theoretically possible, but in practice creates a large number of new problems.

IPFire can however fall back to a backup connection in case the primary connection fails.

Providers

Some providers will need some extra settings or tweaks to function properly with IPFire. Here is a collection of those: