A pfSense roadmap

[apollo13]

Are there some public discussions about which web framework to use for pFsense 3, how the api would look like etc… or did nothing happen in that regard yet. Also is there a way to sign up somewhere if one would be interested in helping out on the effort?

[cmb]

@apollo13:

Are there some public discussions about which web framework to use for pFsense 3, how the api would look like etc… or did nothing happen in that regard yet. Also is there a way to sign up somewhere if one would be interested in helping out on the effort?

Not yet, right now from a web perspective we're still focused on the Bootstrap work for 2.3. We'll start a thread on the development board here when all that gets underway, as well as the dev mailing list. Definitely would appreciate help on that effort when we get to that point!

In the mean time, we welcome contributions to the bootstrap effort.

[YipYip]

Any ~ ETA on 2.4 as Im pretty keen to get a non corrupting Filesystem

[jimp]

@YipYip:

Any ~ ETA on 2.4 as Im pretty keen to get a non corrupting Filesystem

It'll be beta quite soon. Not too much longer now. It's shaping up fast.

[bimmerdriver]

@jimp:

@YipYip:

Any ~ ETA on 2.4 as Im pretty keen to get a non corrupting Filesystem

It'll be beta quite soon. Not too much longer now. It's shaping up fast.

Currently the description of the 2.4 development snapshot says:

HIGHLY-EXPERIMENTAL pfSense 2.4.0 ALPHA developers tree

Are you implying that at some point in the (near?) future the description will say BETA instead of ALPHA? If so, what are the criteria for ALPHA vs. BETA? I'm looking forward to 2.4 being released so I can move away from a tunnel to native ipv6.

[jimp]

Yes, beta soon and that page will be updated.

[bimmerdriver]

No doubt the developers are all busy getting 2.4 ready for release, but the original post of this thread is coming up on 3 years old. It would be nice if there was an update to the roadmap.

[andrewinhawaii]

OK, I see the new roadmap in the 2.4.0-RC announcement here:

https://www.netgate.com/blog/pfsense-2-4-0-rc-now-available.html

But my concerns right now are the recent Dnsmasq exploits.  So I tried updating, and tried, and tried, until I read the not so fine print:

"32-bit x86 and NanoBSD have been deprecated and are not supported on 2.4."

Well fuuuuu.  I just repurposed a Checkpoint U-20 box, and bought a spare just in case.  Alas, they are Pentium-M based, which means a lousy 32 bit x86 core.  So most embedded hardware can now be tossed in the trash because they have old 32-bit cores?

And how about my security concerns over Dnsmasq?

https://www.netgate.com/blog/no-plan-survives-contact-with-the-internet.html

"Users on pfSense 2.3.x or earlier concerned about these bugs can switch to the DNS Resolver (Unbound) until a new pfSense software release is available."

Will there be a 2.3.4_2 for us poor 32-bit untouchables?

What would it take for us to roll our own 32 bit 2.4 binaries?  I see that FBSD-11.1 is still supported for 32-bit x86.  All of the FreeBSD packages will have precompiled 32 bit binaries, so what else do I need to do to build a 32 bit x85 version of pfSense 2.4+?

[jimp]

Read https://www.netgate.com/blog/no-plan-survives-contact-with-the-internet.html closer.

We'll be putting out 2.3.5 after 2.4.0.

[andrewinhawaii]

Ooops, that's on me.  I stopped reading when it seemed to be addressing only the 2.4 branch.  Thank you for including plans to update the 2.3 branch.

The question remains going forward: can we come up with a recipe for a 32-bit build of the 2.4 branch when the dust settles?  Sure it won't be supported but sometimes you just gotta deal with it.

[jimp]

No, it is not viable. None of the patches have been tested on i386 and it's entirely possible there are required pieces missing (like an i386 kernel config), and who knows what else.

It isn't going to happen, and the time wasted on chasing it down on the off chance it might work would be better spent on non-obsolete hardware.

[jimp]

@andrewinhawaii:

And how about my security concerns over Dnsmasq?

https://www.netgate.com/blog/no-plan-survives-contact-with-the-internet.html

"Users on pfSense 2.3.x or earlier concerned about these bugs can switch to the DNS Resolver (Unbound) until a new pfSense software release is available."

FYI- As of right now, if you are on 2.3.4-p1 you can fetch an updated dnsmasq

pkg update -y dnsmasq

That should find the update and install it, afterward you have to restart the dnsmasq service

[andrewinhawaii]

Yes, that did the trick:

pkg upgrade dnsmasq

brought me upto

dnsmasq upgraded: 2.76,1 -> 2.78,1

Thank you.

[Novalis]

And how about my security concerns over Dnsmasq?
https://www.netgate.com/blog/no-plan-survives-contact-with-the-internet.html
"Users on pfSense 2.3.x or earlier concerned about these bugs can switch to the DNS Resolver (Unbound) until a new pfSense software release is available."
FYI- As of right now, if you are on 2.3.4-p1 you can fetch an updated dnsmasq

The simplest way is to use:
13) Update from console

via Console or ssh admin

[pbnet]

Regarding the roadmap.
Do we have any approximate timeframe when PFSense 2.5 will be out ? Maybe when a beta will be available for testing ?
Since AES-NI will be required, I want to know how much time to I have until I would need new hardware :)

Thanks a lot,
Andy.