In this article we will detail the steps required to create bootable USB installation media for OPNsense Firewall using the Rufus method as described in Pfsense USB Install Guide (Rufus). OPNsense is a fork of the venerable Pfsense Firewall. OPNsense’s main difference is the fully featured and easy to use GUI built using the newest web standards.
- Download the latest compatible version of OPNsense in .img.bz2 format. Note: this method does not work using the .iso.bz2 format.
- Extract the downloaded file to a folder of your choice.
- Plug in an empty USB stick and fire up the Rufus.
- Select DD Image as bootable disk type (See Image).
- Click on the disk icon and browse to the download that was extracted in step 2.
- Click “Start” to restore the image onto the USB stick using Rufus (See Image).
- Insert the newly created USB stick into router.
- Boot into the BIOS of the router and set “USB – HDD” to the top of the boot order. (On Hacom routers, press Del to enter the BIOS).
