This Quick Start Guide covers the first time connection procedures for the Netgate® SG-5100 Firewall Appliance and
will provide the information needed to keep the appliance up and running.
The basic firewall configuration begins with connecting the pfSense® appliance to the Internet. The pfSense appliance
should be unplugged at this time.
Connect one end of an Ethernet cable to the WAN port (shown in the Input and Output Ports section) of the pfSense
appliance. The other end of the same cable should be inserted into a port of the Cable or DSL modem. The modem
provided by the ISP should have multiple LAN ports. Any port should work.
Next, connect one end of a second Ethernet cable to the LAN port (shown in the Input and Output Ports section) of
the pfSense appliance. Connect the other end to the computer.
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Warning: The default IP Address on the LAN subnet on the pfSense firewall is 192.168.1.1/24. The same
subnet cannot be used on both WAN and LAN, so if the default IP address on the ISP-supplied modem is also
192.168.1.1/24, disconnect the WAN interface until the LAN interface on the firewall has been renumbered
to a different subnet (like 192.168.2.1/24).
Plug the power cable into the power port (shown in the Input and Output Ports section) to turn on the pfSense Firewall.
Allow 4 or 5 minutes to boot up completely.
1. From the computer, log into the Web Interface
Open a web browser (Google Chrome in this example) and type in 192.186.1.1 on the address bar. Press
Enter.
Fig. 1: 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 the click Proceed to 192.168.1.1 (unsafe) to continue.
3. At the Sign In page, enter the default pfSense username and password and click Next.
• Default Username: admin
• Default Password: pfsense
2.1 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.
2. Click Next after you have read 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 localdomain is used for the purposes of this tutorial.
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Fig. 2: Click Advanced and then Proceed to 192.168.1.1 (unsafe)
DNS Servers: For purposes of this setup guide, use the Google public DNS servers (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4).
Fig. 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 pfSense 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.
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.
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.
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
dashboard, click Finish.
10. A final notification screen will appear stating that NO COMMERCIAL DISTRIBUTION. .. Click Accept
to continue to the pfSense dashboard.
This completes the basic configuration for the pfSense firewall.
This page provides an overview of the pfSense® dashboard and navigation. It also provides information on how to
perform frequent tasks such as backing up the pfSense software and connecting to the pfSense firewall console.
3.1 The Dashboard
pfSense software is highly configurable, all of which can be done through the dashboard. This orientation will help to
navigate and further configure the firewall.
Fig. 1: The pfSense Dashboard
Section 1 shows important system information such as the model, Serial Number, and Netgate Device ID for this
pfsense firewall.
Section 2 identifies what version of pfSense software is installed, and if an update is available.
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Section 3 describes Netgate Service and Support.
Section 4 shows the various menu headings. Each menu heading has drop-down options for a wide range of configu-
ration choices.
3.2 Re-running the Setup Wizard
To re-run the Setup Wizard, navigate to System -> Setup Wizard.
Fig. 2: Re-run the Setup Wizard
3.3 Backup and Restore
It is important to backup the firewall configuration prior to updating or making any configuration changes. From the
menu at the top of the page, browse to Diagnostics > Backup/Restore.
Click Download configuration as XML and save a copy of the firewall configuration to the computer connected to the pfSense firewall.
This backup (or any backup) can be restored from the same screen by choosing the backed up file under Restore
Configuration.
Note: Auto Config Backup is a built-in service located at Services -> Auto Config Backup. This service will save
up to 100 encrypted backup files automatically, any time a change to the configuration has been made. Visit the Auto
Config Backup page for more information.
3.3.1 Connecting to the Console
There are times when accessing the console is required. Perhaps GUI console access has been locked out, or the
password has been lost or forgotten.
Connecting to the Console Port Connect to the console. Cable is required.
Tip: To learn more about getting the most out of your pfSense appliance, sign up for a pfSense Training course or
browse our extensive Resource Library.