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)

Configuring multiple WANs

Gateway load balancing requires that you set up at least one gateway group, which consists of two or more WAN interfaces. This involves several steps:

  1. Adding WAN interfaces and configuring them
  2. Configuring DNS servers for each of the newly-created WAN interfaces
  3. Forming gateway groups and adding the new interfaces to them
  4. Adding firewall rules for each new gateway group

Adding and configuring additional WAN interfaces is not difficult. When you first set up pfSense, the WAN interface is automatically created and configured in the setup wizard. Configuring additional WAN interfaces is not that much different. It involves the following steps:

  1. Navigate to Interfaces | (assign), and on the Interface Assignment tabs, there will be a tab showing all the existing interface assignments—at a minimum, the WAN and LAN interfaces will be listed here.
  2. Select...