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)

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting traffic shaping issues can prove difficult. First, there is the chance that we have made an error in configuring our traffic shaping rules. Second, even if our traffic shaping rules are configured exactly right, they may not have the intended effect. In such cases, it often behooves us to return to the established methodology for troubleshooting IT problems: diagnosing the problem, forming a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, implementing a solution, verifying system functionality, and documenting the problem and solution. This methodology will be covered in greater depth in Chapter 11, Diagnostics and Troubleshooting. There are some common issues, however, that crop up with traffic shaping, and we will cover them here.

Sometimes, we may find it difficult to keep P2P traffic in the P2P queue; this is a direct consequence of pfSense relying on ports...