Recent content on Home Network Guy
Many users have ISP supplied routers or their own gateway/router devices that they must use or prefer to use yet want to add greater security to their networks without replacing their current gateway/router. A transparent filtering bridge allows users to deploy a firewall in their networks while utilizing existing network infrastructure. This guide will demonstrate how to set up a transparent…
Improve Your Home Network Security For many home users, the main router used on the network is provided by the ISP (Internet Service Provider). The router is often an all-in-one device which enables Internet access as well as Wi-Fi. There are several consequences that arise when using equipment provided by the ISP: The router software is often outdated or rarely updated which may lead to increased…
ISC (Internet Systems Consortium) is the organization that developed and maintained the open source ISC DHCP server. In October 2022, ISC released the last maintenance version of the ISC DHCP server. The official successor to ISC DHCP is called Kea DHCP which is also created and maintained by the ISC organization. ISC DHCP was the default DHCP server in OPNsense until version 25.7 where dnsmasq…
To minimize disruption on my home network, I typically create most of my guides either in a disconnected lab environment or on my LAB VLAN that I have set up on my main network for this purpose. This allows me to tinker to my heart’s content without messing with the configuration of my primary network (aka my “production” network). One area I attempt to include in more current…
Many users have ISP supplied routers or their own gateway/router devices that they must use or prefer to use yet want to add greater security to their networks without replacing their current gateway/router. A transparent filtering bridge allows users to deploy a firewall in their networks while utilizing existing network infrastructure. This guide will demonstrate how to set up a transparent…
When taking a look at the TC300-TTG sent to me by Tometek, I encountered a number of issues using the SFP+ interfaces. This was the first mini PC with an Intel Atom C3000 series CPU that I have had the privilege to test so I was excited to test the performance. Excitement quickly turned to frustration when I encountered several issues attempting to use the SFP+ interfaces in various Linux…
Ever consider building a standalone Plex Media Server and be able to play media on the same system? That is what I will set out to do in this guide! In my home network, I prefer to host Plex Media Server on my Proxmox server and use various clients such as an AppleTV, iPads, and iPhones on my network to view the media. Protectli recently sent me their V1210 model that is their first model in the…
When deciding to virtualize OPNsense on Proxmox, you may have a lot of questions on how to go about it. There are a number of approaches you may take especially with how you wish to utilize the network interfaces. In this guide, I present one way you could configure OPNsense in a VM on Proxmox, but it is certainly not the only way. I find that providing detailed examples that mimic real world…
Protectli offers various mini-PCs with 2 to 6 network interfaces that support 1G or 2.5G Ethernet. These are great little boxes that can be used as a router/firewall or as a compact server for your network. One of the greatest features they offer is coreboot support on all of their mini-PCs. Coreboot ensures the firmware of the system has not been modified to minimize the likelihood of the device…
After trying out some of the EnGenius wireless APs and switches, EnGenius sent me their ECP106 PDU so I could take a closer look. I thought reviewing a PDU would be interesting since I had not yet had the opportunity to do so. A PDU is a power distribution unit – essentially it is a power strip. Many PDUs offer surge protection and can be rack mountable so you can power all of your rack…
Ever since setting up CrowdSec in OPNsense, I have had the desire to set up a CrowdSec bouncer on my reverse proxy to enable extra protection for apps/services hosted behind the proxy. Even though I have CrowdSec protecting my entire network from crowd sourced malicious IPs as well as protecting my OPNsense web UI and SSH service, CrowdSec is also able to protect various apps/services running on…
In my previous guides which mention the purpose and importance of a management network/VLAN, I used the default VLAN 1 for the management network to simplify the configuration of the management network because most devices default to the untagged VLAN 1 network. In my network, I use the default untagged VLAN 1 network (the default LAN in OPNsense) as my management network. When taking this…
When EnGenius sent me two wireless access points to review, they promised to send me some switches so that I can try out more of their ecosystem. EnGenius has product lines for midsize business/enterprises and for small business/home users. I received two midsize business/enterprise managed switches: the ECS1112FP and EXT1105P. The ECS1112FP is a 8 port Gigabit PoE+ switch which has 4 Gigabit…
EnGenius has two main product lines each aimed toward the midsize business/enterprise or the small business/home users. The products for the midsize business and enterprise are cloud managed while the small business and home users can have a local control using the EnGenius Fit network controller. EnGenius sent me a couple of their midsize business/enterprise wireless access points to try out.…
For the last several years, I have been using 3 TP-Link managed switches in my server rack: the T2600G-28TS (affiliate link) , T2600G-28MPS (affiliate link) , and T1500G-10MPS (affiliate link) . The reason I had 3 switches is that I started off with a 24 port non-PoE switch (T2600G-28TS), which met my needs at that time. Before I moved to a new house, I knew I would have less than 24 Ethernet…
A few years ago, I saw Kickstarter project that seemed interesting: the ZimaBoard. I kept the browser tab open for a while on my phone so I could keep track of it. I am glad that the ZimaBoard has made it to market over the last year or two since it is an affordable x86 mini-PC which offers some interesting features for those who like to tinker. The release of unique products which target homelab…
Captive portals are generally used to allow users temporary access to a network. The most common use of a captive portal is public WiFi hotspots of restaurants, hotels, and rental properties. However, you may make use of a captive portal on your home network for a guest network, for instance. OPNsense has built-in functionality for captive portals, which is convenient especially if do not have or…
My most popular guide at the time of this writing is how to set up a full network using OPNsense. In that guide, I combine many of the concepts I have written about over the years. The guide has been generally well received but as more new users started following that guide, some confusion has arisen about the concept of LAGs and when it is appropriate to use them. A Link Aggregation Group (LAG)…
I had the opportunity to help with a small network deployment, which included a Ubiquiti UniFi 48-port PoE switch (USW-48-PoE) (affiliate link) . Since I have only covered UniFi wireless access points, I thought I would take the opportunity to write about setting up VLANs on a UniFi switch. The process is straightforward even though Ubiquiti has their own unique way to configure VLANs on their web…
Several years ago I wrote some guides on setting up Pi-hole using Portainer on a Raspberry Pi. Since that time, I have decommissioned Pi-hole in favor of managing all ad blocking/tracking (as well as other security features) using Zenarmor in OPNsense. The primary reason of removing Pi-hole from my network was to simplify the maintenance of my network infrastructure and to minimize the number of…
Nearly a year ago at the time of this writing, I received the Protectli 4G LTE modem along with the VP2410. I briefly discussed the modem in my Protectli accessories review. I have been wanting to take a closer look at the modem so that I can not only test how well it functions but also to learn more about dual WAN configurations in OPNsense. Since I work from home, having the modem will also be…
At the time of this writing, I have been working to build out a lab network to help me more easily test various network configurations using mini-PCs, network switches, and wireless access points. I decided that I needed to purchase a small, unmanaged network switch with higher speed network interfaces. With the faster interfaces, I can test network throughput across multiple devices without…
When you install OPNsense, it will generate a self-signed certificate for the web interface. While a self-signed certificate will work just fine especially in a home network environment where you restrict access to the web interface, the situation is less than ideal. The greatest concern is that you could be subject to a man in the middle attack since it is easier to impersonate a self-signed…
There are a number of places in OPNsense where you may configure various DNS options. Some of the options apply to the OPNsense system itself while others apply to the Unbound DNS and DHCP services. In an attempt to bring clarity to the topic, I will discuss the DNS configuration option that are available so you will know when you may or may not want to use them. Since certain options function…
Nearly two years ago, I had the opportunity to review the TinyPilot Voyager after I was approached by Michael Lynch, TinyPilot’s (affiliate link) founder. Since the last review, TinyPilot has released a new model, the Voyager 2a, which includes several improvements over the original model. When Michael offered me the opportunity to review the new version of the TinyPilot, I was excited to…
Have you ever wanted to build a small, compact music player using a Raspberry Pi? I did some research to come up with a solution that met my current needs well. (I know the Raspberry Pi is hard to come by at the time of this writing, but I wanted to document this process because one day that situation should improve.) The goal for the project was to create a compact music player with a touchscreen…
After I had finished my review of the Gowin R86S-U4, I was sent a question on how to enable the 10G SFP+ interfaces in OpenWRT since they are not enabled out of the box. I have not used OpenWRT in the past even though I have been aware of its existence for a long time. This seemed like a good opportunity to try out OpenWRT to see how to enable the SFP+ interfaces. The R86S-U4 has Mellanox…
The Hugo theme I am using at the time of this writing had several updates which I wanted to incorporate into my site. The most significant update was the refactoring of the theme to make use of Hugo modules. The theme authors created the modules so they could be reused across their collection of themes (once they finish updating them all). It took some time for me to get my theme and configuration…
In a previous review, I took a look at the R86S-P2 and the R86S-B3 models by Gowin Solution (see their international website). The R86S originally had 3 different series models: the “B”, “P”, and “G” series. Within each series there were various configurations to choose from. The “B” series is fanless, has the slowest CPU of all the models, and only…
Over the last several years I have seen many users who are deciding to use OPNsense or pfSense as their home network router software of choice or they are migrating from pfSense to OPNsense. Even though I am not an expert with pfSense since I chose to use OPNsense when I migrated away from consumer grade routers, I thought it may be informative to do a side-by-side comparison of the differences…
Around the time I reviewed the Protectli VP2410, I was hoping to review their 4 port Vault Pro model with 2.5G interfaces, but it was not ready yet. Since Protectli has released the VP2420, I wanted to take some time to review it. The VP2420 is an evolution of the VP2410. All of the hardware has been upgraded to faster speeds, larger capacities, and higher throughput. If you are planning to…
When the Protectli VP2420 was initially released, the coreboot firmware for the VP2420 was not quite ready so it was shipped with the default AMI firmware. Since coreboot was released for the VP2420, it now available for everyone to flash their firmware to gain the benefits of coreboot. This guide is roughly based upon the official documentation on flashing the firmware for any Protectli device,…
Protectli is best known for their Vault firewall appliances, but they also make a variety of accessories that you may purchase for your Protectli hardware. I did not realize they were available until I started browsing through their website when I was preparing for my first Protectli hardware review. In an effort to provide more information on Protectli products that may interest my readers, I…
Since the publication of this guide, I have written a new guide which is aimed more towards beginners. The beginner’s guide focuses more on the bare minimum requirements to get started with building a full network using OPNsense. In that guide, I only demonstrate using the LAN interface with a single VLAN where untrusted devices may be placed. I feel this would be a good first step in…
In July 2022, I was contacted by Gowin Solution (also see their international website) to review their new mini-PC/firewall devices which have 2.5G Ethernet interfaces. Gowin is a newer Chinese company that is beginning to produce mini-PC/firewall appliances. The company seems interested in reaching out to bloggers like myself to generate interest in their products and to help provide guidance on…
If you decide to purchase a Gowin R86S mini-PC, you may wish to install OPNsense so you can use it as your router/firewall. The R86S comes preinstalled with OpenWRT, but you can install your software of choice on the device. Download OPNsense You may download OPNsense on their download page. You will need to download the default “vga” version of the installer since you will be using a…
If you have you an existing bare metal OPNsense installation and you wish to migrate to new hardware, you have the option of exporting your current configuration and importing the configuration during the installation of OPNsense on a new system. The import process can save you a lot of time since you do not need to configure your router from scratch. However, the process may not get you 100%…
Unbound DNS provides the ability to create DNS overrides, which allows you to manually configure the IP addresses that are returned by DNS lookups for specific host/domain names. DNS overrides are useful for a split-horizon DNS configuration. You may want the clients inside your network to access the local IP address of a publicly hosted service rather than your external IP address especially if…
After writing for this site for several years, I have recently been approached by a couple of hardware vendors to try out their hardware. I view this is as a great opportunity to expand upon my hardware recommendations page with real world experience and hopefully provide interesting information not as readily available elsewhere. Protectli is a well-known maker of firewall appliances so I was…
While much of the content on this site focuses on more advanced home networking topics, I thought it may be helpful for new users to write a guide on installing and configuring OPNsense. This information should be a good starting point for beginning the OPNsense journey. For new users, I often recommend starting with the basics before diving deeper into more complex configurations. Once the basics…
When I first decided to migrate from my Ubuntu server to Proxmox, I added a 4 port 1 Gbps NIC (affiliate link) in my Proxmox system to be used by my LXCs and VMs. The primary goal was to increase bandwidth for the services hosted on my server while allowing me to dedicate the network interface on the motherboard for Proxmox management. A secondary goal was to improve redundancy in case a network…
When you have decided as a home user to make the switch from a consumer grade router to a more advanced firewall/router such as OPNsense, you may find yourself overwhelmed at where to begin with securing your router and your network. While the default installation has some basic protections in place, there is much more that you can do to secure OPNsense and your network. One benefit to creating…
Enabling multi-factor authentication for your accounts is a good security practice to follow and the account used to access the OPNsense web interface is no exception. Even though most users will not expose the web interface to the outside world, enabling the extra authentication improves security within your network in the event a device on your network is compromised. Hardening your internal…
CrowdSec is an open source Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) which crowd sources various types of threat intelligence that is used to monitor and protect your network from known threats. One unique aspect of CrowdSec is the use of crowd sourcing threat information that is shared among other CrowdSec users. This allows CrowdSec to respond quickly to new threats. CrowdSec can monitor, alert, and…
In my children’s bedrooms, we use old iPhones to play quiet music at bedtime and at nap time. However, the kids are very tempted to play with the phones which has caused some issues in the past (filling up the storage with random photos, etc.). You can only disable and hide so many features on the iPhone. I have long said that I should just build my own music player so all they can do is…
Originally I wanted to write about how to use a second OPNsense router two different ways: with NAT and without NAT. After digging into it further, I decided to write two separate guides to keep each guide to a reasonable length and focused on a specific topic. I am glad that I did because this guide ended up being much more involved than my other guide. Running a second OPNsense router using…
There may be instances where you may wish to run an OPNsense router behind another router. For instance, your ISP may make it difficult to use your own modem/router and/or not provide any customer support if you use your own modem/router. If you are renting or your living with your parents, you may not be able to use your own modem/router. Perhaps you would like to set up an isolated homelab…
Occasionally I have been asked for hardware recommendations for OPNsense and the question appears on Reddit frequently. So I thought it may be helpful to categorize OPNsense features based on hardware utilization along with a list of products in various price ranges that should perform well for many home users. OPNsense runs on x86-64 based hardware, which means you have many options available to…
Modems have a web-based interface which allows you to view information about the status of your modem including signal strength and quality as well as logs about the connectivity to your ISP. The information can be a useful diagnostic tool when troubleshooting various issues. You may also view the firmware version to see if you are using the latest version. The IP address to access the…
When you are upgrading your home network and/or building a homelab, you will likely need to troubleshoot various network issues especially as the number of devices/services continues to grow. I have compiled a list of commands I find useful for troubleshooting connectivity and when I am setting up various Linux containers/virtual machines. I plan to update this list as I come across new useful…