Enterprise style Central Management Interface - {Now $1900}

[cybrsrfr]

I'm also interested in the Central Management Interface for PFSense. I will add another $100.00 to the bounty perhaps more in the future.

I would like to offer help as well. First thing I'm interested in is to add support for PHP PDO. This would make it easy to offer other database support such as SQLite, PostgreSQL, ODBC, and more.

[heiko]

I'am nothing contribute to this bounty, because for me it is not earnest
Best Regards
Heiko

[cybrsrfr]

@heiko:

I'am nothing contribute to this bounty, because for me it is not earnest
Best Regards
Heiko

I have great respect for heiko you have sponsored some great features for PFSense. I don't understand your comment?

The Central Management in my mind is to create one place that centralizes the backup and restore, and can monitor the devices being managed. This looks like it can do more than that with m0n0wall right now. My goal in supporting this would not be in any way to replace the local interface in anyway but rather to  ease the management of larger deployments.

Please take no offense I hold you in high regard as well as all those that are helping with the PFSense project.

Best Regards

[dotdash]

I think perhaps it is a language issue. I think he may have meant 'interest'  (as in he has no interest in this bounty) and not that the bounty was not earnest.

earnest

1. serious in intention, purpose, or effort; sincerely zealous: an earnest worker.
2. showing depth and sincerity of feeling: earnest words; an earnest entreaty.
3. seriously important; demanding or receiving serious attention.
4. full seriousness, as of intention or purpose: to speak in earnest.

[kapara]

Maybe he meant it is not something needs at this moment.  He is responding to a message I sent him to see if he might be interested in joining in on the bounty.  I tend to agree that it is just a language thing.

Mar

[cybrsrfr]

@kapara:

He is responding to a message I sent him to see if he might be interested in joining in on the bounty.

Now it makes more sense. Thanks for clarifying.

[hoba]

Heiko is a great supporter of the project, this was really just some translation problem here. I already know him for a long time.

[heiko]

Sorry, Sorry, for misunderstanding my posting , it is not an offense from me. I have great respect to all of the folks here that supports pfsense.
As a matter of course i wish that this bounty will do successfully…....

But for me, at the moment i will not contribute money to this bounty so for this Thread I´m sitting on the sidelines.....

Once more, sorry for misunderstanding.

Good luck, I wish you success!

Greetings
Heiko

[Juve]

I had started something like this in .NET, windows based interface. With failover notification, automatic backups with SQL storage, SSO to every pfsense.
My wish was to rebuild the object model of pfsense configuration into .NET and then manage to build configuration files (rules, alias…) then send them to each box.
The best (I suppose) would be to use XML-RPC calls to every box but I have not yet tested it.

SSO was easy to make with form based developpement, do not know how to handle it with web development...forged POST as link perhaps...
Was also thinking about using mod_proxy/mod_rewrite of Apache to "reverse proxyfie" acces to each box, using some wget scripts to centralize graphs....many ideas... who wants to talk about it :-p IRC ?

I going to (re)work on this soon, I will think about it for real ;-)

[eri--]

Has also thinking about using mod_proxy/mod_rewrite of Apache to "reverse proxyfie" acces to each box, using some wget scripts to centralize graphs….many ideas... who wants to talk about it :-p IRC ?

take a look at syweb/symon/symux it does that for you.

[kapara]

Any solution which would be used should only use open source software.  Going to a proprietory paid solution ie..SQL would turn away many people from using and or joining into this solution.  If you are talking about an open source for of SQL like mySql then I stand corrected.

Thanks,

Mark

[kapara]

I am also scratching my head at why there has not been more interest in this bounty.  I would think there are more than just one or two people who have pfsense deployed in multiple locations or use them as a managed service to multiple customers.  Maybe people are using other third party solutions which allow them to do this.  In any case I think this would be very beneficial and open this product up to a more enterprise type enviroment because having to manage each one seperately or getting detailed status information or reporting from each one would be time consuming.  Just me 2 cents…......

Mark

[cybrsrfr]

I'm adding a requirement to the amount I committed to in this bounty.

Requirement:
Central Management needs to be developed in PHP.

Why:
1. PFSense's web interface is written in PHP.
2. PHP is Multi-platform capable on nearly every OS imaginable.
3. It would require a smaller learning curve for development if it did not require knowledge of two languages to handle modifications to PFSense and the Central Mangement.
4. I want to reduce my dependency on Microsoft.

I'm not opposed to there being a .Net option. I also applaud your effort in building it. I just don't want it to be the only option.

P.S. I know several languages including both PHP and C#.

[sullrich]

@Juve:

I had started something like this in .NET, windows based interface….

Alright Juve, time to take down that BSD avatar :)

[Juve]

Like I said "I had started"… which means I stopped it (more than one year ago).

;D

I was thinking about MySQL + PHP/and/or Mono (I like C#). I see two sides, the frontend wich would be in PHP (easy to code and fast), and the backend which would be more sophisticated with multithreading capabilities, plugin (monitoring sensors/actions) interface with hot loading/unloading using relfexion, storage using MySQL, configuration using XML.Link between front and back using webservice (SOAP) in order to split roles...

Scott, I was asked to do it windows based ;-)
;)

[eri--]

Anyway all that staff for such thing is overkill/overengineer. Using mysql/SOAP/and all that staff seems too much for a thing that has already been done in php.

[Juve]

Yes but when you have to manage 100+ pfsense boxes you have to have something you can rely on… modularity, scalability and so on.
So, If I have to do something, I will start to think about the "ideal" design.

[kapara]

Hi Juve,

So are you saying this might be a bounty you would take on?  Honestly I am unfamiliar with the scope of a project like this is and if it would be an easy thing to do or a very difficult.  I don't understand the underlying aspects of pfsense.  Not a programmer. 100+ pfsense boxes?  That is alot.

Mark

[Juve]

It is something I would like to do, but I'm afraid I can't get enough time to make it good (I'm already busy at 110%, you know what it is, in IT services you have to do twice the job you are asked to.. for the samed price of course).
I don't want to tell you I'm going to make it and then let you wait for 10 months… this is a disrespect. I'm not either looking for money, I if do it will be for free and for the community, money should go to pfsense coders like scott,hoba,cmd etc.
I have already 30+ boxes to manage and plan to have some more ;-). That 's why I'm replying here, which is perhaps a mistake and should go onto General discussion thread since I'm note willing to take on that bounty "as" a bounty.
I'll try to get on IRC soon to discuss about that kind of central management area, and then perhaps make a team to build something "useful"  ;)

[kapara]

Here is a neat example from watchguard.  http://www.watchguard.com/products/wsm.asp  At least it is a visual of what I am looking for.

Except their product is $6000 just to manage 50 clients…not too mention the cost of the box needed!