Mastering pfSense : master the art of managing, securing, and monitoring your network using the powerful pfSense 2.3

Key Features* You can always do more to secure your software – so extend and customize your pfSense firewall * Build a high availability security system that's fault tolerant – and capable of blocking any threats * Put the principles of better security into practice – unlock a more stable and reliable firewall Book DescriptionpfSense has the same reliability and stability as even the most popular commercial firewall offerings on the market – but, like the very best open-source software, it doesn't limit you. You're in control – you can exploit and customize pfSense around your security needs. If you're familiar with pfSense you probably knew that already. This book builds on any knowledge you may already have, and provides you with a clear route to expand your skills and pfSense's capabilities. You'll learn how to customize and configure pfSense to construct a firewall that can protect you from any potential security threats. Find out how to set up a VPN, and build a high-availability system that provides redundancy and fault tolerance – essential when security and software performance are so interdependent. With further guidance on how to use a diverse range of third-party packages – all of which will help you unlock more from pfSense, this book covers everything you need - and more – to get a high-quality, reliable firewall up and running for a fraction of the cost. What you will learn* Configure pfSense services such as DHCP, Dynamic DNS, captive portal, DNS, NTP and SNMP * Set up a managed switch to work with VLANs * Use pfSense to allow, block and deny traffic * Make use of the traffic shaper to lower and raise the priority of certain types of traffic * Set up and connect to a VPN tunnel with pfSense * Incorporate redundancy and high availability by utilizing load balancing and the Common Address Redundancy Protocol (CARP) * Explore diagnostic tools in pfSense to solve network problems About the Author**David Zientara** is a software engineer and IT professional living in northern New Jersey. He has 20 years of experience in IT and has been an enthusiastic supporter of the free and open source software (FOSS) community throughout his career, beginning with his first foray into the open source world with Slackware Linux in 1995. In the mid-1990s, David became lead software engineer for Oxberry LLC, a digital imaging company headquartered in New Jersey. In this capacity, he played a major role in developing a new software package for the company's film scanners for Windows while also helping maintain Oxberry's legacy software, which had been developed for the SGI IRIX platform. He continued in this role for many years and continues to play a part in software development for Oxberry's corporate successor. In the mid-2000s, David took an interest in computer networking, an interest that led him to learn about m0n0wall and, eventually, pfSense, a fork of the m0n0wall project. His interest in pfSense prompted him to create a pfSense website, http://pfsensesetup.com/, in June 2013. Table of Contents1. pfSense Essentials 2. Advanced pfSense Configuration 3. Working with VLANs 4. pfSense as a Firewall 5. Traffic Shaping 6. Virtual Private Networks 7. Redundancy and High Availability 8. Routing and Bridging 9. Extending pfSense with Packages 10. Troubleshooting pfSense

Master the art of managing, securing, and monitoring your network using the powerful pfSense 2.3

About This Book

• You can always do more to secure your software – so extend and customize your pfSense firewall
• Build a high availability security system that's fault tolerant – and capable of blocking any threats
• Put the principles of better security into practice – unlock a more stable and reliable firewall

Who This Book Is For

SysAdmins and security pros – get more from the world's leading firewall with this book. You can always do more to secure your software, so start here.

What You Will Learn

• Configure pfSense services such as DHCP, Dynamic DNS, captive portal, DNS, NTP and SNMP
• Set up a managed switch to work with VLANs
• Use pfSense to allow, block and deny traffic
• Make use of the traffic shaper to lower and raise the priority of certain types of traffic
• Set up and connect to a VPN tunnel with pfSense
• Incorporate redundancy and high availability by utilizing load balancing and the Common Address Redundancy Protocol (CARP)
• Explore diagnostic tools in pfSense to solve network problems

In Detail

pfSense has the same reliability and stability as even the most popular commercial firewall offerings on the market – but, like the very best open-source software, it doesn't limit you. You're in control – you can exploit and customize pfSense around your security needs.

If you're familiar with pfSense you probably knew that already. This book builds on any knowledge you may already have, and provides you with a clear route to expand your skills and pfSense's capabilities. You'll learn how to customize and configure pfSense to construct a firewall that can protect you from any potential security threats. Find out how to set up a VPN, and build a high-availability system that provides redundancy and fault tolerance – essential when security and software performance are so interdependent.

With further guidance on how to use a diverse range of third-party packages – all of which will help you unlock more from pfSense, this book covers everything you need - and more – to get a high-quality, reliable firewall up and running for a fraction of the cost.

Style and approach

Practical and actionable, tackle some advanced functionalities of pfSense with minimum fuss. We know you don't just want an instruction manual – you want to put the principles of better security into practice. That's exactly why we produced this book.

Master the art of managing, securing, and monitoring your network using the powerful pfSense 2.3 About This Book - You can always do more to secure your software - so extend and customize your pfSense firewall - Build a high availability security system that's fault tolerant - and capable of blocking any threats - Put the principles of better security into practice - unlock a more stable and reliable firewall Who This Book Is For SysAdmins and security pros - get more from the world's leading firewall with this book. You can always do more to secure your software, so start here. What You Will Learn - Configure pfSense services such as DHCP, Dynamic DNS, captive portal, DNS, NTP and SNMP - Set up a managed switch to work with VLANs - Use pfSense to allow, block and deny traffic - Make use of the traffic shaper to lower and raise the priority of certain types of traffic - Set up and connect to a VPN tunnel with pfSense - Incorporate redundancy and high availability by utilizing load balancing and the Common Address Redundancy Protocol (CARP) - Explore diagnostic tools in pfSense to solve network problems In Detail pfSense has the same reliability and stability as even the most popular commercial firewall offerings on the market - but, like the very best open-source software, it doesn't limit you. You're in control - you can exploit and customize pfSense around your security needs. If you're familiar with pfSense you probably knew that already. This book builds on any knowledge you may already have, and provides you with a clear route to expand your skills and pfSense's capabilities. You'll learn how to customize and configure pfSense to construct a firewall that can protect you from any potential security threats. Find out how to set up a VPN, and build a high-availability system that provides redundancy and fault tolerance - essential when security and software performance are so interdependent. With further guidance on how to use a diverse range of third-party packages - all of which will help you unlock more from pfSense, this book covers everything you need - and more - to get a high-quality, reliable firewall up and running for a fraction of the cost. Style and approach Practical and actionable, tackle some advanced functionalities of pfSense with minimum fuss. We know you don't just want an instruction manual - you want to put the principles of better security into practice. That's exactly why we produced this book. About This BookYou can always do more to secure your software – so extend and customize your pfSense firewallBuild a high availability security system that's fault tolerant – and capable of blocking any threatsPut the principles of better security into practice – unlock a more stable and reliable firewallWho This Book Is ForIf you are a network administrator or a techie who is securing your organization, home or small office using pfSense and are now eager to be a pfSense master, then this book is perfect for you. Basic knowledge of network security is required. We assume that the user has an intermediate knowledge of pfSense.What You Will LearnConfigure pfSense services such as DHCP, Dynamic DNS, captive portal, DNS, NTP and SNMPSet up a managed switch to work with VLANsUse pfSense to allow, block and deny trafficMake use of the traffic shaper to lower and raise the priority of certain types of trafficSet up and connect to a VPN tunnel with pfSenseIncorporate redundancy and high availability by utilizing load balancing and the Common Address Redundancy Protocol (CARP)Explore diagnostic tools in pfSense to solve network problemsIn DetailMastering pfSense is aimed to show the readers how to customize and use advanced installation and configuration for their pfSense system. The book will unleash the firewall functionality of pfSense so that they can transform their pfSense system into an enterprise-level firewall. Using pfSense, the readers will learn how to set up set up a Virtual Private Network (VPN) and incorporate redundancy and high-availability into their network. Later, the readers will explore and make use of third-party packages to extend their pfSense system.With the knowledge provided, the readers will go from being a pfSense user to being able to set up a pfSense system that will provide the functionality of a professional-grade firewall/router at a fraction of the cost.