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About this guide: This tutorial covers the complete installation, configuration and hardening of pfSense. It is aimed at network administrators and enthusiasts who want to deploy a professional firewall. Estimated time: 2 to 4 hours for a full setup.
Prerequisites
Before you start, make sure you have the following:
- Dedicated hardware or VM: 64-bit CPU (AMD64), minimum 2 GB of RAM, 8 GB of SSD storage recommended
- At least 2 network interfaces: one for the WAN (Internet), one for the LAN (local network). Intel cards (igb, em) are the most reliable under FreeBSD
- USB stick: 4 GB minimum for the installation image
- Console access: screen + keyboard or serial port for the initial installation
- A client machine: connected to the LAN to access the web interface after installation
Important: Identify your network interfaces (MAC addresses) before installation. On dedicated hardware, physically label the WAN and LAN ports to avoid any mix-up.
Complete installation
Downloading the ISO
Get the image from Netgate's official site. Choose the AMD64 architecture and the USB Memstick format (VGA or serial depending on your console).
# Download the image (example with wget)
wget https://atxfiles.netgate.com/mirror/downloads/pfSense-CE-2.7.2-RELEASE-amd64.iso.gz
# Verify integrity
sha256sum pfSense-CE-2.7.2-RELEASE-amd64.iso.gz
# Decompress
gunzip pfSense-CE-2.7.2-RELEASE-amd64.iso.gz
Creating the bootable USB stick
# Linux / macOS - identify the USB stick
lsblk # Linux
diskutil list # macOS
# Write the image (replace /dev/sdX with your stick)
sudo dd if=pfSense-CE-2.7.2-RELEASE-amd64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync
# On Windows, use Rufus or Etcher in DD Image mode
Installation wizard
Boot from the USB stick and follow these steps:
- Boot menu: accept the default boot or press Enter
- Copyright: accept the license
- Install: select "Install pfSense"
- Keymap: choose your keyboard layout (French ISO for AZERTY)
- Partitioning: select Auto (ZFS) for a modern system or Auto (UFS) for older hardware
- ZFS Config: Stripe for a single disk, Mirror if two disks are available
- Disk selection: select your target disk
- Confirmation: confirm and wait for the files to be copied
- Reboot: remove the USB stick and reboot
Assigning the WAN / LAN interfaces
On first boot, pfSense asks you to assign the interfaces:
Do VLANs need to be set up first? n
Enter the WAN interface name: igb0
Enter the LAN interface name: igb1
Do you want to proceed? y
Tip: If you don't know the interface names, select "a" for auto-detection. pfSense will ask you to plug/unplug a cable to identify each port.
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