In fact, let’s start off our pros list with this fact: Looking at the feature list above, you can see that pfSense is a very impressive software. Snort (for Intrusion Detection and Prevention)īecause of all these supported features and packages, pfSense may be better classified as a Unified Threat Management (UTM) appliance.Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)Īlso, pfSense supports many add-on packages that can be installed with a single click including:.The base software supports a lot of features including: PfSense is an open source routing and firewall software that is based on the FreeBSD distribution. Discovering pfSense was my task for the next couple of days after that visit! I didn’t understand – how could an organization be using a computer as an edge device? I was given documentation from the contractor that built the network stating that pfSense was installed on this computer. I was taken to the server room and shown a “desktop computer” which they called the edge device.

They told me they had an “edge device” and I figured they meant a router of sorts. I was called into a client site to help fix a particular nagging problem on their network – some network users lose Internet access randomly without any seeming reason. Let me begin our discussion on pfSense with my personal experience about this product. At the simplest form of it, a perimeter security device provides protection for trusted devices (internal devices) against untrusted devices (external devices such as those on the Internet). PfSense and the Cisco ASA can basically be classed as perimeter security devices. We will take each product individually, looking at their pros and cons, and also discuss what scenario(s) they can be used and recommended. In this article, we will be comparing two security products – pfSense and the Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA), to help you in choosing the right firewall for your network.

Cisco 5505 asa graphical interface