What do you like best about the product?

Load balancing two ISP connections into my office.

What do you dislike about the product?

Training documentation on how to install and configure it for different scenarios could be better.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Internet availability.

What do you like best about the product?

I have been using pfSense Plus as my firewall software for a couple years and have been impressed with its performance and features. I am running it on a dedicated Netgate Device (an older SG-5100 model). Even though this piece of hardware has been discontinued from production, I am under the impression that the pfSense software will continue to be compatible and maintained to run on this device for quite some time. If and when I DO have to migrate, I appreciate that the Community Edition (or open-source pfSense CE) is similar enough to the Plus version that I could just as easily run the software on my own dedicated hardware of choice. I also understand that there is an option to purchase a license to the Plus version which unlocks the ability to run the Plus version on a DIY machine.

At this stage in the game, running the commercial version of the pfSense Plus (closed source) firewall makes the most sense to me. The inherent simplicity and reliability of a full-fledged package with its own specialized hardware and software implemented with added features seems like a decent enough business model for a company - and I have no qualms with this approach. There are certainly FOSS purists among us who will adamantly disagree and oppose Netgate's shift away from the single-stream development model of the firewall software... but I am not one of them, and I appreciate all that the company has to offer.

The web-based user interface of pfSense is straightforward to use, which is important for me as someone who doesn't have a ton of experience with firewall software. The dashboard provides a helpful overview of the system status and traffic, configuration pages are intuitive, for they allow me to customize settings without feeling as overwhelmed as one might with a command-line interface. I also appreciate that the firewall rule builder is easy to use and allows complex rules to be easily created. The software supports various VPN protocols, which has been helpful for me because I have to connect to a VPN occasionally. Additionally, there are several packages that be installed on top of the stock firewall software - which can provide a network administrator with even more customization and other powerful tools.

One thing to note is that pfSense may require more technical knowledge than other firewall software options. However, there is a large and helpful community that provides documentation and support, so I haven't found this to be an issue. Overall, I would highly recommend pfSense Plus as a powerful and easily customized firewall platform that can meet the needs of organizations of all sizes. Although I am running a rather simple network in a small home office environment, I am enticed by the fact that the software is not only highly effective when applied to a niche use-case scenario - but it is just as capable when used in an enterprise-level network build. I am happy that I have become accustomed to the experience of hardening my network against intrusion and malicious attacks by using pfSense Plus. I feel reassured when I consider all the company has to offer, and I look forward to seeing what else they can come up with in terms of community support and feature development. I am looking forward to the years ahead - with what I hope is continued stability and reliability from both an excellent hardware vendor and a great software development firm!

What do you dislike about the product?

I find that the business model of providing support packages on a subscription basis is well out of my reach, financially - but I am happy to know that a decent amount of community support is available on the forums of Netgate and elsewhere on the internet as well. Also, if I were to nitpick upon the gritty details of the matter, I would like to see additional transparency and clarity regarding the shift to closed-source software - and what this means for the future of the Community Edition of pfSense.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

It serves as an excellent security implementation to help harden and secure my network against malicious attacks and intruders.

What do you like best about the product?

Who would have thought you could leverage enterprise firewall security for free?? I was surprised at the robust features available with pfSense. I was able to start with the Community Edition (CE) for free and register for the official version at no additional cost. With the official version, I have the option of purchasing professional support at a very reasonable expense. The cost/benefit of pfSense is over the top and well worth investigating.

What do you dislike about the product?

As flexible as pfSense is, there are some caveats during implementation. The biggest limitation I found was during implementation in a virtual environment. DO NOT add more than three virtual network adapters. Use one virtual adapter and make it a VLAN trunk. Then inside pfSense, use the excellent VLAN features to create interfaces.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

I'm using pfSense to replace our older enterprise firewall solution. We looked at several "Next Generation Firewalls" and found that pfSense had all the features we sought at the best value.

What do you like best about the product?

Easy to Manage, its free for basic usage

What do you dislike about the product?

Third-Party Packages not operate properly sometimes

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

It is benefiting organizations to manage their Internet Distribution and management with their own choices mold it according to your needs.

What do you like best about the product?

The number one thing for me is the community license. I currently use it at home, but now that I have experienced several updates and learned the pfSense UI, I plan to use it professionally, as well. I am working on a plan to use something like a Netgate 4100 or 6100 as an 'introduction' to my company. Assuming all of that goes well, I would be strongly researching/considering the enterprise rackmount, HA solutions.

What do you dislike about the product?

Mostly that I wish features came a little quicker. The stability is absolutely the main reason I like pfSense so much, but I wouldn't mind a few more updates if it meant features were coming sooner.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

For my home: It gets me all sorts of features, that typical home routers do not. More than that, though, I can trust that the software is safe. I'm looking at you, ASUS-gate. For business: Please note this is not implemented, but I plan to add a small unit to help manage security between my VLANs. Believe it or not, this will simplify the network I inheirited.

What do you like best about the product?

FreeBSD based, using familiar and trustable code

What do you dislike about the product?

Very slow release schedule for open source version

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Much better solution than router-based firewalls

What do you like best about the product?

PFSense is a Great Solution for Small Companies that are Cost-Sensitive but still require excellent Protection. Online Documentation is vast and easy to navigate and to implement.

What do you dislike about the product?

Some basic Features are, at times, complicated to configure, and although a vast community is available for support, some solutions are not easy to implement for a normal end user. Software upgrades always need to be thoroughly tested as they can regularly break your Firewall Configs.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

PFSense has excellent Perimeter and Network Protection for smaller SMB's, and the Out of the Box features are great. VPN Solutions work great without significant Challenges.

What do you like best about the product?

I use it at home and work. Easy to set up, easy to configure. The community has been great. The few times I've contacted support, they have been excellent with a fast turnaround on my ticket.

What do you dislike about the product?

There have not been any downsides to using pfSense at home or in the office. pfSense does what I wanted it to do, and that was to protect my networks!

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

With the Netgate programmers actively working on FreeBSD, and add-ons such as Wireguard, that brings the added benefit of code that has been reviewed and is known to work in the firewall.

What do you like best about the product?

The wizard was easy to use and got me up and running fast!

What do you dislike about the product?

I have not found anything as of yet to dislike this product.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Edge protection for a customer and also providing a clean VPN solution for this customer

What do you like best about the product?

Online documents are great, even when rarely needed

What do you dislike about the product?

Possibly other firewalls have more features, but rarely needed

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Both private and for an international organization pfSense functions as border device