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| pfSense | |
|---|---|
| Version of theFreeBSD operating system | |
 | |
 The main dashboard of pfSense 2.7.0-DEVELOPMENT | |
| Developer | Rubicon Communications, LLC (Netgate) |
| OS family | FreeBSD |
| Working state | Current |
| Source model | Closed source andopen source |
| Released to manufacturing | Oct 2006 |
| Latest release | |
| Repository | |
| Supported platforms | 32-bit (discontinued in 2.4.x);64-bitIntel /AMD |
| Default user interface | Web |
| License | Apache License 2.0[2] (Applies to pfSense CE) |
| Preceded by | m0n0wall |
| Official website | www |
| Support status | |
| |
pfSense is afirewall/router computer software distribution based onFreeBSD. Theopen source pfSense Community Edition (CE) and pfSense Plus is installed on a physical computer or avirtual machine to make a dedicated firewall/router for a network.[3] It can be configured and upgraded through a web-based interface, and requires no knowledge of the underlying FreeBSD system to manage.[4][5]
The pfSense project began in 2004 as a fork of them0n0wall project by Chris Buechler and Scott Ullrich. Its first release was in October 2006.[6] The name derives from the fact that the software uses thepacket-filtering tool,PF.[7]
Notable functions of pfSense includetraffic shaping,VPNs usingIPsec orPPTP,captive portal,stateful firewall,network address translation,802.1q support forVLANs, and dynamicDNS (DDNS).[8] pfSense can be installed on hardware with anx86-64 processor architecture. It can also be installed onembedded hardware using CompactFlash orSD cards, or as a virtual machine.[9]
Since 2021,[1] pfSense Plus editions have followed an annual major version release cadence. The CE version of the software has followed an annual minor version release cadence. Based on their list of unsupported software,[10] pfSense only supports the current and previous version of both the CE and Plus editions.
In January 2015, the OPNsense project was started by forking the version of pfSense at that time.[11]
In November 2017, aWorld Intellectual Property Organization panel found Netgate, the copyright holder of pfSense, utilizedOPNsense' trademarks in bad faith to discredit OPNsense, and obligated Netgate to transfer ownership of adomain name to Deciso.[12][13]
In February 2021, pfSense CE 2.5.0 and pfSense Plus 21.02 added support for a kernelWireGuard implementation. Support for WireGuard was temporarily removed in March 2021 after implementation issues were discovered by WireGuard founder Jason Donenfeld.[14][15][16] The July 2021 release of pfSense CE 2.5.2 version re-included WireGuard.[17]
