Netgate Releases pfSense® Community Edition Version 2.8.1

pfSense® software, the world’s leading firewall, router, and VPN solution, provides secure network edge and cloud networking solutions for millions of deployments worldwide.

Netgate® is excited to announce the release of pfSense® Community Edition (CE) software version 2.8.1-RELEASE. This will be a maintenance software release primarily containing bug fixes. All pfSense CE users are encouraged to upgrade to this new version.

This 2.8.1-RELEASE version includes a number of bugfixes in the following areas:

• DynamicDNS
• PPPoE Interfaces
• OpenVPN
• Operating System Updates
• Firewall Rules/NAT
• System Logs
• UPnP

Release Notes 

Release Notes for pfSense CE 2.8.1-RELEASE are available for a more comprehensive list of new features, bug fixes, and other changes in this release.

Upgrade Notes

To give an upgrade the best possible chance of going smoothly, uninstall all packages before starting the upgrade.

Before upgrading, pay particular attention to the Pre-Upgrade Tasks section of the Upgrade Guide. The most crucial points are noted in this post, but the best practice is to follow all of the precautions noted in the Upgrade Guide.

Installing the Upgrade

To give an upgrade the best possible chance of going smoothly, uninstall all packages before starting the upgrade. Before upgrading, pay particular attention to the Pre-Upgrade Tasks section of the Upgrade Guide. Below are the high-level steps to perform the upgrade. 

Users currently running pfSense Community Edition (CE) software

Upgrades from an earlier version of pfSense CE software are usually made through the web-based user interface. Before any major change, such as an upgrade, the best practice is always to create and securely store a backup of the pfSense configuration. The pfSense documentation contains detailed Backup and Recovery instructions.

To perform the update:

• Navigate to System > Update in the pfSense software GUI
• Set Branch to “Current Stable Version (2.8.1)”
• Click Confirm to start the upgrade process

We encourage users to migrate from pfSense CE software to pfSense Plus software. Doing so will ensure you have access to all of the benefits of pfSense Plus software. You can find details on how to get pfSense Plus software in the Netgate shop.

Troubleshooting the Upgrade

Please review the documentation on Troubleshooting Upgrades for the most up-to-date information on working around upgrade issues.

This pfSense CE software release is ready for use in production environments. Should any issues arise, please post to our forum or contact Netgate Technical Assistance Center (TAC) for paid assistance.

Supporting the Project

When you purchase Netgate hardware, TAC, or AWS/Azure cloud instances, you directly sustain the engineering teams responsible for maintaining high quality pfSense software. 

You may support this work through one or more of the following:

• Purchase an official appliance directly from Netgate or from our worldwide reseller partner network. Our appliances are the fast, easy way to get up and running with a fully-optimized firewall.
• Purchase a TAC subscription, which provides you with direct access to Netgate Global Support
• Purchase Professional Services, which provides access to our most senior engineers for more complex projects outside the scope of TAC requests.
• Use a genuine pfSense Plus instance from Netgate to connect and protect your cloud workloads on AWS and Azure.

Our efforts are made possible by the support of our customers and the community, and for that we express our sincere thanks. This involvement makes the pfSense project a stronger solution for everyone.