M0n0wall

m0n0wall
m0n0wall
Developer	Manuel Kasper
OS family	FreeBSD (8.4-RELEASE)
Working state	Discontinued / February 15, 2015
Source model	Open source
Latest release	1.8.1 / January 15, 2014
Repository	svn.m0n0.ch/wall/ ;
Kernel type	Monolithic kernel
License	BSD
Succeeded by	pfSense
Official website	m0n0.ch/wall/

Last updated July 18, 2025

m0n0wall was an embedded firewall distribution of FreeBSD, one of the BSD operating system descendants. It provided a small image which could be put on Compact Flash cards as well as on CD-ROMs and hard disks. It ran on a number of embedded platforms and generic PCs. The PC version could be run with just a Live CD and a floppy disk to store configuration data, or on a single Compact Flash card (with an IDE adapter). This eliminated the need for a hard drive, which reduces noise and heat levels and decreases the risk of system failure through elimination of moving parts found in older hard drives.

Features

m0n0wall provided an web-based configuration and used PHP exclusively for the GUI and bootup configuration. Additionally, it adopted a single XML file for configuration parameters.

Some functions of m0n0wall were:

Stateful packet filter firewall
IPsec and PPTP VPNs
Inbound and Outbound Network Address Translation
Captive portal
Traffic shaper
Inbound and Outbound port filtering
Support for 802.1q compatible VLANs
Multiple IP addresses on LAN and WAN ports
IPS

Hardware

m0n0wall was installed on embedded hardware designed and manufactured by some companies.

Derivatives

Similar hardware requirements

t1n1wall: 2015 fork of m0n0wall after it was discontinued, no activity since 2020.
SmallWall: Another 2015 fork of m0n0wall after its end-of-life, no activity since 2016.
m0n0wall mod: Original m0n0wall with additional features (DHCP+PPTP, DHCP+PPPoE, static+PPPoE, L2TP, WAN eth interface), no activity since 2013.

Extended hardware requirements

pfSense: Forked from the m0n0wall project in 2004, first released in 2006.^[3]
OPNsense: Forked from pfSense in 2015.^[4]

Other usages (not a firewall)

AskoziaPBX: An embedded telephone system.
XigmaNAS: Network-attached storage software using FreeBSD, uses portions of m0n0wall web GUI. Formerly NAS4Free.
TrueNAS: Network-attached storage software with versions in FreeBSD and Linux. Developed and maintained by iXsystems

References

1 2 Kasper, Manuel (February 15, 2015). "m0n0wall - End of the m0n0wall project".
↑ Chirgwin, Richard (February 16, 2015). "M0n0wall comes tumbling down as dev throws in the trowel". The Register.
↑ Fields, Robert (October 28, 2016). "Happy 10th Anniversary to pfSense Open Source Software". Netgate Blog.
↑ Yegulalp, Serdar (August 16, 2016). "Review: 6 slick open source routers". Infoworld via CIO. Archived from the original on December 20, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.

External links

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[EoL-1] 1 2 Kasper, Manuel (February 15, 2015). "m0n0wall - End of the m0n0wall project".

[2] Chirgwin, Richard (February 16, 2015). "M0n0wall comes tumbling down as dev throws in the trowel". The Register.

[3] Fields, Robert (October 28, 2016). "Happy 10th Anniversary to pfSense Open Source Software". Netgate Blog.

[InfoOPN-4] Yegulalp, Serdar (August 16, 2016). "Review: 6 slick open source routers". Infoworld via CIO. Archived from the original on December 20, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.

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