API for automation

[junicast]

Hi,

is there any possibility to automate tasks like creating filter or NAT rules via some kind of api for 2.4+?
If not what is best practice for such things?
My intention is to automate installing BSD jails on a FreeNAS system and for each of those jails I would need rules. I'm not really sure about what rules, but I'm thinking of:

• NAT
• packet filter
• Load Balancing.

Thank you

[pdrass]

Interesting but I'm not seeing the picture 100%.

What kicks off the process of automation?  You creating accounts or someone "signing up" that then triggers account creation to use your system?

I would think like this:

Account Creation > cron that checks for new accounts > if new account execute jail script > jail script runs run script to create rules.

I believe you can command line your rules in PFSense with easy rules:

https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Adding_Rules_With_easyrule

…but I'm not 100% sure that would do more sophisticated rules like NAT if you needed NAT.

Apparently there is an API for developers and not every GUI function has a CLI parallel command:

https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=112052.0

Good luck!

[junicast]

I haven't got the full picture myself, yet.  :o
What I basically have in mind is to have several services:

• pfSense (dedicated hardware) as Layer3/4 load balancer like e.g. keepalived that handles traffic to one or more
• reverse proxy (FreeNAS) with certbot, that again redirects traffic to
• webserver jail (FreeNAS), while the customer has only uploading opportunities through a specifiy
• upload jail (FreeNAS) which also accesses the same storage as webserver jail, then a
• database jail (FreeNAS) and
• jail templates for expandibility
  Something like that…

As there is a database already which I thought my be extended easily... cron might be a good idea.
I could as well somehow push updates to the client. Cron would be easier I suppose but slower.

The easyrule is a very nice hint, thank you.
FreeNAS for example has an api that lets me list, update or create jails. Seems nice.
http://api.freenas.org/
Interestingly FreeNAS Corral had a pretty darn good command line. Loved it. Sadly but understandingly the let Corral die for quality reasons.

As there obviously isn't such an API in pfSense I just wanted to state that I would wish for one. Just saying.    ;)

[hbauer]

unfortunately there is currently no api to automate stuff