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Do what you need and more!
What do you like best about the product?
Can tune and set pretty much anything related to networking. Another exciting aspect is the ability to download and install plugins, which add extra functionality to an already very functional device.
What do you dislike about the product?
On whatever section of the GUI you are in, there are many possible settings, but leaving them with their default values will suffice most of the time. I wonder if pfSense should have a quick settings view with only the most used options to make it easier for those who do not need all these extra settings.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
I got a pfSense to replace the router provided by my ISP. I got much more than a simple hardware upgrade. I'm studying about the pfSense capabilities and I'm getting very pleased with all the features it has and now I'm slowly implement in my network those features I deem useful to me.
Open source is the way to go if you have a little patience
What do you like best about the product?
The best thing about pfSense is its web UI, hands down. Nothing comes close. Also great: FreeBSD o/s, and open source nature. Proprietary vendors still have not caught up on GUI or price.
What do you dislike about the product?
It's not quite as reliable as some of the high-end vendors. Cisco IOS is basically bulletproof. I've had bad experiences with Netgate hardware, too. But you can't compare the value-for-money.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
all-in-one VPN, edge routing, general network appliance (DNS, DHCP). Eliminates the need to run dedicated VMs or machines for these services. It's made things more streamlined in terms of administration.
Powerful and user friendly
What do you like best about the product?
I value being able to run sophisticated software in an easy to use interface. It's constantly being developed and the support is top notch in the rare event that I need to use it.
What do you dislike about the product?
Debugging the firewall policies can be difficult as there is no great real time tool to do so. Finding the offending rule is a especially a challenge with the dynamic block lists.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Securing our office's internet access. We block users from being able to go to questionable destinations, which mitigate the risk of downloading malware and participating in bot nets
LAN/WAN Manager
What do you like best about the product?
Ease of use, price, availability, and features.
What do you dislike about the product?
Nothing I dislike, but if you need something...maybe a more modern GUI
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
The main problem is hardware availability and with pfSense they have equipment in stock
An exceptional option for home use/small business
What do you like best about the product?
pfSense is highly customizable and can be configured to meet a diverse set of needs.
What do you dislike about the product?
Sometimes the documentation or tool tips in different parts of the GUI is not the clearest.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
pfSense having built-in support for dynamic DNS with a variety of providers and support for Let's Encrypt has simplified a lot of my management for my home network.
Reliable and good set of tools
What do you like best about the product?
I have used pfSense on 3 installations for over 5 years. It installs easy, basic setup is easy, so as the daily operation.
When I selected it I evaluated using plain Linux tools on Ubuntu server and Zentyal. pfSense gave me the functionality and ease of use I needed.
I also find it reliable. After loading an updated driver few years back, which caused me some headache, I had no issues with reliability. I very rarely reboot it, usually only in case of some maintenance. As of today, it has been running 79 days since the last reboot.
When I selected it I evaluated using plain Linux tools on Ubuntu server and Zentyal. pfSense gave me the functionality and ease of use I needed.
I also find it reliable. After loading an updated driver few years back, which caused me some headache, I had no issues with reliability. I very rarely reboot it, usually only in case of some maintenance. As of today, it has been running 79 days since the last reboot.
What do you dislike about the product?
Some functionality are not so easy to figure out how to configure for the first time, or not so easy to find in the menus. This applies e.g. to a bit more complicated routing.
Over the years I had an issue that when load towards the internet was constantly high (well, relatively high - I have 100/100 Mbit/s connection), than occasionally it would freeze. After some googling I found the solution, it needed an updated NIC driver, the one it came with (allegedly the one built into BSD) was having a bug.
Over the years I had an issue that when load towards the internet was constantly high (well, relatively high - I have 100/100 Mbit/s connection), than occasionally it would freeze. After some googling I found the solution, it needed an updated NIC driver, the one it came with (allegedly the one built into BSD) was having a bug.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Home office internet router
OpenVPN based remote access
Site-to-Site VPN tunnel
Implementing IP plan, by allocating DHCP addresses in a friendly UI
Interface statistics
OpenVPN based remote access
Site-to-Site VPN tunnel
Implementing IP plan, by allocating DHCP addresses in a friendly UI
Interface statistics
Upgrading my home network for Gigabit
What do you like best about the product?
The flexibility around VLANS and allowing me to separate my IOT devices, Security Cameras, Docker Containers, Servers and End User Devices.
I had come from other solutions, including more expensive ones and PFSense was the first that really clicked for me.
I had come from other solutions, including more expensive ones and PFSense was the first that really clicked for me.
What do you dislike about the product?
I think the logging mechanisms are pretty powerful, but maybe some of the flash & wow of other systems would be nice. It's hard to complain though. Every problem I have encountered has been solved by the community or me skilling up.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
I wanted to be sure that IOT devices could not be used to compromise other parts of my network. I needed to ensure uptime compared to my previous environment (lots of patches) and I also needed a system that could do OpenVPN faster than my standalone router.
PfSence fun
What do you like best about the product?
FreeBSD based and open source and GUI control panel
What do you dislike about the product?
missed some documentation regarding VPN configuration
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Firewall and IDS/IPS
Runs on (almost) everything.
What do you like best about the product?
Solid and performant firewall
Extremely configurable
Installed on VM, generic X86 desktop, ebay firewall appliance (Watchguard XTM)
Extremely configurable
Installed on VM, generic X86 desktop, ebay firewall appliance (Watchguard XTM)
What do you dislike about the product?
Menu tree could be a bit better organized
Logs could be better accessible and searchable (e.g. "Want to know why IP 1.2.3.4 isn't getting through")
Logs could be better accessible and searchable (e.g. "Want to know why IP 1.2.3.4 isn't getting through")
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Much, much better than a over-the-counter "WiFi Router". Open-Source, with many available plugins meaning endless customizations
Easy to use and quite effective if tuned the right way.
What do you like best about the product?
Firewall Rule creation
OpenVPN setup
Squip Proxy Filters and Blacklist addition.
Traffic Graphs
OpenVPN setup
Squip Proxy Filters and Blacklist addition.
Traffic Graphs
What do you dislike about the product?
Blocklists are not always up to date; I currently do manual updates to an alias list for suspect Bruteforce attempting IPs.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
LAN Filters - can limit bandwidth allocation for clients.
IP Blocklist - specifying what IP to block or unblock both on LAN and WAN based on Rules created.
Easy bandwidth monitoring.
Easy client activity monitoring.
Simple daily reports on usage.
Easy setup of OpenVPN and very effective.
IP Blocklist - specifying what IP to block or unblock both on LAN and WAN based on Rules created.
Easy bandwidth monitoring.
Easy client activity monitoring.
Simple daily reports on usage.
Easy setup of OpenVPN and very effective.
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