IPFire is a Linux distribution which comes with a versatile and state of the art firewall engine that makes even the most complex setups easy to administer. It can be maintained via an intuitive web interface. The distribution also offers selected server daemons and can easily be expanded to a SOHO server.
IPFire is ready for high performance networks and running evenly well on embedded hardware. It is designed for high security. It is hardened to protect itself from attacks from the network.
IPFire is set up easily in less than half an hour but also comes with expert features that are needed in professional networks.
Features include:
- Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) firewall, which is built on top of netfilter (the Linux packet filtering framework).
- Proxy server with content filter and caching functionality for updates (i.e. Microsoft Windows updates and anti-virus).
- Intrusion detection system (Snort) with intrusion prevention guardian.
- VPN via IPsec and OpenVPN.
- DHCP server.
- Caching name server.
- Time server.
- Wake-on-LAN (WOL).
- Dynamic DNS.
- Quality of Service.
- Outgoing firewall.
- System monitoring and log analysis.
- Custom package manager called Pakfire and the system can be expanded with various add-ons.
| Working state: | Active |
| Desktop: | - |
| Init Software: | - |
| Package Management: | Pakfire |
| Release Model: | Fixed |
| Platforms: | armv6l, x86_64 |
| Home Page: | www.ipfire.org |
| Developer: | IPFire.org |
| This article is part of our Big List of Active Linux Distributions. |
What's a Linux distribution ("distro")? |
| A distro provides the user with a desktop environment, preloaded applications, and ways to update and maintain the system. Each distro makes different choices, deciding which open source projects to install and provides custom written programs. They can have different philosophies. Some distros are intended for desktop computers, some for servers without a graphical interface, and others for special uses. Because Linux is an open source operating system, combinations of software vary between Linux distros. |
Related Software
| Firewalls | |
|---|---|
| IPFire | Distro with a versatile and state of the art firewall engine |
| OPNsense | FreeBSD-based firewall and routing software |
| pfSense | Powerful firewall and routing platform based on FreeBSD |
| OpenWrt | Linux distribution targeting embedded devices |
| NethSecurity | Linux firewall based on OpenWrt |
| DynFi | Firewall platform based on FreeBSD |
| VyOS | Router and firewall platform |
| Smoothwall Express | Firewall solution with a hardened Linux operating system |
| ClearOS | Dedicated firewall and Internet server/gateway |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
 Explore our comprehensive directory of recommended free and open source software. Our carefully curated collection spans every major software category.This directory is part of our ongoing series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. It features hundreds of detailed reviews, along with open source alternatives to proprietary solutions from major corporations such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. You’ll also find interesting projects to try, hardware coverage, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. Discovered a useful open source Linux program that we haven’t covered yet? Let us know by completing this form. |