Learning pfSense any ideas?
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I'm looking to learn more in depth about the pfSense Router/Firewall software. An admin before me set one up & hadn't shown us anything on it. I can do basic stuff within the web interface but want to learn more about it so we don't have to rely on the other guy as he is an outsourced & not contracted "helper admin". Right now we are paying him if something goes wrong to mess with it & still not tell us anything about it. So any sites or lessons anyone knows of would be greatly appreciated. Also what are your thoughts on pfSense as a product? Pros & cons & is there anything better?
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@J1MM3RT My methodology was always to install it at home. That is how I learned everything. Basically I've been doing IT at home (to use @scottalanmiller's phrase) for years.
Since you can get in to the web interface, simply go through and get the basic info such as version and number of ethernet ports. Create a backup file.
Install the same version on another PC (or even better, on a VM) and then restore the backup file. Proceed to break things. If you can do it all on a VM, you can also install clean and attempt to set things up to match..
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@JaredBusch That is actually a good idea, up until recently the idea of setting up a test machine or VM wouldn't even pop up in my head, limited to no hardware & very limited resources for a VM. Also I like to break things
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@J1MM3RT said:
I'm looking to learn more in depth about the pfSense Router/Firewall software. An admin before me set one up & hadn't shown us anything on it. I can do basic stuff within the web interface but want to learn more about it so we don't have to rely on the other guy as he is an outsourced & not contracted "helper admin". Right now we are paying him if something goes wrong to mess with it & still not tell us anything about it. So any sites or lessons anyone knows of would be greatly appreciated. Also what are your thoughts on pfSense as a product? Pros & cons & is there anything better?
Point 1: Pay the consultant specifically to document the system. I know that I do not provide much documentation unless specifically paid for it because documentation takes a lot of time.
Point 2: pfSense is a great product. I quit using it only because I like the Ubiquiti EdgeMax gear better. But that takes nothing away from how good pfSense itself is. -
Perfect timing. I think that I mentioned pfSense specifically. This just went live this weekend...
http://www.smbitjournal.com/2014/05/doing-it-at-home-enterprise-networking/
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I mentioned the idea for the machine or VM to my superior and it looks like it is a go. Sometimes I need a slap in the back of my head when it comes to real IT thinking. We went from being apart of another department doing half IT/half pricing stuff, with their budget mixed in, the pricing stuff more important, & extremely underpowered hardware. We (Finally) split off in December of last year & I helped in the process of selecting and installing shiny new machines for our users, for our registers & new servers. Of course along the entire process I've had the help & plethora of info from you awesome people.
@scottalanmiller said:
Perfect timing. I think that I mentioned pfSense specifically. This just went live this weekend...
http://www.smbitjournal.com/2014/05/doing-it-at-home-enterprise-networking/
Thanks you, I'm checking it out right now.
