AI Disclosure:
I’ll probably use deepseek in one form or another to help me break down jargon and verbage, but that’s likely it. I enjoy the hands on approach to homelab.
project start
I have a rats nest of networking I realized I don’t understand the intricacies of, nor how to setup, secure, or manage properly. I’m going to demystify this one piece at a time, and build a more secure, functional, and managed network as a result, ideally repurposing the hardware I already own.
I have a ton going on, so let’s break this down by location
Location A: My house
- Unifi UDM pro as router/firewall/VPN node. Connects site to site VPN to other locations, serves DNS, and routes all services to the servers in my rack.
- Intel Nuc (Shafer Canyon) Active node for tailscale connections from mobile devices while abroad.
Location B: Parent’s house
- Unifi gateway ultra as router/firewall/dhcp, connected via site-to-site to my udm pro.
- Raspi 3 as DNS
Location C: In-laws House
- Unifi gateway ultra as router/firewall/dhcp, connected via site to site to my udm pro.
The complications arise when we get to VPN, VLAN, and access.
The goals here:
- All external bound traffic goes out via VPN through Mullvad
- All traffic to my house is from approved clients on “Secure” VLANs
- All clients assigned to VLANs with only as much access as they need.
- Adblock network wide
- no unnecessary traffic from other sites routed through my house.
- Fully vet all firewall rules and understand why each is in place.