The new open-source version of the pfSense firewall offers many of the features found in commercial firewalls and more. Each feature can be easily managed through a web interface, eliminating the need for command-line input.
State Table Overview
The State Table provides detailed information about active connections. By default, each rule is stateful, meaning it operates as a state firewall.
The new version of pfSense includes several options for precise control over the state table, including the ability to adjust its size. Typically, the state table’s size adapts to the amount of RAM available, but you can manually increase it if necessary. Each state consumes about 1 KB of RAM, which is crucial when sizing memory. The firewall offers various options for state management. For instance, the Synproxy state allows proxies to establish TCP connections to protect servers from spoofed TCP SYN floods.
Network Access Control
New in pfSense Firewall
The latest version of pfSense offers enhanced network security by closely monitoring access control. It also filters all incoming network traffic with ease.
The firewall manages traffic filtering through policies that activate either default-deny or default-allow criteria.
- Default-deny blocks all network access unless explicitly allowed, offering a higher level of security.
- Default-allow, on the other hand, permits all access except what has been explicitly prohibited, which may allow unknown threats to slip through.
Network Address Translation (NAT)
Another key feature of the new pfSense version is its bridging mode, which allows transparent operation at Layer 2. The firewall also supports Network Address Translation (NAT) and high availability, enabling you to install two identical firewalls on separate devices. This setup allows for seamless redundancy—if one firewall fails, the other automatically takes over, ensuring network continuity.
Load balancing is another powerful feature, distributing various operations across multiple servers. pfSense can also act as an URL filter, web provider, and antivirus solution.
Redundancy
Hardware failover is managed using the CARP protocol from OpenBSD, allowing multiple hardware firewalls to operate as a failover cluster. If an interface on the primary device fails, or the device goes offline, the secondary firewall takes over automatically. Devices also feature automatic synchronization, ensuring that the state table remains identical across all devices, so existing connections are not interrupted during a failover.
Additional Features of the New pfSense Firewall
pfSense supports three types of VPN connectivity:
- PPTP Server
- IPsec
- OpenVPN
OpenVPN is a powerful and flexible SSL VPN solution, compatible with a wide range of client operating systems. The PPTP Server is built into most client operating systems, including Windows. Finally, IPsec enables connectivity with all devices supporting this protocol, commonly used in site-to-site configurations. It’s a popular choice for commercial firewalls such as Juniper and Cisco, as well as other open-source firewalls like mOnOwall.
Solutions at Your Fingertips
Need expert advice on using the latest pfSense firewall? TNSolutions offers a team of IT professionals ready to assist you. Contact us today for comprehensive IT support.
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