The specialized firewall distribution OPNsense updates the substructure in version 22.7. There were also other improvements, such as DDoS protection.
The developers of OPNsense have released version 22.7, which among other things updates the substructure and the packages supplied. In addition, the firewall distribution with the version code name “Powerful Panther” contains numerous detailed improvements and brings new functions such as DDoS protection.
Basic framework up to date
The developers point out the update to FreeBSD 13.1 as a highlight of the new version. In addition, PHP is now included in version 8.0, the PHP web framework Phalcon in version 5. The support for Intel’s QuickAssist (QAT) is supposed to speed up data encryption and compression. Support for stacked VLAN (IEEE 802.1ad / QinQ) is also new.
The firewall itself now offers advanced DDoS protection based on sync cookies. The developers also highlight the possibility of being able to give each rule adaptive timeout values.
The OPNsense makers will remove the LibreSSL library from the distribution at the end of the 22.7 series, and it will no longer receive any further maintenance. Plugins for software that no longer works correctly with them are also thrown out – Tor starts first.
Instead, the OpenSSL “flavours” are to move in, which will also receive further maintenance. The next major version should make the move to OpenSSL automatically. However, the developers advise users to make the switch now to minimize the potential impact.
With version 22.7, version 22.1 from February will become obsolete. In the OPNsense release notes, the developers provide download links and a detailed list of all changes. Administrators should make the update in the foreseeable future.
