Book Image

Learn pfSense 2.4

By : David Zientara
Book Image

Learn pfSense 2.4

By: David Zientara

Overview of this book

As computer networks become ubiquitous, it has become increasingly important to both secure and optimize our networks. pfSense, an open-source router/firewall, provides an easy, cost-effective way of achieving this – and this book explains how to install and configure pfSense in such a way that even a networking beginner can successfully deploy and use pfSense. This book begins by covering networking fundamentals, deployment scenarios, and hardware sizing guidelines, as well as how to install pfSense. The book then covers configuration of basic services such as DHCP, DNS, and captive portal and VLAN configuration. Careful consideration is given to the core firewall functionality of pfSense, and how to set up firewall rules and traffic shaping. Finally, the book covers the basics of VPNs, multi-WAN setups, routing and bridging, and how to perform diagnostics and troubleshooting on a network.
Table of Contents (14 chapters)

Enabling a captive portal

To get started implementing a captive portal on your network, perform the following steps:

  1. Navigate to Services | Captive Portal. This page displays a table with all of the defined captive portal zones. There is a green + Add button down and to the right of the table; pressing this button allows you to add a zone.
  2. When you add a zone, you are initially directed to the Add Zone page. Here you are required to enter the Zone Name, which can only contain letters, digits, and underscores. You can also enter a brief (non-parsed) description in the Description field. Enter this information and press the Continue button.
  3. Now we will be directed to the Configuration page, where we are presented with a warning that contains the following information:
    • Make sure you enable the DHCP server on the captive portal interface
    • Make sure the maximum DHCP lease time is...