Initial Configuration

Plug the power cable into the power port (shown in the Input and Output Ports section) to turn on the Netgate® Firewall. Allow 4 or 5 minutes to boot up completely.

Warning

If the CPE on WAN (e.g. DSL or Cable Modem) has a default IP Address of 192.168.1.1, disconnect the Ethernet cable from the WAN port on the SG-8860 Security Gateway before proceeding.

Change the default LAN IP Address of the device during a later step in the configuration to avoid having conflicting subnets on the WAN and LAN.

1. From the computer, log into the web interface

   Open a web browser (Google Chrome in this example) and enter 192.168.1.1 in the address bar. Press Enter.

   

   Enter the Default LAN IP Address

2. A warning message may appear. If this message or similar message is encountered, it is safe to proceed. Click the Advanced Button and then click Proceed to 192.168.1.1 (unsafe) to continue.

   

   Click Advanced and then Proceed to 192.168.1.1 (unsafe)

3. At the Sign In page, enter the default pfSense^® Plus username and password and click Next.

   • Default Username: admin

   • Default Password: pfsense

The Setup Wizard

The following steps will step through the Setup Wizard for the initial configuration of the firewall.

Note

Ignore the warning to reset the ‘admin’ account password. One of the steps in the Setup Wizard is to change the default password.

1. Click Next to start the Setup Wizard.

   

   Click Next

2. Click Next after reading the information on Netgate Global Support.

3. On the General Information page, use the following as a guide to configure the firewall.

   Hostname

   Any desired name can be entered. For the purposes of this guide, the default hostname pfsense is used.

   Domain

   The default home.arpa is used for the purposes of this tutorial.

   DNS Servers

   For purposes of this setup guide, use the Google public DNS servers (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4).

   

   Type in the DNS Server information and Click Next

4. Use the following information for the Time Server Information page.

   Time Server Hostname

   Use the default time server address.

   Timezone

   Select the time zone for the location of the firewall. For this guide, the Timezone will be set to America/Chicago for US Central time.

   

   Change the Timezone and Click Next

5. The WAN interface is the Public IP address the network will use to communicate with the Internet. Use the following information for the WAN configuration page.

   DHCP is the default and is the most common type of interface for home cable modems.

   Default settings for the other items on this page should be acceptable for normal home users.

   

   Default Settings Should be Acceptable. Click Next

6. Configuring LAN IP Address & Subnet Mask. The default LAN IP address of 192.168.1.1 and subnet mask of 24 is usually sufficient.

   Tip

   If the CPE on WAN (e.g. DSL or Cable Modem) has a default IP Address of 192.168.1.1, disconnect the Ethernet cable from the WAN port on the SG-8860 Security Gateway before proceeding.

   Change the default LAN IP Address of the device during a later step in the configuration to avoid having conflicting subnets on the WAN and LAN.

7. Change the Admin Password. Enter the same password in both fields.

8. Click Reload to save the configuration.

9. After a few seconds, a message will indicate the Setup Wizard has completed. To proceed to the pfSense^® Plus dashboard, click Finish.

10. A final notification screen will appear with the Copyright and Trademark Notices. Read and click Accept to continue to the dashboard.

    

    Read and Click Accept

If the Ethernet cable was unplugged at the beginning of this configuration, reconnect it to the WAN port now.

This completes the basic configuration for the Netgate appliance.