Home Networking
Native IPv6 on OPNsense: Delegated Prefixes Across VLANs
Configure DHCPv6 prefix delegation and a unique /64 per VLAN in OPNsense, choose the right RA mode, preserve IPv6 firewall isolation, and test each client path.
Rack & Topology Designer
Drag real switches, routers, patch panels and servers into a rack, front and rear. Cable them port to port, set each port's VLANs, and trace any jack back to the switch through the patch panel.
Network Documentation
Subnet & VLAN Plan
Give it a private block and what each VLAN is for, and it lays out subnets that do not overlap and do not fragment the block.
Planner
Wi-Fi Heatmap Planner
Draw your rooms at their measured sizes, or upload a floor plan and trace it, and say what each wall is made of.
Wifi Planner
Home networking and self-hosted lab guides built around hardware a household can actually justify buying.
Network Services & Security
WireGuard VPN: Route Traffic Through Home, Then Verify It
Set up a WireGuard road-warrior tunnel with protected keys, working DNS, scoped forwarding, and explicit IPv4/IPv6 verification.
Home Networking
OPNsense Multi-WAN Failover: Gateway Groups, DNS, States and Tests
Configure OPNsense WAN failover with monitored gateways, LAN policy routing, a local DNS exception, default gateway switching and realistic state recovery tests.
Network Services & Security
When Pi-hole Blocks a Site: Exact Allows, Wildcards, and Regex
Use Pi-hole’s current allowlist priority, query log, wildcard allow, and regex test mode to restore a blocked site with the narrowest justified exception.
Network Services & Security
Limit DNS-over-HTTPS Bypasses Around Pi-hole
Route ordinary DNS through Pi-hole, limit DoT, configure managed browsers, and test exactly which DoH bypasses your network policy covers.
Home Automation
Automated Home Assistant Backups to a Remote NAS with Samba and the Backup Integration
Configure automatic Home Assistant OS backups to a Samba NAS, protect the encryption key, verify scheduled files, and practice a current restore path.
Network Services & Security
Migrating from Pi-hole to AdGuard Home: DNS-over-HTTPS and Advanced Filtering
Move from Pi-hole to AdGuard Home with a tested rollback: preserve settings, rebuild filtering rules, configure DoH upstream, then switch clients and DHCP safely.
Home Networking
OPNsense IoT Firewall Rules: IPv4 Isolation with Aliases and Schedules
Build and test OPNsense IPv4 IoT rules that allow chosen local services, block internal destinations and permit external access only on a schedule.
Home Networking
mDNS Across VLANs for Home Assistant: Avahi and OPNsense
Restore mDNS discovery across VLANs with an Avahi reflector or OPNsense repeater, then verify Home Assistant discovery and the separate device firewall path.
Home Automation
Zigbee2MQTT with Home Assistant: Local Control Without a Vendor Hub
Set up Zigbee2MQTT with Home Assistant, a supported coordinator and MQTT; verify pairing and discovery while keeping unsupported devices on their existing bridge.
Home Lab & Self-Hosting
The SMR Drive Trap: Slow ZFS and How to Avoid It
Drive-managed SMR can slow sustained ZFS writes and resilvers. Learn how to check a specific model, diagnose the bottleneck, and choose documented CMR.