Netgate pfSense Reviews

Primary we use it for bandwidth limiting and load balancing our ISPs. And Pfsense excels doing that. 

We had two ISPs, and still our Internet connection was awful. By installing pfSense and configuring load balancing and limiting bandwidth, we now have a reliable and stable connection.

Routing, load balancing, Traffic Limiter and queues. Since this company relies on an Internet connection, having these features is a must.

Reporting and real-time monitoring, since I'm used to Watchguard's reporting features, it would be nice to have an embedded solution for reporting. 

Close to none. One time, while upgrading, the system crashed and had to install from scratch. After some research, it was due to an unsupported package that I had installed which the new version didn't like. I just installed and restored my configuration and that was it. No biggy.

Haven't tested this part since the company hasn't grown much.

Haven't used the official support channels. The community forum is awesome when you're looking for quick answers.

Actually, PfSense replaced a Watchguard firewall, mostly due to costs. But I haven't missed it since.

Very straightforward. For a small company with few configuration options it works almost out-of-the-box. The firewall comes with basic outgoing and incoming rules, and you take it from there.

The implementation was made in-house. 

If you need to buy hardware onto which to install PfSense, go with their boxes on their website, they are great. If you already have the hardware, just download and install, it works great either way.

I did, I evaluated Untangle, IPCop and MikroTik.

Just go with it, can't go wrong.

Flexibility is the most valuable feature for us.

There's no expensive licensing costs, which helps us save money.

Also, its capacity and functionalities are great for our needs.

Whenever a new version rolls out, there are hidden bugs. That's why we normally run a version behind for a little while before rolling into the current build.

We've had no issues with deployment.

We've had no issues with stability.

The GUI is an all in one solution that includes features such as DHCP, VPN, Squid, Firewall, etc.

I am using this product as a firewall for site-to-site connectivity and also, the Dynamic DNS (DynDNS).

As per my understanding VPN, Captive Portal user-level and MAC-level filtering need to be improved.

I have used this solution for the last one and a half years.

There were no stability issues.

There were no scalability issues.

I am using the community version so there is no need for any support.

Earlier, I was using FortiGate. Due to budget issues we moved to pfSense.

The setup is simple, if you have some Linux and firewall administration expertise.

We evaluated FortiGate, Cisco ASA and Palo Alto.

I would recommend joining the community and ask questions.

You should also read the installation and configuration documentation on the website.

• Fail-over of between multiple ISPs
• Firewall
• Graphs
• Real time interface monitoring
• The web UI gives you an overview of everything you want to see
• For an open-source solution it has performed fantastically
• OSPF
• It contains loads of optional packages e.g Snort (IDS), asterix (PBX), network monitors etc.

We have pfSense across three sites where it manages the VPN and firewalls between them. Also, it has reduced costs drastically and has outperformed its expectations.

The load balancing can be improved as it uses tier levels to balance. For it to function most effectively, you often need to have the same bandwidth on the ISPs.

We've used it for six years.

There were no issues with the deployment.

There were stability issues with certain versions, but fixes were released and the right hardware helped.

We do have issues as the right hardware needs to be deployed in order to expand correctly in certain areas.

We use a vendor team, Shrike Technologies who have been excellent, and once a while I consulted the pfSense cookbook.

The online forum has lots of answers.

We previously used Monowall and switched because we needed more functionality.

We used a vendor team, Shrike Technologies whose experience was very high.

Pricing is fantastic, we have gold subscription which covers on-line backup of device configurations, premium support, webinars and lots more.

Proper planning is necessary in order to select the right hardware and configuration required (rules, services etc.).

- Firewall/router

- OpenVPN server

- DHCP server

- High availability cluster

- It's for FREE!

Before I started working for my present company, they used to use a small (for home use :) ) Linksys router. The main problem of Linksys was the limitation of firewall rules of up to 50 entries. I suggested using a main firewall/router because it has professional functions, has no limitation, and it's for free.

So far, from my point of view everything is working perfect!

I started working with pfSense in 2009.

Deployment is very easy and quite intuitive. Installation is very simple.

No, I didn't have any issues. Every issue I had with pfSense was with hardware (not caused by pfSense).

Never.

I never use customer service.

I never use technical support.

Before pfSense I had in the company an old Cisco router, but it had problems with stability so I was looking for an alternative and I found pfSense.

If you have some knowledge about router and firewall, initial setup won't be a problem for you. Ask google about it and you will find a lot of documentation, instructions and video.

I implemented pfSense by myself, so I can't rate the vendor team level of expertise.

System is totally free. I spent two days to implement it.
As hardware, I used old workstations which were prepared to scrap.
So ROI = use some cheap hardware with 2 NICs and you will get a professional firewall/router.

It's absolutly free, no pricing and no licensing.

I was checking some other alternatives (right now I don't remember which) but pfSense had the best documentation, so the choice was simple.

For professional use, I advise using two computers with three NICs

Why 2 computers???
To create a HA cluster.

You will need 3 WAN IP addresses, 3 LAN IP addresses, and a quite simple NIC configuration:

1st NIC use to WAN connection (CARP)

2nd NIC use to heartbeat and sync between two pfSense

3rd NIC use to LAN connection (CARP)

For more details ask Google :)

• Load balancing multi-WAN (High latency)
• Queues with CBQ algorithm
• Traffic shaper (limiter)
• Aliases for grouping anything 
• VPN (OpenVPN)
• DHCP server (with ARP reservation)
• DNS forwarder
• Firewall 
• Graphs for monitoring
• NAT

Before using pfSense:

• I always had problems with internet connection for users
• I had no idea what users were downloading and, therefore, what was killing the internet connection
• I did not have not statistics on the quality and stability of the internet
• To get a VPN I had use a pay software that offered lower performance than I have now

I always need to open different graphs on different windows of the web browser to have an overview,  Therefore, it would be good, if it is possible, to have a customizable, large dashboard.  At the moment though, the others options are good because I am a beginner with the pfSense.

I've used it for six months.

No issues encountered.

There was an issue with the Layer 7 filters on an old PC.

No issues encountered.

No previous solution was used.

It's very straightforward, even for beginners.  There is documentation and different tutorials and videos available in different languages.

I implemented it myself.

The only cost to set up is the hardware for a standard PC and any ethernet card extensions.

No, as I asked a friend they told me to get pfSense without doing other research.

Don't install pfSense on a machine with only the minimal recommended hardware configuration, but on a better machine.

pfSense is used as our firewall and router.

The performance is good.

It is easy to use.

I have been working with this solution for so long now that it has become easy. It is much simpler than other solutions such as Fortinet.

I expect a better interface with more log analysis because I create my own interface.

I have been using pfSense for a long time. Since the beginning.

I have the latest version.

pfSense is a stable product.

pfSense is a scalable solution.

I have not contacted technical support.

Previously, I worked with Fortinet FortiGate, Linux, and OPNsense.

I have tested all that are available on the market and pfSense is more.

The initial setup is easy. 

The first installation took an hour to complete, but the configuration is another part. It's about the complexity of my network because I have provided services from a firm and every company has a different setup.

I was able to complete the installation myself.

I am not aware of the licensing costs.

I would recommend pfSense to others who are interested in using it.

I would rate pfSense an eight out of ten.

My primary use case is for controlling incoming traffic from various countries and blocking IP addresses if necessary. I'm the company director and a user of pfSense.

A key feature is being able to block IP addresses. This is a good product and I have no issues with it.

I'd like to see some instructional videos as opposed to documentation. It would be helpful for beginners and start-up companies. 

I've been using this solution for a couple of months. 

This solution is stable.

It's worth giving this product a shot and testing it out because it's free and community based.

I would rate the community version a 10 out of 10.