IPFW

man.freebsd.org · checked 11 Oct 2026

#9 · Server Virtualization Software

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How it plugs in

—Public API

NoOpen source

YesFree tier

Signal on Server Virtualization Software5.9#9 of 22

ipfw is the user interface for controlling the FreeBSD firewall, dummynet traffic shaper and packet scheduler, and in-kernel NAT services.

Pricing

IPFWFreeBSD firewall utility; no paid plans statedFree

As man.freebsd.org lists them, checked 11 Oct 2026.

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Facts

Website: man.freebsd.org
Price: Free tier
Free trial: No
Availability: FreeBSD is available free of charge with source code.
Configuration files: Rules may be read from a file and optionally piped through a preprocessor such as cpp or m4.
Connection alerts: Yes
Filtering: Rules can filter on IPv4 and IPv6 protocols, addresses and ports, direction, interfaces, IP and TCP header fields, and other packet attributes.
Logging: Matching packets can be logged to syslog, the ipfw0 pseudo-interface, or a routing socket.
NAT: The utility supports in-kernel NAT and stateful or stateless IPv6/IPv4 translation, including NAT64 and CLAT.
Operational caution: The manual warns that a mismatch between the userland world and kernel can break the ipfw ABI and prevent adding rules, potentially affecting booting.
Outbound control: advanced
Platform: IPFW is documented as a FreeBSD system utility; the FreeBSD project provides images for supported architectures and cloud vendors.
Project: FreeBSD is developed and maintained by a large community.
Rule direction: both
Rule management: Rules can be organized into 32 sets that can be enabled, disabled, swapped, or moved for ruleset manipulation.

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