In computing, Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) is a secure network protocol suite that authenticates and encrypts the packets of data sent over an IPv4 network. The initial IPv4 suite was developed with so few security provisions that the IP version was incomplete, open or left for further research development. IPsec includes protocols for establishing mutual authentication between agents at the beginning of a session and negotiation of cryptographic keys to use during the session. IPsec can protect data flows between a pair of hosts (host-to-host), between a pair of security gateways (network-to-network), or between a security gateway and a host (network-to-host). Internet Protocol security (IPsec) uses cryptographic security services to protect communications over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. IPsec supports network-level peer authentication, data-origin authentication, data integrity, data confidentiality (encryption), and replay protection.

As a part of the IPv4 enhancement, IPsec is a layer 3 OSI model or Internet Layer end-to-end security scheme, while some other Internet security systems in widespread use operate above layer 3, such as Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Shell (SSH), which operate at the Transport Layer and the Application layer, respectively. IPsec can automatically secure applications at the IP layer.

In this article we will see a site-to-site VPN using the IPSEC protocol between a Cisco ASA and a pfSensefirewall. PfSense is an open source distribution of FreeBSD customized for use as a firewall and router. You can install pfSense on a PC with two (or more) NICs, essentially turning it into a flexible security appliance. You can obtain your copy of pfSense from the Downloads section of www.pfsense.org. At the time of this writing, the latest available release is 2.0.2 and the same has been used in this tutorial.

We will focus on site-to-site IPsec implementation between a Cisco ASA and a pfSense firewall, as shown in Figure 1 below.

We will start with a preconfiguration checklist that will serve as a reference for configuration of IPSEC on both devices. ISAKMP/Phase 1 attributes are used to authenticate and create a secure tunnel over which IPsec/Phase 2 parameters are negotiated.

Preconfiguration Checklist: ISAKMP/Phase-1 Attributes

Attribute Value
Encryption AES 128-bit
Hashing SHA-1
Authentication method Preshared keys
DH group Group 2 1024-bit field
Lifetime 86,400 seconds

 

We will use main mode rather than aggressive mode for negotiation. IPsec Phase 2 attributes are used to encrypt and decrypt the actual data traffic.

Preconfiguration Checklist: IPsec/Phase-2 Attributes

Attribute Value
Encryption AES 128-bit
Hashing SHA-1
Lifetime 28,800 seconds4,608,000 kB
Mode Tunnel
PFS group None

 

Now that we have determined what Phase 1 and Phase 2 attributes to use, we’re ready to configure IPsec. We assume that all IP addresses are already configured and basic connectivity exists between Cisco ASA and pfSense firewall.

ASA Configuration

Let’s start with configuring the ASA (Using ASA 8.4(2) in this example):

IPsec ISAKMP Phase 1

IPsec Phase 2

PfSense Configuration

We open the URL http://173.199.183.2 in a Web browser to access the pfSense firewall and enter the default username/password of admin/pfsense. You may have noticed that 173.199.183.2 is the WAN IP address of the pfSense firewall that indicates we are accessing it from the Internet.

After successfully logging in you reach the Status page which reports the summary state of your pfSense firewall. Go to VPN > IPsec using the menu and click add phase1 entry on the Tunnels tab. Configure ISAKMP/Phase 1 parameters as given in Table 1 and shown in the following screenshot.

Click the Save button to save the configuration and go back to the Tunnels tab. Click add phase 2 entry to configure IPsec/Phase 2 parameters as given in Table 2 and shown in the following screenshot.

Click the Save button to save changes and go back to the Tunnels tab where you can view a summary of your Phase 1 and Phase 2 configuration. Check the Enable IPsec checkbox and press the Save button. In the end, press the Apply changes button to finalize your configuration, as shown in the following screenshot.

Our IPsec configuration is now complete on both devices. We can generate some traffic from a host in subnet 192.168.1.0/24 connected to Cisco ASA to a host in subnet 10.0.0.2/24 connected to pfSense, using the ping utility. If ping is successful between the two subnets, an IPsec tunnel is likely to have established successfully. The same can be verified using command show crypto ipsec stats on Cisco ASA.

In order to check IPsec tunnel status on the pfSense firewall, go to Status > IPsec. If you see a tiny green icon in the Status column, IPsec tunnel is successfully established as shown in the following screenshot.

Here are some commands that will help you to troubleshoot the VPN.

Enable Debug VPN

You will see all messages regarding to the VPN connection(s)

Disable Debug VPN

The debug mode will be set to OFF

Check VPN status

You will see the status of your VPN(s)