Can I Flash Custom Firmware on Old Firewalls?

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Asked By TechyTurtle92 On

Hey everyone! While cleaning out storage today, I stumbled upon some old firewalls - specifically Palo Alto and FortiGate devices. We were given the option to take them for personal use instead of just tossing them. This led me to wonder if it's feasible to flash custom firmware like OPNsense onto these appliances to enhance their functionality and keep them current. Has anyone tried this before, or have any insights on whether it's possible? Thanks!

5 Answers

Answered By SpeedyNetworker88 On

Even if you get the hardware running custom firmware, you might overload it if your internet speed has increased since the device was first made. For example, it might struggle with modern speeds if it's too old.

WireSpeedWizard -

I run OPNsense on a 10+ year old device with no issues. It really depends on your hardware.

Answered By FirmwareFanatic01 On

I've heard of people successfully flashing devices like the FortiGate 50E, but the results can vary quite a bit. Some folks have had good luck, while others not so much, so just be prepared for some trial and error.

Answered By OldTechReviver On

It's tough because most enterprise devices use specialized hardware that lacks compatible firmware. You might find a few exceptions, but many are just too customized to support new software.

Answered By LearningByDoing55 On

One time, I installed pfSense on a decommissioned Check Point firewall and it worked great for a learning project. Just a heads-up, if you're considering this route for educational purposes, a virtual machine setup is probably more efficient.

DeviceDude99 -

Totally! I think a VM setup is usually easier and cheaper for learning.

Answered By HardwareHunter87 On

Generally, enterprise hardware doesn't play nice with open source projects due to custom components. You might think you can boost these devices, but they could end up just burning electricity without any real gain. For a home lab, running virtual machines on a simple setup might give you much better performance than trying to reuse old firewalls.

CloudCatcher63 -

Yeah, and a lot of times these appliances won’t even boot any custom firmware or unsigned binaries.

DataDiver42 -

True, and it might be easier just to make a call to reset them if you're using them in an office setting.

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