Design of a pfSense-based Wireless Network to Transition from the Use of Proprietary Software in the Campus of the University of Sciences and Humanities, Lima, Peru

Abstract

The present work is the proposed design for the wireless network of the University of Sciences and Humanities to transition from the current design that uses the proprietary software of Ruckus Networks to a free and open-source option with pfSense to lower the costs and maintain a high level of security. In the present time, it is very important to keep the information secured, technological development has also given hackers new ways to attack networks and obtain private information, and universities and educational institutions are also at risk of intrusion from attackers. In this sense, universities need to ensure that the network on the campus has all of the proper measures in place to prevent the loss of information. For the design of the proposed network for the University of Sciences and Humanities, the configuration of pfSense was done on VirtualBox, and four VLANs were created with firewall rules to ensure higher security. Finally, the proposed network design and the firewall rules were tested with a simulation in which pfSense was installed on a laptop to act as a server. The Results show that the firewall rules and the proposed design operate appropriately for the needs of the university campus.