I have finally started getting more into building servers and exploring the whole world of "homelabbing." Things have changed since my old post about a home vpn setup. I realized that the DD-WRT firmware I flashed to it doesn't support OpenVPN and only PPTP. It was upsetting but I had other uses for the router too. My other use was to set it up as a switch so that I can connect multiple devices to the network and add my own layer of security.

Being in my new apartment at school, I noticed the Wi-Fi is VERY insecure. That's why I purchased a VPN to add some extra security to myself and roommates. I also noticed on the r/homelab subreddit that a lot of people use VPNs for certain systems, but they're built into the hardware they use. I was intrigued and wanted to learn more.

Reddit Is A Dangerous Place

I spend a lot of time on networking and security subreddits like r/networking, r/netsec, r/netsecstudents, and r/homelab. These have taught me so much and have gotten me interested in starting my own lab. A lot of college students also have their own labs which is nice to see because it includes more affordable equipment and a much smaller scale.

Use What You Have First

Before I go out and buy a bunch of equipment like a higher end router, 8 port switch, I wanted to see what I could accomplish with my current router. Since it is running DD-WRT, I have tons of options already. But since I don't have a dedicated server yet, there isn't much of a use for it. For now I just turned it into a switch and changed the LAN subnet to something outside of the main router's subnet. The WAN address connects to the main network, but the LAN network is in it's own subnet. Luckily my VPN has a guide for setting up a PPTP in routers. So as an added benefit, my switch now has a built in proxy that tunnels my connection somewhere else. Hooray!

I eventually do want some higher end hardware so I can get used to using enterprise level equipment. Maybe a Unifi Switch8 and an EdgeRouter X to start out.

I'm planning on reviving my old system which runs an i5-3570k to be a Proxmox server. It'll have a drive for media storage and another drive for multiple VMs. So once I get those drives (probably for xmas), I can have a "real" server. I can't wait!