pfSense Firewall - Open Source Security

pfSense Firewall – Open Source Security

pfSense is an open source firewall/router computer software distribution based on FreeBSD. It is installed on a physical computer or a virtual machine to make a dedicated firewall/router for a network.

pfSense^® software includes the same features as most expensive commercial firewall solutions. In some cases, pfSense includes additional features that are not available in commercial closed source solutions. In all cases, pfSense provides better value for your money. Let us show you what pfSense can do, and get you started on the path to deploying pfSense software in your environment.

Contents

1 Overview
2 Deployment Selection
3 Downloads
4 Key Terms:

Overview

The pfSense project is a free network firewall distribution, based on the FreeBSD operating system with a custom kernel and including third party free software packages for additional functionality. pfSense software, with the help of the package system, is able to provide the same functionality or more of common commercial firewalls, without any of the artificial limitations. It has successfully replaced every big name commercial firewall you can imagine in numerous installations around the world, including Check Point, Cisco PIX, Cisco ASA, Juniper, Sonicwall, Netgear, Watchguard, Astaro, and more.

pfSense software includes a web interface for the configuration of all included components. There is no need for any UNIX knowledge, no need to use the command line for anything, and no need to ever manually edit any rule sets. Users familiar with commercial firewalls catch on to the web interface quickly, though there can be a learning curve for users not familiar with commercial-grade firewalls.

Deployment Selection

Hardware – Unlike most common commercial firewalls offerings, the pfSense project is just the software portion of the firewall. This means you get to tailor the hardware you choose to meet your environment’s specific needs. With hardware you have the option of purchasing a Security Gateway Appliance directly from Netgate®, from one of the many Netgate Partners, or building your own solution using our hardware selection guide.
Cloud – Netgate’s pfSense software is available in the Azure and AWS Marketplaces, as well as their GovClouds (US) – isolated regions designed to allow hosting of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) by US government agencies, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations. Organizations around the world rely on pfSense software to provide dependable, full-featured firewall protection in the cloud. There are no hidden fees for features and functions, no arbitrary licensing fees, no artificial user limitations, just unparalleled ROI and TCO.
Installation – The initial pfSense configuration, and installing the pfSense software to your hard drive. Installation is quick and painless making it easy to setup your own personal demo in a virtual environment.
Configuration – How you configure the pfSense software is largely dependant on the needs you’re trying to meet. There are tutorials in our documentation for various configuration scenarios.

If you need professional assistance configuring your deployment, you can use our commercial support to help get you up and running.