Whois & Analysis for pfsense.org

pfSense is an open source firewall/router computer software distribution based on FreeBSD.

It is installed on a physical computer or a virtual machine to make a dedicated firewall/router for a network and has been noted for its reliability and offering a range of features.

It can be configured and upgraded through a web-based interface, and requires no knowledge of the underlying FreeBSD system to manage.

pfSense is commonly deployed as a perimeter firewall, router, wireless access point, DHCP server, DNS server, and as a VPN endpoint.

pfSense supports installation of third-party packages like Snort or Squid through its Package Manager.

pfSense is described by servethehome.com as the "gold standard" for open source network appliances in its buyer guides.

Unified threat management (UTM) or unified security management (USM), is the evolution of the traditional firewall into an all-inclusive security product able to perform multiple security functions within one single system: network firewalling, network intrusion detection/prevention (IDS/IPS), gateway antivirus (AV), gateway anti-spam, VPN, content filtering, load balancing, data loss prevention, and on-appliance reporting.

In computing, a firewall is a network security system that monitors and controls the incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules.

A firewall typically establishes a barrier between a trusted, secure internal network and another outside network, such as the Internet, that is assumed not to be secure or trusted.

Firewalls are often categorized as either network firewalls or host-based firewalls.

Network firewalls filter traffic between two or more networks; they are either software appliances running on general purpose hardware, or hardware-based firewall computer appliances.

Host-based firewalls provide a layer of software on one host that controls network traffic in and out of that single machine.

Firewall appliances may also offer other functionality to the internal network they protect, such as acting as a DHCP or VPN server for that network.

A router is a networking device that forwards data packets between computer networks.

Routers perform the traffic directing functions on the Internet.

A data packet is typically forwarded from one router to another router through the networks that constitute the internetwork until it reaches its destination node.

In computing, load balancing improves the distribution of workloads across multiple computing resources, such as computers, a computer cluster, network links, central processing units, or disk drives.

Load balancing aims to optimize resource use, maximize throughput, minimize response time, and avoid overload of any single resource.

Using multiple components with load balancing instead of a single component may increase reliability and availability through redundancy.

Load balancing usually involves dedicated software or hardware, such as a multilayer switch or a Domain Name System server process.