Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 21:33:35 -0700 From: Modulok <modulok@gmail.com> To: "Peter N. M. Hansteen" <peter@bsdly.net> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: The book of pf... Message-ID: <AANLkTi=ZzAbH4vYbGA_D7y8w-H889So8Rzrm7EdXSd50@mail.gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <87y66g7kow.fsf@deeperthought.bsdly.net> References: <AANLkTikQcfa8WBrZuvAVe%2BeDzt7Cj_QjUQxz6c5kZ-H3@mail.gmail.com> <87y66g7kow.fsf@deeperthought.bsdly.net>
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On 1/19/11, Peter N. M. Hansteen <peter@bsdly.net> wrote: > Modulok <modulok@gmail.com> writes: > >> This book comes in two editions. The first was published in December >> 2007, the second, November, 2010. Does anyone have this? And if so >> would I be correct to get the first edition instead? I know FreeBSD's >> pf lags being openBSD's, so I'm not sure which version of the book to >> get, if either are applicable to the version of pf that FreeBSD runs? >> (FreeBSD 8.1) > > I started updating the text for the 2nd edition due to the changes > introduced in OpenBSD 4.7, (aka "Henning's monster diff") plus a few > other goodies such as pflow(4) that had turned up since the first > edition's late 2007 release, but I took some care to keep samples in > the older syntax where it's relevant. > > That means that for the FreeBSD parts, the second edition is up to > date per roughly early October 2010 (FreeBSD 8.1-stable), with a not > that for FreeBSD, we assume the 8 series. If you're running an older > release (ie a close descendant of whatever was -stable in late 2007), > the first edition is likely better suited. > > For other differences between the two, you could probably get an idea > by comparing the TOCs from the two editions' web pages (at > http://nostarch.com/pf.htm and http://nostarch.com/pf2.htm > respectively). The second edition turned into a more thorough rewrite > than I'd originally planned with some bits moving around. But if in > doubt, why not get both? ;) > > But yes, for FreeBSD 8.1, you'll be happier with the second edition. > FreeBSD's PF syntax is old-style, but some other relevant network > config details changed between 2007 and 2010, and the second edition > reflects this. Peter, Thanks for taking the time to reply! Your post answers a lot of questions that I and others had. I have since purchased the second edition of the book and am working my way through it. Thanks for writing a book on the subject too. Without books such as yours, it would be a far more frustrating world. For anyone else tinkering with firewalls: virtual machines can simplify the logistics. -Modulok-
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