COVID-19 has a firm grip on the world at present. No one yet knows how long it will last, or how deep its impact will be. These are unprecedented circumstances. We wish the absolute best for all, especially those on the frontline of healthcare.

Everyone should be evaluating how they can best help. At Netgate, we will provide specific assistance to organizations and individuals who are rapidly shifting their IT infrastructure to accommodate shelter in place, and perhaps more specifically, VPN-based work from home.

We issued related blogs on March 12 and March 19, intended to provide readers with VPN guidance using pfSense® software, as well as an interesting story one of our users shared.

Now we are taking it further. Through the end of May 2020, Netgate is providing the following:

1. Free “zero to ping” support for anyone running pfSense software.

Many of our newer customers often need assistance just getting up and running. If you are stuck, let us help.

Netgate Global Support prides itself on fast response. But, as you might expect, call volumes are higher than normal right now. We just ask that you submit a help ticket here. We’ll process tickets in the order received and get back to you as soon as we can - by phone or ticket reply.

2. Free VPN configuration and connection support for healthcare providers and not-for-profit organizations.

With ‘shelter in place’ increasingly dominating all of our lives now, there is no time to waste getting secure connections up and running. The last thing anyone wants or needs is a frustrating VPN activation or expansion experience. While our support team is heavily subscribed at present supporting many with network scale and extension needs, we’ll do everything we can to assist healthcare providers - as well as those who provide other public services in times of crisis - who are overwhelmed and exhausted.

Just as with above, we just ask that you submit a help ticket here. We’ll process tickets in the order received and get back to you as fast as we can.

3. pfSense TAC support subscription prices are now offered at reduced subscription rates.

Many customers have expressed they’d like to take advantage of Netgate’s TAC business assurance - but are unable to justify the cost for technical assistance (even though the software itself is open source and free to download).

Today, we’re glad to announce Bundled and Unbundled Professional TAC support are reduced from $588 and $948 per year respectively to $399 per year.

As well, Bundled and Unbundled Enterprise TAC support are reduced from $1,788 and $2,148 per year respectively to $799 per year.

You can find out more about what our support subscriptions include here.

We believe the above three provisions will help most of our users with their acute needs - certainly based on the types of support requests we see coming in daily right now.

4. First Responder | Front Line Healthcare Professional Service

Not every need fits into a tidy category. Netgate is blessed to have extremely talented and experienced support personnel that can help on many network design and implementation fronts. So for any first responder, or front-line healthcare provider that might need professional service assistance above and beyond what is covered above, contact us. We will do as much as we can on a case-by-case basis, whether you are running pfSense software on a Netgate appliance or not.

One final thought. pfSense has an extensive user base with its own reach into the world. We ask that all pfSense users offer a helping hand. Share your knowledge. Help respond to questions from others in the pfSense software forum and Reddit community. We are all in this together - and can play a part in keeping each other healthy and productive.

As always, thank you for your support. Be safe out there.