Chapter 1, Revisiting pfSense Basics, covers deployment scenarios for pfSense, hardware requirements, sizing and installation options, and it guides the user through the initial installation and configuration.
Chapter 2, Advanced pfSense Configuration, covers some of the commonly used pfSense services, such as DHCP, DNS, Dynamic DNS (DDNS), captive portal, Network Time Protocol (NTP), and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).
Chapter 3, VLANs, covers how to set up a virtual LAN in pfSense, both from the command line and the web GUI, and provides examples showing how to configure some commercially available managed switches.
Chapter 4, Using pfSense as a Firewall, covers how to implement rules to block, pass, or divert network traffic, as well as virtual IPs, aliases, and scheduling.
Chapter 5, Network Address Translation, covers Network Address Translation (NAT) in depth, including outbound NAT, port forwarding, 1:1 NAT, and Network Prefix Translation (NPt).
Chapter 6, Traffic Shaping, covers how to use the pfSense's traffic shaping capabilities, using the traffic shaping wizard, by manually adjusting queues, and by creating custom floating rules.
Chapter 7, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), covers the advantages and disadvantages of VPNs and explains how to use pfSense to set up an IPsec, L2TP, or OpenVPN tunnel. Client-server and peer-to-peer options are covered.
Chapter 8, Redundancy and High Availability, covers load balancing, failover, and implementing redundancy via Common Address Redundancy Protocol (CARP), which allows the user to add one or more backup firewalls.
Chapter 9, Multiple WANs, covers ways to implement redundancy and high availability into internet connections by having multiple internet connections for failover, load balancing, and bandwidth aggregation. This chapter shows how to set up gateways and gateway groups.
Chapter 10, Routing and Bridging, covers bridging and static/dynamic routing, including when bridging network adapters is appropriate, as well when it is necessary to configure static routes and how to do it, and discusses the dynamic routing protocols available for pfSense.
Chapter 11, Extending pfSense with Packages, covers the most significant packages available for pfSense, such as Snort, Squid, HAProxy, and many others.
Chapter 12, Diagnostics and Troubleshooting, covers what to do when things go wrong. A problem-solving methodology is outlined, and common problems and available troubleshooting tools are discussed. A real-world example of troubleshooting is provided.
Appendix A, Assessments, answers to the questions mentioned in the chapters.