Pfsense vs Opnsense?

[Bburke1990]

I currently put my network back on my TP-Link router, since it has VPN and DDNS services on it. Still able to access my internal network. So I currently went back to my router due to Pfsense and Opnsense being similar. Pfsense is complicated but once you learn it its gets easier and very confusing GUI. OPNsense is easier for the most part in the GUI layout but when it comes to importing my openvpn hosted on linode, it is a headache. Pfsense is easier to import vpn certs. I hooked up my opnsense box to my 2nd computer to keep my main network going without interupting it. So what im asking has anyone everswitched to OPNSENSE from Pfsense and how has it affected you home network like steam and game servers.

[Alex Atkin UK]

5 hours ago, Bburke1990 said:

I currently put my network back on my TP-Link router, since it has VPN and DDNS services on it. Still able to access my internal network. So I currently went back to my router due to Pfsense and Opnsense being similar. Pfsense is complicated but once you learn it its gets easier and very confusing GUI. OPNsense is easier for the most part in the GUI layout but when it comes to importing my openvpn hosted on linode, it is a headache. Pfsense is easier to import vpn certs. I hooked up my opnsense box to my 2nd computer to keep my main network going without interupting it. So what im asking has anyone everswitched to OPNSENSE from Pfsense and how has it affected you home network like steam and game servers.

It shouldn't really make any performance difference given they are both based on the same OS, caveat being OPNsense will be running a newer version so there could be performance gains or regressions from that.

 

Either way I think which to use is personal preference.  I've thought of moving to OPNsense but it seems pointless when pfSense does everything I need and "easier GUI" is relative as once you've gotten used to a UI then changing to anything else inherently is harder to use.  Its more about which is easier to use if you've never used either before.

[Bburke1990]

True, Been tinkering around with OPNsense and it seems to have more advanced features. Like Zenarmor and Adguard Integration. Now When i was using Pf sense i never seen these add-ons before. Maybe there now available.

[Lurick]

On 5/7/2023 at 8:40 PM, Bburke1990 said:

True, Been tinkering around with OPNsense and it seems to have more advanced features. Like Zenarmor and Adguard Integration. Now When i was using Pf sense i never seen these add-ons before. Maybe there now available.

Nope, if the folks at SunnyValley (ZenArmor) are to be believed pfsense no long allows installing of third party repos/packages like ZenArmor. Earlier this year I was able to install ZenArmor on pfsense, I had to uninstall it to do some troubleshooting and when I went to install it again last month it failed every time, contacted ZenArmor support and that's what they told me.

 

Edit:

Source: https://www.sunnyvalley.io/docs/installing/installation#installing-on--pfsense-software

[Alex Atkin UK]

On 5/8/2023 at 1:57 PM, Lurick said:

Nope, if the folks at SunnyValley (ZenArmor) are to be believed pfsense no long allows installing of third party repos/packages like ZenArmor. Earlier this year I was able to install ZenArmor on pfsense, I had to uninstall it to do some troubleshooting and when I went to install it again last month it failed every time, contacted ZenArmor support and that's what they told me.

 

Edit:

Source: https://www.sunnyvalley.io/docs/installing/installation#installing-on--pfsense-software

Do note it specifically says pfSense Plus is the issue and it should work on pfSense CE.

It does kinda make sense given Plus is moving towards a complete overhaul of the UI, an API, basically complete changes to how the thing is administered and commissioned.  Third-party software would likely break those things.

[Lurick]

4 hours ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

Do note it specifically says pfSense Plus is the issue and it should work on pfSense CE.

It does kinda make sense given Plus is moving towards a complete overhaul of the UI, an API, basically complete changes to how the thing is administered and commissioned.  Third-party software would likely break those things.

What's frustrating for me is it did work originally on 22.05 and originally on 23.01 but then stopped after I tried to reinstall and there was no announcement of it I had to find out from another vendor.

[Alex Atkin UK]

8 hours ago, Lurick said:

What's frustrating for me is it did work originally on 22.05 and originally on 23.01 but then stopped after I tried to reinstall and there was no announcement of it I had to find out from another vendor.

I can only assume it was an unintentional break initially and then they blocked it due to reports of it not working, given the FAQ still claims:

Quote

Initially, pfSense Plus will maintain package parity. Over time, Netgate will evaluate pfSense Plus package support - based on customer demand and technology progression.

Unfortunately Netgate never seem to have been great at communication, its not even clear if they include third-party in that.