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Main repository for pfSense
Quick Overview
OPNsense/core is the main repository for OPNsense, an open-source FreeBSD-based firewall and routing platform. It offers a user-friendly web interface and advanced features for network security and management. OPNsense is designed to be a powerful and flexible solution for both home and enterprise environments.
Pros
- User-friendly web interface for easy configuration and management
- Regular updates and security patches
- Extensive feature set including VPN, intrusion detection, and traffic shaping
- Active community and professional support options
Cons
- Steeper learning curve compared to some consumer-grade routers
- May require more powerful hardware for optimal performance
- Some advanced features may be complex for novice users
- Limited third-party plugin ecosystem compared to some alternatives
Getting Started
To get started with OPNsense:
- Download the latest OPNsense image from the official website.
- Write the image to a USB drive or CD/DVD.
- Boot your target system from the installation media.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to install OPNsense.
- Once installed, access the web interface by navigating to https://192.168.1.1 (default IP) in your browser.
- Log in with the default credentials (root/opnsense) and change them immediately.
- Configure your network interfaces and basic firewall rules.
- Explore additional features and plugins as needed for your network setup.
For detailed installation and configuration instructions, refer to the official OPNsense documentation.
Competitor Comparisons
Main repository for pfSense
Pros of pfSense
- Larger user base and community support
- More extensive documentation and tutorials
- Wider range of hardware compatibility
Cons of pfSense
- Less frequent updates and slower development cycle
- More complex user interface for some tasks
- Limited package management system
Code Comparison
Both projects are based on FreeBSD and share similar core functionalities. However, their code organization and implementation details differ:
pfSense:
function get_interface_list() {
$interface_list = array();
$interfaces = get_interface_arr();
foreach ($interfaces as $iface => $ifacename) {
$interface_list[$iface] = $ifacename;
}
return $interface_list;
}
OPNsense:
public function getInterfaceList()
{
$intfmap = array();
foreach ($this->configHandle->interfaces->children() as $key => $node) {
$intfmap[(string)$key] = (string)$node->descr;
}
return $intfmap;
}
Both examples show functions for retrieving interface lists, but OPNsense uses a more object-oriented approach with a class method, while pfSense uses a standalone function. OPNsense also leverages the SimpleXML structure for configuration handling, whereas pfSense uses a custom array-based approach.
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OPNsense GUI and system management
The OPNsense project invites developers to start contributing to the code base. For your own purposes or â even better â to join us in creating the best open source firewall available.
The build process has been designed to make it easy for anyone to build and write code. The main outline of the new codebase is available at:
https://docs.opnsense.org/development/architecture.html
Our aim is to gradually evolve to a new codebase instead of using a big bang approach into something new.
Build tools
To create working software like OPNsense you need the sources and the tools to build it. The build tools for OPNsense are freely available.
Notes on how to build OPNsense can be found in the tools repository:
https://github.com/opnsense/tools
Contribute
You can contribute to the project in many ways, e.g. testing functionality, sending in bug reports or creating pull requests directly via GitHub. Any help is always very welcome!
You can learn more about contributing on CONTRIBUTING.md.
License
OPNsense is and will always be available under the 2-Clause BSD license:
https://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-2-Clause
Every contribution made to the project must be licensed under the same conditions in order to keep OPNsense truly free and accessible for everybody.
Makefile targets
The repository offers a couple of targets that either tie into tools.git build processes or are aimed at fast development.
make package
A package of the current state of the repository can be created using this target. It may require several packages to be installed. The target will try to assist in case of failure, e.g. when a missing file needs to be fetched from an external location.
Several OPTIONS exist to customise the package, e.g.:
- CORE_DEPENDS: a list of required dependencies for the package
- CORE_DEPENDS_ARCH: a list of special
-required packages - CORE_ORIGIN: sets a FreeBSD compatible package/ports origin
- CORE_COMMENT: a short description of the package
- CORE_MAINTAINER: email of the package maintainer
- CORE_WWW: web url of the package
- CORE_NAME: sets a package name
Options are passed in the following form:
# make package CORE_NAME=my_new_name
In general, options are either set to sane defaults or automatically detected at runtime.
make update
Update will pull the latest commits from the current branch from the upstream repository.
make upgrade
Upgrade will run the package build and replace the currently installed package in the system.
make collect
Fetch changes from the running system for all known files.
make lint
Run several syntax checks on the repository. This is recommended before issuing a pull request on GitHub.
make style
Run the PSR12 and PEP8 style checks on MVC PHP code and Python,
respectively.
For php code you will need to have phpcs and phpcbf installed.
You can use the package php-codesniffer on Debian/Ubuntu.
Python code will require pycodestyle.
For easier development you may want to use an OPNsense VM and run:
pkg install os-debug that will install all the necessary tools.
make sweep
Run Linux Kernel cleanfile whitespace sanitiser on all files.
Top Related Projects
Main repository for pfSense
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