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)

Routing and bridging fundamentals

This chapter deals with both bridging (joining network segments together) and routing (sending data from one network to another). Bridging is the simpler of the two concepts, so we will cover it first.

Bridging fundamentals

Network bridging occurs at the Data link layer (Layer 2) of the OSI model and the Link layer of the Network model. A simple bridge is simple to a repeater, which extends a network segment beyond the length that would normally be allowed by amplifying the signal. One of the differences is that the two network segments connected by a bridge may use different forms of media (with repeaters, the media must be the same, so you won't see a 100-Base-T segment and a 1000 Base...