What network hardware should I get for my homelab?
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I'm running it virtualized in proxmox, mostly for the challenge. And boy was it a challenge. Runs great now though!
I don't really recommend virtualizing network infrastructure. If you break proxmox, you will probably lose Internet access entirely.
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I don't really recommend virtualizing network infrastructure. If you break proxmox, you will probably lose Internet access entirely.
Oh you do and I have.
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I don't really recommend virtualizing network infrastructure. If you break proxmox, you will probably lose Internet access entirely.
My network actually ran better when my OpnSense was virtualized on a Proxmox server running atop a Dell Optiplex 790 MT from like 2013, than it is currently on a bare metal Sophos SG-135v2.
But that is because the sophos has 8 ports. And all 8 are a separate interface, so to use them as a switch requires bridging 7 of the 8.
And that slows things down tremendously. I really just need an 8 port switch in there, I guess.
The upshot is, the sophos came with rack mounts.
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My Homelab currently consists of 3 Mini PC's and will eventually be put in a 10" rack
They are all just plugged into the router my ISP provided, I'd like to get a new router that runs open-source software and create a new network from it. I have no idea where to begin.
What hardware would you recommend?
Bonus: If possible I'd like to in the future attach a sim card to my network as a backup for the occasion that the ISP connection drops. (just a nice to have)
Assuming you want to replace it all, not just home lab use....
- Drop their router/modem combo if you can, get your own modem and router. Options are pretty wide here, but what I prefer is a wired router and separate WAPs. I'd lean toward opnsense for the router OS, and I'd use something with as little as two to four ports - one for the modem, one to hit a switch, two more gives you a second modem option (cellular as mentioned) and a second switch to hit if needed. Ideally with 10gbps for future proofing. Dont make your router/FW do lift of a switch, IMO.
- Get a switch sized to your network. Since you're going with a 10" rack, a small 8 port with a couple 10gbit uplinks would fit the bill. Managed only here. You dont need the latest and greatest - I have a stack of Aruba 2920s, 48+4 PoE+ (stacking cables) that I got for free that were being replaced. They came out in 2013 and went end of sale in 2017, and have been in my home lab since. So - any thing managed that handles what you have and a bit more.
- In terms of WAP, TP-Link, ASUS, and Zyxel all have decent hardware that works well.
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My Homelab currently consists of 3 Mini PC's and will eventually be put in a 10" rack
They are all just plugged into the router my ISP provided, I'd like to get a new router that runs open-source software and create a new network from it. I have no idea where to begin.
What hardware would you recommend?
Bonus: If possible I'd like to in the future attach a sim card to my network as a backup for the occasion that the ISP connection drops. (just a nice to have)
wrote last edited by [email protected]I'm a fan of pfSense, myself. But other suggestions here for OSes have been reasonable. I have a netgate router feeding an eero wap with a second wap creating a bridged wifi network. Future-proofing with 10GB on a wired switch if a good idea. I got a pair of Unifi 2.5GB switches with 10GB uplink for that. The difference in performance moving large data around is massive. I have 10GB between my primary machine, the one that I run as my always-on server, and my NAS. It's awesome. Everything else is 2.5GB.
Edit: made one bit plural
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My Homelab currently consists of 3 Mini PC's and will eventually be put in a 10" rack
They are all just plugged into the router my ISP provided, I'd like to get a new router that runs open-source software and create a new network from it. I have no idea where to begin.
What hardware would you recommend?
Bonus: If possible I'd like to in the future attach a sim card to my network as a backup for the occasion that the ISP connection drops. (just a nice to have)
wrote last edited by [email protected]I started with pfsense on Virtualbox, then quickly moved that to HyperV on Windows, where I had 3 locations running this as their routers for almost 2 years, even through COVID when I couldn't get to some locations. I never had a single issue, just got annoyed at the constant Windows updates rebooting the systems and internet going down when it did. One of these sites ran over a 4G modem, that I connected to a VPS that I could tunnel down to access it remotely.
I then moved these sites to Untangle, still on Hyper V, then for own use, moved off VM onto baremetal on an HP Elitedesk 800 with 10GbE card that cost about £100 total, which ran wonderfully until Untangle got sold out and made me switch to...
...OPNSense on the same Elitedesk (after reading about PFSenses silly games they played), and this ran perfectly for about 18 months, and with solid 1Gbps on Wireguard, then after all these years of messing with routers, I finally switched to a Unifi UDM Pro SE last year and I couldn't be happier. It does all I need, plus also CCTV recording (away from Blue Iris). I no longer have to worry that my DIY routers are going to fail on me. The other sites moved to ISP supplied modem/routers.
So, I would recommend Unifi hardware, despite it not being open source, mainly because, well, internet is a crucial service, especially in my household. And the UDM does WAN fail over well with my backup 4G modem. I can get it to do anything I need it to by just studying the GUI, I don't need to read loads of info like I did with OPnSense etc.
I did once however, move from PFSense to Untangle on a remote machine. Because Untangle had a GUI, I fired up a VM on the same Windows machine as PFSense, set it all up with the same NIC settings, then adjusted Hyper V so that the Untangle VM booted and the PfSense one didn't, then rebooted the machine and waited nervously for a few minutes, then boom, up popped the Untangle router! It felt good getting that done. It was only at my parents house, but still, it required a 90min journey if it failed.
With all the drama of Windows 11 in recent years, I'm glad I switched away from HyperV when I did.
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My Homelab currently consists of 3 Mini PC's and will eventually be put in a 10" rack
They are all just plugged into the router my ISP provided, I'd like to get a new router that runs open-source software and create a new network from it. I have no idea where to begin.
What hardware would you recommend?
Bonus: If possible I'd like to in the future attach a sim card to my network as a backup for the occasion that the ISP connection drops. (just a nice to have)
I use a dual NIC mini PC running OpnSense. Ot would support USB sims. I actually have two of the routers connected woth a network cable. If one goes down, the other takes over.
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My Homelab currently consists of 3 Mini PC's and will eventually be put in a 10" rack
They are all just plugged into the router my ISP provided, I'd like to get a new router that runs open-source software and create a new network from it. I have no idea where to begin.
What hardware would you recommend?
Bonus: If possible I'd like to in the future attach a sim card to my network as a backup for the occasion that the ISP connection drops. (just a nice to have)
Check out GNS3, it will let you build it an entire lab virtually.
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Opnsense on basically anything. That's what I'd recommend as a platform, so see if they have recommended hardware for cell network support.
Or if you're okay with commercial products, cradlepoint makes good cell network hardware. But you should still have a separate firewall/router and just use the cradlepoint as a modem.
Yeah. Would be my recommendation, too.
For the size of the lab a Zimba seems a good choice if something new is what OP wants, otherwise a MiniPC. -
I've had the opposite experience with Mikrotik.
I really wanted to like it, but (I say this as a former Cisco instructor) their approach to UI and documentation is terrible (the docs don't tell you what's what, just tell you how to setup a specific config, without explaining what they're doing or why, even worse, they start numbering their eth interfaces from 1 - it took me a while to figure this out).
Worse, it was unstable as hell. I setup one just as a test, with one laptop connected via ethernet. Every couple days I wouldn't be able to even ping the laptop - I'd have to reboot the router, manually, since it had become unresponsive.
This with a simple config (just eth2 is LAN, eth1 is external), and no rules.
It may have been a faulty unit, but as a consumer I can't risk assuming this, especially given the very poor docs and clumsy UI/config approach - it all indicates this is a very immature product, definitely not something I'd recommend to a newbie.
I hope they can really improve - the form factor is excellent, the price point is unbeatable, the capabilites of the hardware are extensive.
I somewhat agree on your comment about documentation and UI (altough once you get used to it, it's manageable) but just to add with my experience on these things: for me they've been rock solid. I've used them both at home and professionally (mostly on small-ish networks) for at least 10 years and they just seem to run just fine.
Currently my home router is RB4011iGS+ and there's been absolutely no problems with it in the 4-5 years it's been on my network. I'm not saying all their models are as reliable and there's not that many models I've had my hands on, but my experience with them has so far been pretty good.
