Staying Engaged...
I have in the past, done things like automate Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM), but now I find a need to get a bit deeper involved with the open-source side of software. For the past few weeks, during my spare time, I have been developing a library of functions to automate pfSense using PowerShell.
pfSense is a fantastic OSS tool for all your basic (and not-so basic) networking needs. It is based upon FreeBSD an provides routing, gateway, NAT, VPN and more, with plugins available (like Squid Proxy).