Keep appliance inventory and customer ownership together
A device's address is only one part of its identity. FWMS records firewall and customer details so engineers can locate the right appliance, understand who it serves, and open its management workspace. DNS management addresses support sites that rely on dynamic DNS.
The fleet overview brings together connectivity and running pfSense versions. Sortable device inventory and version reporting help teams plan maintenance and identify where further review is needed.
Work with the firewall's configuration
Manage available firewall rules, NAT, interfaces, VPN, aliases, services, and installed-package settings through supported SSH and API workflows. A direct appliance login link uses the detected management port when engineers need to reach the native interface.
Configuration controls vary with the release and installed API. FWMS currently targets pfSense CE; validate your Netgate model, software edition, and API package before enrolling a production appliance. Do not assume that a compatible hardware brand means every software edition is supported.
Connect encrypted logs to investigations and reports
Configure enrolled appliances for secure log forwarding and search their collected events from the management platform. Date and time filters and source/destination IP searches help engineers investigate a customer's reported issue.
Dashboards and executive reports use the collected evidence, including pfBlockerNG, Snort, and antivirus events where those packages are installed and configured to produce the relevant logs.
Prepare the next site and retire the previous enrollment
Use template capture and interface mapping to prepare configurations for new hardware. Keep backups available alongside device management so a configuration baseline remains part of the operational workflow.
Offboarding is also part of appliance management: FWMS supports stopping its managed log forwarding and discarding the collected enrollment data while preserving the management company's device credentials. An offline-device override reports when remote deconfiguration could not be completed.
Evaluate the fit for your environment
Start with a lab device and verify management connectivity, the installed API's coverage, log shipping, and the package-specific controls your customers need. Read the pfSense central management guide for the broader workflow, or review the MSP management use cases.