pfSense is an opensource Firewall based on FreeBSD that can be easily installed on bare-metal or as virtual machine.

When I initially started my home lab I only had one network that all my LAN and WLAN devices used. As I learned more about networking and security concepts I was able to implement network segmentation using pfSense installed on a Dell Optiplex.

My main goal was to get hands on experience with a firewall technology. The easiest and cheapest way is to utilize opensource software.

My tinkering on a VM encouraged me to implement a home firewall and I have had successfully implemented a safe home network using pfSense over the past 6 years.

You can download the latest iso here: https://www.pfsense.org/download/

In the past registration was not needed, now netgate requires registration in order to download the free community edition of pfSense.

Here are some perks that PfSense can offer:

• VPN
• Captive portal
• UPnP
• SNMP
• Customerizable Dashboard
• Package Manager
• haproxy
• squidGuard
• Zeek
• Suricata

pfSense is a fun way to get hands on experience with managing a firewall, setting firewall rules, analyzing logs(firewall logs, zeek and suricata), and getting a better understanding of firewall technology and use cases.

Please see my pfSense installation guide to get started!