Allow adding bridged interfaces on initial setup

[mvglasow]

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Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

In order to use bridges as network interfaces, I would like to see improved support for setting up OPNsense with bridged interfaces.

Use cases include a typical home router scenario, where the LAN has a mix of wired and wireless devices, and wifi AP functionality is provided by OPNsense itself. This would typically be accomplished by configuring a bridge as the LAN interface, with an Ethernet port and a wifi access point as members. Another use case is a machine with several network interfaces and multiple Ethernet ports on the LAN side, possibly eliminating the need for a separate switch.

(I know built-in wifi interfaces are discouraged for some use cases, but this setup also has some advantages over running a separate access point – this very much depends on the use case. Please don’t dismiss the issue on these grounds – get back in touch with me, we can discuss this in detail.)

Right now if you want a bridge as e.g. your LAN interface, setup is rather cumbersome (see https://docs.opnsense.org/manual/how-tos/lan_bridge.html): first configure a spare interface as LAN, then set up the bridge, add another interface as a member, assign the bridge to be the new LAN interface, plug the cable into the new LAN port. This could be easier.

Describe the solution you like

The initial setup (console-based, maybe also on the web GUI) could just present the user with a question for each interface, e.g. “Do you want to place the XYZ interface on a bridge?” Selecting No will set up interfaces as is the case right now. Selecting Yes will create a new bridge, place the selected port on it (as its sole member) and assign the bridge as the interface. The user could then add new members to the bridge after completing the initial setup.

For the Ethernet/wifi on LAN scenario: choose e.g. re0 to be the LAN interface, choose to place it on a bridge (which will create a new bridge0 with re0 as its only member). After completing the initial setup, you would just configure a wifi interface and add it to bridge0.

If the selected interface is already a member of a bridge, extra handling is needed. One could present the user with a choice (use the existing bridge with all its members or create a new bridge and move the interface from its current bridge to the newly created one).

Describe alternatives you considered

An alternative could be an option in Interface Assignment to convert any interface to a bridge. One would first set up interfaces without bridges (as is currently the case). The Interface Assignments page in the web UI would have an extra “Convert to bridge” button, available for any interface which is assigned to anything other than a bridge. Clicking this button will create a new bridge, place the currently assigned interface on it and change the assignment to use the new bridge rather than its member interface. Additional members would be added to the bridge in a separate step.

Additional context

See also my SuperUser question (and my answer, correct as of OPNsense 22.1.1) at https://superuser.com/questions/1705975/reconfigure-pfsense-to-use-wifi-eth-bridge-instead-of-internal-ethernet-interfac/1707207#1707207

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[ajtatum]

I wouldn't even know where to begin with this in terms of implementation/coding; however, I do think it would make the install a lot easier/smoother, especially if doing so in a virtual environment (eg: through Proxmox). For me, I had everything working fine through the GUI, but once I changed the LAN to be a part of a bridge, I instantly lost connectivity of the GUI and only had access via the console. I would say that this may be because OPNSense uses the LAN interface to access the GUI, but I can't say for certain.