I’m just getting started with this whole out my network setup stuff and was thinking…
What do you guys think would be the ultimate open source network setup?
A OPNsense + OpenWRT combo?
OPNsense for the router with coreboot.
OpenWRT for the switch.
OpenWRT for the wifi access points.
OPNsense - open source.
Coreboot - open source.
OpenWRT - open source.
Would a setup like this be too challenging?
Just trying to find the right hardware seems like a difficult challenge already…
Find devices that support xyz features.
Find devices that can install OpenWRT.
Check for devices for multiple revisions as certain revisions may/may not be supported by OpenWRT.
Filter for devices that support latest OpenWRT version.
From hardware selection to hardware/software installation, I couldn’t find any good guides or resources on this. Couldn’t even find some good software tutorials. Maybe hardware options for OpenWRT are just too limiting.
This is a very interesting idea. I hadn’t thought about running OpenWRT on network switches but that could be a good idea for switches that no longer receive firmware updates. I thought I had an older TP-Link managed switch that I could try installing OpenWRT but it’s not on the compatible list. Also it seems not all features are supported on some of the TP-Link switches I looked at (such as SFP, LED indicators, etc).
As you mentioned finding the right hardware to put OpenWRT on everything could be a bit challenging but at least there are hardware lists where OpenWRT runs– some of which describe what works and what doesn’t work.
I haven’t explored OpenWRT a whole lot yet.. I did experiment with a Raspberry Pi 5 with a 2.5 Gbps NIC. I bought a dual 2.5 Gbps NIC for the RPi 5 to see if I could get full 2.5 Gbps throughput on both interfaces since in theory the PCIe bandwidth on the RPi 5 can reach 5-6 Gbps. You wouldn’t be able to saturate it full duplex on both interfaces simultaneous since that would require 10 Gbps of bandwidth.
OpenWRT can run on a lot of things and some hardware it’s easier to install than others. At least for the router with coreboot, it is likely the easiest install option since you can just use any mini PC (that has coreboot if you also want the open source firmware).