Best resource for pfSense newb?
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I'm considering implementing pfSense for my home (2 location) network. I'm wondering what the best resources are right now for learning it from scratch. I know there is a recent PDF if you are a gold member but I don't want to commit $100 to a gold membership until I've learned a decent amount about the project to the point that I'm 100% sure I'm going to implement it.
So are there any other good resources out there for learning the basics (and some of the more advanced features) for version 2.2?
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I got started with the pfSense documentation here and a bit of help from the forums.
https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Main_Page
Also:
https://www.pfsense.org/get-support/
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I got started with the pfSense documentation here and a bit of help from the forums.
https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Main_Page
Also:
https://www.pfsense.org/get-support/
I was hoping for something a little more structured and organized than just wiki links. Something that I could learn systematically from the ground up in an efficient order. With just links I wouldn't really know in what order to research what aspects.
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Buy a Gold Subscription and get access to the pfSense Definitive Guide ebook.
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I didn't have any real plan for learning pfSense, instead I started setting it up and dug up the details for each item I needed as I came to it. Not really a great plan for learning pfSense as a whole since there are a huge number of topics I haven't even looked at but for me it worked well. I have a fair idea about each of the functions or services I'm actually using and didn't spend any time on stuff I'm not using or planning on using.
For structure the Gold option is probably best although you might find something on Amazon.com or the like for a older version of pfSense for a lower price.
Looking back at that first paragraph I hope the wife never sees it! I was teasing her the other day because she didn't know how to turn on the windshield wipers in the car we've had for a couple years. She had never had call to turn them on since we got the car and so had never figured it out. For her, living in Arizona, wipers are something to learn when needed instead of reading up on in advance. :-)
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Don't knock the wiki just because it doesn't appear structured at first glance. The installation guide is the best place to start and from there, you might notice each page in the GUI has a help button ("?" in the upper right) that goes to the wiki page for that section.
If you need a more formally structured text, then the book (as a part of Gold) is the next step. Gold also includes hangout videos that introduce and guide through various aspects of the firewall. Not formal training more more topical demonstrations and explanations.
Or you could jump right into training which also includes Gold but that's probably even more of a commitment than you'd be ready for unless you knew for sure pfSense was a good fit for you.
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The paper version of the book was available through Amazon, maybe it still is.
The basics to get you started should still be valid even though it's from an outdated version. But a basic concept still is a basic concept, right? -
The wiki categories get you pretty much to where you need to be.