pfSense book now available for purchase!
Finally, comprehensive documentation for pfSense is available in print!
Table of contents is available here.
Authored by pfSense co-founder Chris Buechler and pfSense developer Jim Pingle, The Definitive Guide to pfSense covers installation and basic configuration through advanced networking and firewalling of the popular open source firewall and router distribution.
This book is designed to be a friendly step-by-step guide to common networking and security tasks, plus a thorough reference of pfSense’s capabilities. The Definitive Guide to pfSense covers the following topics:
- An introduction to pfSense and its features.
- Hardware and system planning.
- Installing and upgrading pfSense.
- Using the web-based configuration interface.
- Backup and restoration.
- Firewalling fundamentals and defining and troubleshooting rules.
- Port forwarding and Network Address Translation.
- General networking and routing configuration.
- Bridging, Virtual LANs (VLANs), and Multi-WAN.
- Virtual Private Networks using IPsec, PPTP, and OpenVPN.
- Traffic shaping and load balancing.
- Wireless networking and captive portal setups.
- Redundant firewalls and High Availability.
- Various network related services.
- System monitoring, logging, traffic analysis, sniffing, packet capturing, and troubleshooting.
- Software package and third-party software installations and upgrades.
At the end of this book, you’ll find a menu guide with the standard menu choices available in pfSense and a detailed index.
Thanks for your support!
November 3rd, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Looking forward to it! looks like it is out of stock already…
November 3rd, 2009 at 6:49 pm
It’s been showing up as out of stock since it first came online earlier today, guessing that’s because they don’t have the books in their inventory yet. Shouldn’t be sold out already (though that’d be a good problem to have
).
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Just ordered my copy! Looking forward to it.
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:38 pm
They are showing in stock now.
Thanks to everyone for your support!
November 4th, 2009 at 1:47 am
Very nice. Got my copy too. Good stuff.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:18 am
Yep already ordered, thanks for the hard work !
November 4th, 2009 at 5:15 am
What about pdf version? Is is available as well?
November 4th, 2009 at 5:25 am
At this moment, there is no one offering individual electronic copies for sale. That will be coming.
It is available for those with active support or reseller subscriptions at portal.pfsense.org, by logging in and downloading here:
https://portal.pfsense.org/book/pfSense-book.pdf
Right now that’s only for support and reseller subscribers. A lower cost subscription will be available for content-only access to the book and more in the near future.
November 4th, 2009 at 5:43 am
How much of this book is specific for 1.2.2 vs the upcoming 1.3?
November 4th, 2009 at 5:47 am
It’s all 1.2.x, several parts specific to 1.2.3. There is no coverage of the 2.0 release, it’s too early in its development process to be able to properly document.
November 4th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Good news, I just ordered mine today and looking forward to reading it, are there any plans to produce a pfsense developers edition book too? I think it would be a great idea, it could include things like making custom images, rebranding etc.
Keep up the good work guys!
November 4th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
I doubt if we’ll ever do a printed book on development topics, there isn’t enough interest to justify the amount of effort that goes into a book. I do want to create more information for developers to ease getting started with contributing to the project, but it won’t end up in a printed book.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Cool, I just ordered my copy of the book just to support you guys! Nice firewall you’ve put together and I’m happy to chip in this way even thou I don’t really need the book since you’ve made pfSense simple enough to administer without any RTFM =)
November 4th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
I have now placed an order as well…
November 4th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
I ordered my book!
Thanks a bunch!
November 4th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Awsome! I just found pfSense the other day when researching to build myself a better firewall router. Great timing on the book release. I just ordered myself a copy from Amazon and hopefully will be building myself a new firewall router this weekend. Keep up the great work! pfSense is going to be a huge improvement to what I am using now for a firewall.
November 4th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Nothing beats dead trees and ink! Can’t wait for a copy.
November 5th, 2009 at 2:37 am
Thanks guys, i’ve order mine, i hope to have it quick
November 5th, 2009 at 3:02 am
Just ordered my copy
November 5th, 2009 at 3:58 am
Thanks guys, i’ve order mine
November 5th, 2009 at 4:07 am
Chris,
thanks a lot for this amzing work.
Do you know when the book is available in Europe ?
Thanks,
Bastien
November 5th, 2009 at 5:08 am
Just ordered from amazon UK !. Not in stock but cheaper from Europe.
Thank you for writing it !!!
Jose Angel (heavy pfsense user)
November 5th, 2009 at 5:19 am
Excellent timing, I just started putting together a new replacement router. I’ve just installed pfSense, and was going through all the option.
Now I’ve ordered the book, I’ll wait till its here.
Thx
November 5th, 2009 at 5:23 am
Thanks you guys!
Just ordered an axample, PfSense is just amazing, Ive beeen using it for almost a year now and Iam just getting happier with it every day
Iam glad to make a donation this way!
November 5th, 2009 at 7:00 am
What is the password?
note from Chris: as I said, you must have an active support or reseller subscription to use the above link, the credentials for those of you who are subscribers is the account you created when signing up.
November 5th, 2009 at 7:31 am
Great – just ordered it.
Thanks Chris & Jim
November 5th, 2009 at 7:45 am
Hi!
Wonderful! Is there planned a translation to german? Or should i order the english version?
Greets
November 5th, 2009 at 7:58 am
Always more than happy to contribute to this amazing project!
Just ordered 2 copies of the book.
Chris, thanks a stack!
November 5th, 2009 at 8:23 am
What determines if the book is available on the Canadian amazon.ca? Is that just an Amazon decision?
Just curious if anyone knows the answer – the book is not on amazon.ca.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:30 am
Just ordered mine and had someone else order it as well. Will keep recommending to everyone!
November 5th, 2009 at 8:33 am
I just ordered a copy was well. Looking forward to some good reading.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:07 am
Great news!
November 5th, 2009 at 9:08 am
@Bastien: amazon.co.uk has it listed – though out of stock.
amazon.de doesn’t know it yet.
Haven’t looked at amazon.fr
But we are nearing sullrich’s goal of rank #100:
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #167 in Books
For the record and historic memory: above line is a copy-n-paste from amazon.com’s pfSense book page!
Anyone willing to share actual no. of sales to reach this?!?
November 5th, 2009 at 9:14 am
I ordered a print copy as well, but I prefer getting books as a PDF where possible. I know you said its coming.
Thanks for all your hard work.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Ordered mine.
Thank you for the hard work.
November 5th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Ah, I’ve really been looking forward to this!
Getting it as soon as I can!
Thank you so much for all the effort! Can’t wait to read it! =)
November 5th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Nothing on amazon.ca yet
November 5th, 2009 at 11:26 am
So aside from the obvious sale, do you get a cut from the Amazon website when purchased there or can I just go out and buy it from my local B&N or whatever? I love pfsense and would like you to get the most amount of money into your hands possible from the purchase but hate ordering from Amazon for personal reasons.
November 5th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
It is will be available in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India? Rather, when it will be available here?
November 5th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
[...] Ya salió el libro de pfsense: http://blog.pfsense.org/?p=509 [...]
November 5th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
I love how there’s a ‘used’ copy of the book available for $20 more than the book costs new from Amazon.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Just ordered our book. Thanks for the great product.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Hey guys.. it’s only hard copy available. I am from Bangladesh and it is easier for me if I can buy the softcopy version. Any advice???
November 5th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Just ordered!!!
Thanks for the all the hard work!!
November 5th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Hi,
I ordered it also from UK. Amazon’s standard delivery from U.S. to Germany is about 18 – 32 days
Thank you,
Roy
November 5th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Ben: We get a couple bucks extra from Amazon from the link in this post, but we still get the bulk of the money from royalties no matter where you purchase it, so if you prefer buying elsewhere that’s great with us. Other booksellers have it as well, though I’m not sure which exactly.
November 5th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
OK, ordered mine a minute ago.
November 5th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Mine’s on its way! Thanks for a great product.
November 5th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
I just Ordered My Copy !!! Hope it comes Fast !!! I Wanna try IP SEC VPN Between Cisco and PF Sense.
November 5th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Gonna purchase it soon. Very hilarious though…….its already available used! but for $56.69.
Hey…don’t forget to give it good reviews!!!!!
November 5th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
hofimax: There are no translations planned at this time. There is a lot of work in translating a 500+ page book and having it reviewed, so it’s unlikely it will be translated.
November 5th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
The “used” copies were available before Amazon even had the new copies listed in stock. I thought that was strange as well. They actually appear to be new copies from a different book seller. I don’t even have my copies yet, I doubt if anyone has used copies already.
November 5th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
#105 on Amazon Best Sell List after I put in my purchase. Go Team pfSense! Glad to contribute, been waiting for this with vast eagerness.
November 5th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
It was in the top 100 for much of the day today, dropped out of the top 100 after several hours to 105 right now, but is still the #1 best selling technical book on Amazon right now. Thanks everyone!
November 5th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
The word from Jeremy Reed @ Reed Media on amazon.ca, amazon.co.uk, amazon.de, and all their other sites is “patience”.
It will show up there, but it make take 1-2 weeks he said.
November 5th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
I’ve bought my one on amazon.co.uk (I’m from belgiën), it wasn’t out of stock for all dealers.
November 5th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Just ordered one
.
.
amazon.co.uk did not have it in stock
November 6th, 2009 at 2:11 am
would like to know if the book would be available from kinokunia bookstore at Kuala Lumpur.
Looks like some of you gotten 1TB hdds along with the book according to amazon
November 6th, 2009 at 2:16 am
tekkon: not sure if it will be available there, I asked Reed Media.
I was a little surprised that apparently enough people picked up a 1 TB HDD along with the book that it’s listed on the page there on Amazon.
November 6th, 2009 at 4:32 am
Hi Chris,
I am looking to buy the electronic copy because I am located in Angola and Amzaon do not deliver to my place.
Let me know how to buy it. I have paypal, visa and mastercard.
Regards,
Samer.
November 6th, 2009 at 8:43 am
wow
thank you =)
November 6th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
Great news ! I place an order 4 days ago (France) .
Bad news from Amazon :
Hello from Amazon.com.
We now have delivery date(s) for the order you placed on November 04 2009 :
Christopher M. Buechler, et al “pfSense: The Definitive Guide”
Estimated arrival date: December 28 2009 – January 07 2010
November 6th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
So, will everything in this book still be relevant when 1.3 is released? or 2.0?
November 6th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Brian: there will be no 1.3, the next major new version is 2.0. Many parts will still be relevant. A few parts aren’t specific to any one particular firewall at all. Some parts are nearly identical between 1.2.x and 2.0. Most areas of the system have some new capabilities but all the existing ones still work exactly how they do now. A small number, like the server load balancer, have been completely replaced with a different package with much different capabilities, so there will be little relevance for that particular component.
As a whole, most of it will be relevant. Exactly how much nobody knows for sure at this point.
November 6th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
tekkon and any others who might have similar questions – if there is a particular bookseller not carrying it where you would like to see the book being sold, ask the bookseller to carry it.
November 8th, 2009 at 5:16 am
Looks like I’m going to be waiting for a while
We now have delivery date(s) for the order you placed on November 05 2009
Christopher M. Buechler, et al “pfSense: The Definitive Guide”
Estimated arrival date: January 04 2010 – January 05 2010
November 8th, 2009 at 5:37 am
A number of people in the US have gotten theirs already. Our publisher said it will take a week or two longer for the other Amazon sites, so I’m not sure why at least a couple people have gotten January estimated arrival dates. I would hope it will arrive much sooner than that.
November 8th, 2009 at 8:21 am
Congrate to pfSense.
Have the same question with tekkon, hopefully can get the book from KL,Malaysia or else we can purchase a e-copy to support you guys.
November 10th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
I placed my order today and it is expected to arrive with the free delivery option on the 16th. Interesting enough, when I selected for the 2 day shipping it gave me the same date of the 16th, so I opted for the free delivery service.
I look forward to reviewing your book and making use of it with my fellow co-workers on our soon to be installed pfSense firewall at the office.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
[...] This book is designed to be a friendly step-by-step guide to common networking and security tasks, plus a thorough reference of pfSense’s capabilities. The Definitive Guide to pfSense covers the following topics: [...]
November 11th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Ordered from Amazon US at 5am on the 5th and shipped at 8pm the same day. Arrived at my house last night but the trouble and strife didn’t give it to me until this morning…
After ten minutes reading I’ve answered three of four questions about embedded systems that have had me scratching my brains over for a couple of weeks and there seem to be great descriptions of not only HOW to do things but also the WHY – something that’s usually missing from these sorts of books.
Worth every penny so far – and I’ll happily buy a new version when the 2.0 release is available because it’s a great way to support you folks.
November 12th, 2009 at 8:48 am
I live in Indonesia, how do I get the book.
Thanks
November 13th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Is there any form to get the book in an electronic format or paid by paypal method?
Thanks.
November 13th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Andres: Not yet.
November 13th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
hi there….
is there any why to get the book in Libya, Benghazi
by using DHL or FedEx.
many thanks.
November 13th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
jack sparrow: not sure, if you request it from one of your local booksellers you should be able to get it.
November 14th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
many thanks Chris
i do requested…
and waiting for it
November 16th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
When will your pdf version of book be available? (I know applianceshop.eu are supplying a pdf version, but I can’t justify their price!).
November 16th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Chris: not sure on that yet.
November 18th, 2009 at 11:04 am
[...] pfSense Permalink – Comments RSS Feed – Post a comment – Trackback URL [...]
November 18th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
[...] pfSense or using vi or ee from the shell command prompt. Note: this tip was taken straight from the official pfSense book which I recommend buying if you are using pfSense [...]
November 18th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Is there electronic edition?
November 18th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Rafael: not yet
November 20th, 2009 at 10:47 am
I found this link to a pdf version
http://www.applianceshop.eu/index.php/firewalls/opnsense/the-definitive-guide-to-the-pfsense-open-source-firewall-and-router-distribution.html
More expensive (55 Euros) than the printed version !
November 25th, 2009 at 3:05 am
waiting for so long for the release of this book. I purchased from amazon.
Thank a lot guys….
November 25th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Does anybody know if the paperback actually comes with an electronic version too?
November 25th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Kennin: no, it doesn’t.
December 5th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Eddy: I’m told by kinokunia KL that they’re able to order the book if requested. It’ll cost roughly rm140.
December 17th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Tekkon : if i wan to order from kinokunia Kl , can u give specific address so i can contact them .
December 21st, 2009 at 1:53 am
hello
where can i send you a mistake in the book? do you have an errata link/wiki?
please chris send me an email
greatings
jochen
ps it is a very good book thanks a lot
December 21st, 2009 at 2:11 am
If you find a mistake in the book, please email me (cmb at pfsense dot org). There are bound to be some in a 500+ page book. There are 3 errata at the moment.
http://reedmedia.net/books/pfsense/errata.html
January 19th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
I use pf sense for all my companies, love the software. I want to buy an electronic copy of the new book. Any update on when a pdf version will be available?
January 27th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
Love Pfsense.Would love to buy the book but can’t use a non electronic copy. Please help fix this or least give information on when an electronic copy would be available. Sorry to complain.
February 6th, 2010 at 12:17 am
I read that ApplianceShop (www.applianceshop.eu) is selling pfSense book in electronic copy, is it official?
February 6th, 2010 at 2:30 am
pakdoz: Yes, they have licensed the book to include with hardware.
February 22nd, 2010 at 1:22 pm
I’ve been using pfSense in production for several years, as well as at home – and encouraged the company owner to get three copies of this book.
I’m pleased to say that I *did* in fact learn stuff I didn’t already know – so even if you’d consider yourself an experienced pfSense user, this is a worthwhile reference to have.
June 1st, 2010 at 1:23 am
It’s cool. I have just ordered it and already received from Amazon. Thanks Chris and team for cover all the knowledge that I want from PfSense
. Cheers !
July 6th, 2010 at 10:59 am
First Post. Just finished my alix build with the embedded version of pfSense. I love it (this coming from an previous untangle UTM user). Thanks for all the hard work. I have a few things in the firewall I am not sure of. Does this book cover topics gears for IT and networking professional’s or could someone that doesn’t know much pick it up and start learning. I would like a resouce that addresses some things like VLAN’s the packet capture tool and explain what is really going in the background.
Again, Thanks for the great OS.
July 6th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Sean and anyone else with similar questions: it assumes a basic knowledge of networking, but only basic. If you don’t know what an IP address is, or similar very basic networking topics, you’ll need to find some introductory networking material first. It’s not an introduction to networking for those with absolutely no knowledge of the topic. That’s generally the only assumption though, it’s an adequate source for those with no firewall or security expertise.
For more advanced topics like VLANs, packet capturing, etc. it goes into plenty of depth for someone with no prior knowledge of what these things even are, much less how to utilize them. Unless you have no knowledge whatsoever of basic TCP/IP and networking, everything is explained adequately that you shouldn’t be lost at any point.
December 2nd, 2010 at 1:28 am
pfSense is a great open source product. When you use this product on on of the embedded boards it is a perfect and powerful firewall solution. Not too mention cost effective as well.
Now to my question. You have the book on Amazon in paperback but can you publish in a Kindle format? It makes buying the book really quick and easy. If you could convert to Kindle format that would be great.
Thanks heaps.
December 2nd, 2010 at 1:32 am
Robbo: I’ve been bugging the publisher about that, need to follow up with them again. Last I spoke with them, the amount they make on Kindle books was very little, it’s considerably better for us and them in print. I’m a big fan of Kindle and other electronic formats though and expect we’ll have something electronic available at some point in the future.
December 2nd, 2010 at 11:06 pm
Thanks Chris. One thing to remember is that your sales volumes should increase as it is easier to buy the book which means you should still make money on them. Hopefully you have a Kindle or similar ed soon.
January 18th, 2011 at 6:01 am
Thanks Chris! I’m also interested in a Kindle edition of the book.
May 5th, 2011 at 11:01 am
Hi Chris,
Any idea on when or of a new version of the book will be coming out soon. I already bought it but I have been checking out version 2 and was wondering if there will be a new release of the book to cover the new version of pfSense.
Regards
David
May 7th, 2011 at 10:40 pm
David: the whole updated book is a ways out, we’ll have pieces of it available via other means as it’s updated, check back here on the blog for a new post or send a blank email announce-subscribe@pfsense.com to get the details when that happens.
In the mean time, the bulk of the existing book is applicable and is still the best available source of info on 2.0.
May 7th, 2011 at 10:41 pm
A Kindle edition has been available for a couple months now for those looking for it, click the link in this post and you’ll see the Kindle option.
July 31st, 2011 at 7:25 am
According to Amazon Reviews, the Kindle edition is not recommended due to deficiencies on the e-book, such as no Table of Contents and badly formatted book. Is it searchable?
I prefer the Kindle for quick reference and less likely to be misplace. I prefer to purchase the Kindle edition, but has it been updated to correct the stated comments of the edition.
Thanks.
August 1st, 2011 at 2:25 am
Francis: I haven’t seen this, and our publisher left a comment on the one review you’re referring to asking for further info as he’s not seeing it either. The only complaint I’ve heard on the Kindle version was from someone new to Kindle books who didn’t like that they don’t have traditional page numbers, but that’s just a fact of how Kindle works.
September 25th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
Hi,
Just bought your book.
Thanks.
Joe.
October 27th, 2011 at 3:05 am
Thanks for book..
October 30th, 2011 at 12:55 pm
It looks like the book is pre 2.x of pfSense. Will an updated version be released in the near future?
I am looking at using pfSense and buying the book, but would hate to do so only to find the information is dated and an update is around the corner.
Thanks,
Jeremy
October 31st, 2011 at 2:35 am
There is an updated version in the works, but it will be quite some time before it’s 100% complete and gets to print. The current book is still by far the best resource available, even for 2.0. We’ll be making parts of the 2.0 book available in some fashion before it’s in print, more info to come.
November 4th, 2011 at 9:25 pm
Great book , thanks to Jim Pingle and Chris..
Im in Mexico so is kind of expensive but worth every penny paid
thank a lot.
November 11th, 2011 at 3:14 am
If I purchase the current book, will I be able to get the updated 2.0 book via amazon when it’s released? Should I wait for the 2.0 book? I use 2.0
November 11th, 2011 at 3:17 am
I’d also be happy to assist in proofing the new version if you need volunteers…
November 18th, 2011 at 11:50 pm
The Celtic: no, it won’t be updated by Amazon as it’ll be a different book.
February 2nd, 2012 at 8:04 am
Really liked the paper book, and just purchased the Amazon Kindle version of the book as I am traveling and wanted it with me electronically. Unfortunately the Kindle ebook conversion is very poor:
* Cannot swipe up and down to switch chapters – have to go the slow route via the table of contents to move around the book, and the table of contents is really long and slow to traverse
* The table of contents is poorly structured and formatted. Higher level headings are regular type while subheadings are bolded. Headings don’t all have numbers making it hard to keep track of where in the TOC you are. Headings with numbers and headings without are at the same level, hard to figure out the hierarchy of the TOC.
One non-sensical TOC heading reads:
“FeebackTypographic Conventions1. Introduction”
* Poor formatting and spacing throughout the text. No space before headings. Key headings don’t start on their own page.
Disappointed with the Kindle version, the difficulty of moving quickly through the book makes it a pain to use as a quick reference.
February 2nd, 2012 at 5:18 pm
We’re working with the publisher to fix the Kindle issues, thanks for letting us know.
March 2nd, 2012 at 7:46 pm
Any ETA on the v2 book? I would much rather purchase the v2 book then the v1 book that doesn’t cover the features of the firewall I will be using.
March 2nd, 2012 at 7:49 pm
The next book will be a 2.1 book, and it’s a bit out still. The current book covers most things in 2.0 and is the only good source of general info for 2.0 aside from what’s on doc.pfsense.org.
April 22nd, 2012 at 10:30 am
We’re the Kindle issues straightened out? I’d much rather buy the Kindle edition. Thanks for a great product and docs!
May 13th, 2012 at 9:09 pm
Please, write a proper book giving the reasons for the settings, not just presetting a setting and stating the obvious…. Give bacground details as to the choices and why each choice… in a clear manner.
May 13th, 2012 at 9:46 pm
“pfSense User” – that’s precisely what our book, the one linked here, does. It seems from your description maybe you’re referring to the “pfSense Cookbook” book, which isn’t written by any contributors to the project, and isn’t helpful as it does exactly what you said. The book linked here, the official book, provides in depth explanations of everything it covers, there are no sections that “preset a setting and state the obvious.”
August 21st, 2012 at 4:23 pm
Bought the book about a year ago and I have to say that though it was already a bit dated, it was still quite easy to figure out the changes. I am getting ready to update to a newer version at the end of this year and was wondering if we were going to see the V2.1 by then?
Thanks Chris and Jim for a wonderful book. I know the software is advancing faster then you could possiblly print updated material and by no means am i suggesting that you slow down it’s development. Keep up the hard work.
January 24th, 2013 at 8:43 am
open source projects for which the *only* reliable source of information is books are well down the totem pole
January 24th, 2013 at 10:24 pm
No idea what you’re talking about Steve. Yes the most authoritative and reliable source of info is in this book and the new one we’re working on. That can be said of countless open source projects. We also have a ton of reliable info on doc.pfsense.org, so this is far from the only source of reliable info. We do tend to withhold all the advanced info, because 6 people make a full time living on the project and we have to have a way to make payroll. Selling information is part of that. Anyone who needs the kind of info we don’t make publicly available can very easily justify the minuscule cost.
March 16th, 2013 at 11:05 am
When is your new book going to be ready and will it be available in an electronic format? I’d pay the same for the ebook as the physical book because the ebook is more useful to me. For example with an ebook I can search the entire text for a word or phrase in literally a second. Try doing that with paper. I also get the point about making a living and the ebook would put a few extra dollars in your pocket.
Others will disagree with me I’m sure, but nothing in this world is free, not even open source code.
Cheers
May 5th, 2013 at 3:23 pm
Steve, this is an open project, there is no secret knowledge contained in the book. All the information required can be obtained for free. What is not free, for anyone, is the incredible amount of time, skill, and effort in order to collect and synthesize the information necessary for a successful implemention. What you are paying for with the book is your time and effort. It is a testament to the skill of the pfSense developers that they have made a highly complex and advanced piece of software appear so simple to the end user.