// Engineering Log
pfSense: a legend proven over decades
Published on 2025-11-03
// Fast route
This article belongs to the topic Networking and routing.
pfSense — a tank in the world of firewalls.
Is updated less often, but runs for years without surprises.
🏢 Who pfSense is for
- Corporation with 100+ users
- Needs official support
- Has old but reliable hardware
- Value stability
📚 pfSense Features
- Multi-WAN and automatic failover
- Traffic Shaping — bandwidth management
- Captive Portal — guest authentication
- OpenVPN and IPsec — encrypted tunnels
⚙️ Installation
- ISO → USB
- Install → configure WAN/LAN
- In about 10 minutes — a ready firewall
Example HAProxy config:
<HAProxy>
<frontend name="web">
<bind>0.0.0.0:80</bind>
<backend>web_servers</backend>
</frontend>
</HAProxy>
🔥 Top 5 packages
| Package | What it does |
|---|---|
| Snort | IDS/IPS traffic analysis |
| pfBlockerNG | GeoIP + AdBlock |
| Suricata | DPI and monitoring |
| OpenVPN Client Export | Generates .ovpn files |
| Telegraf | Metrics to Grafana |
🧠 Best hardware
| Model | Price | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Netgate 6100 | $800 | Official support |
| Qotom Mini PC | $200 | Affordable and stable |
🎯 Conclusion
pfSense is the choice for those who value reliability over novelty.
If your infrastructure “lives in production” — choose a tank, not a sports car.
// Similar task
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This article belongs to one of the main working topics. You can keep reading on the topic, go to the homepage to understand what I do, or open the service pages directly.
Article topic
Networking and routing
MikroTik, VPN, routing, DNS, BGP, connectivity, and access troubleshooting.
Typical tasks behind this topic
- Set up VPN and secure access to office or cloud
- Fix routing, DNS, or unstable connectivity
- Configure MikroTik, firewall, and external links
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