Why does my NG Firewall take so long to save network changes?

Any time a change is saved in the Config > Network area of NG Firewall, the networking daemon must be restarted. This can take a long time depending on the amount of configuration in that area: a configuration with a large number of rules & settings will take longer to save those changes than one which is lightly configured. The time can also depend on the hardware: older or less-powerful hardware platforms may take longer to apply the changes.

The delay in restarting the networking daemon can also affect boot times, leading to NG Firewall taking longer than expected to start up from a powered-off state or a reboot.

There may be an issue with DHCP leasing from an upstream device(s) affecting network restart times as well. NG Firewall's DHCP daemon has a 60-second timeout, during which NG Firewall cannot apply network changes. If NG Firewall has requested a DHCP lease from an upstream device which is not responding, the entire process of saving network changes is delayed. If you find that saving changes takes more than the expected 10-15 seconds, try disabling any interfaces that receive DHCP from an external source (like an ISP modem). Save your changes and note the difference in time: if it is much faster with those interfaces disabled, the issue stems from DHCP leasing issues with the upstream device.