PfSense explained

pfSense
Developer:Rubicon Communications, LLC (Netgate)
Family:FreeBSD
Working State:Current
Source Model:Closed source and open source
License:Apache License 2.0[1] (Applies to pfSense CE)
Screenshot Alt:Dashboard of pfSense 2.7.0-DEVELOPMENT
Version Of:FreeBSD
First Release Date:Oct 2006
Ui:Web
Supported Platforms:32-bit (discontinued in 2.4.x); 64-bit Intel / AMD

pfSense is a firewall/router computer software distribution based on FreeBSD. The open source pfSense Community Edition (CE) and pfSense Plus is installed on a physical computer or a virtual machine to make a dedicated firewall/router for a network.[2] It can be configured and upgraded through a web-based interface, and requires no knowledge of the underlying FreeBSD system to manage.[3] [4]

Overview

The pfSense project began in 2004 as a fork of the m0n0wall project by Chris Buechler and Scott Ullrich. Its first release was in October 2006.[5] The name derives from the fact that the software uses the packet-filtering tool, PF.[6]

Notable functions of pfSense include traffic shaping, VPNs using IPsec or PPTP, captive portal, stateful firewall, network address translation, 802.1q support for VLANs, and dynamic DNS.[7] pfSense can be installed on hardware with an x86-64 processor architecture. It can also be installed on embedded hardware using Compact Flash or SD cards, or as a virtual machine.[8]

OPNsense

In January 2015, the OPNsense project was started by forking the version of pfSense at that time.[9]

In November 2017, a World Intellectual Property Organization panel found Netgate, the copyright holder of pfSense, utilized OPNsense' trademarks in bad faith to discredit OPNsense, and obligated Netgate to transfer ownership of a domain name to Deciso.[10]

WireGuard protocol support

In February 2021, pfSense CE 2.5.0 and pfSense Plus 21.02 added support for a kernel WireGuard implementation. Support for WireGuard was temporarily removed in March 2021 after implementation issues were discovered by WireGuard founder Jason Donenfeld.[11] [12] [13] The July 2021 release of pfSense CE 2.5.2 version re-included WireGuard.[14]

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: pfSense adopts Apache 2.0 License. Serve The Home (Loyolan Ventures, LLC). 19 June 2016.
  2. Web site: Ot . Anina . 6 Reasons Why You Should Be Using pfsense Firewall . MUO . 2021-02-03.
  3. Web site: You should be running a pfSense firewall. 22 December 2014. 27 July 2015. InfoWorld.
  4. Configure a professional firewall using pfSense. Sloan. Miller. Free Software Magazine. 22. 26 June 2008. 27 September 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20111003125833/http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/articles/configure_professional_firewall_using_pfsense. 3 October 2011. dead.
  5. News: Fields. Robert. Happy 10th Anniversary to pfSense Open Source Software. Netgate Blog. 28 October 2016. en.
  6. Web site: [//freesoftwaremagazine.com/articles/interview_with_jeff_starkweather_chris_buechler_and_scott_ullrich/ Interview with Jeff Starkweather, Chris Buechler and Scott Ullrich]. Tony. Mobily. 14 August 2007. Free Software Magazine. 5 May 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20150912002748/http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/articles/interview_with_jeff_starkweather_chris_buechler_and_scott_ullrich. 12 September 2015. dead.
  7. Web site: pfSense® CE functions .
  8. Web site: How to Install pfSense Firewall on Ubuntu and CentOS? . Geekflare . 2020-02-06.
  9. OPNsense: the "open" firewall for your datacenter . 2018-11-21 . Fischer . Werner . en . 2024-10-11 . media.ccc.de.
  10. Web site: WIPO Domain Name Decision: D2017-1828. WIPO. November 12, 2017.
  11. Web site: Salter. Jim. 2021-03-15. In-kernel WireGuard is on its way to FreeBSD and the pfSense router. 2021-03-20. Ars Technica. en-us.
  12. Web site: Releases — 21.02/21.02-p1/2.5.0 New Features and Changes. 2021-03-20. docs.netgate.com.
  13. Web site: Kumar. Rohit. 2021-03-19. pfSense and FreeBSD Pull Back on Kernel WireGuard Support. 2021-03-20. ServeTheHome. en-US.
  14. Web site: pfSense CE 2.5.2-RELEASE Now Available . www.netgate.com . en-us.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "PfSense".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.