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Another successful OpenBSD setup
I've been buying these little boxes from AliExpress for years to use as firewalls and routers. My oldest one is almost 9 years old now! OpenBSD installs just fine. Just a BIOS tweak to always boot up after power is restored.
Throw some hard drives on it and baby, you got a ~~stew~~ home media server goin!
How?
I've been thinking about setting up one of these cheap boxes as a NAS but I cannot ever find one with 4 Sata ports. Is there a solution for this?
I could use external USB Hard drives but that just feels so janky...
I personally never understood the desire for BSD. BSD was good back in the day but we now have Linux which is better supported and protected under the GPL.
PfSense and OPNsense are both killer router "out of the box" distros built on BSD. I say this as a Linux user, with little interest in running BSD for my applications, but... Respect to BSD. ✊
I run OpenWRT and it works pretty well. The only potential issue is the updates but if you have a plan it isn't a problem.
Maybe I'm missing out but from my perspective it is way cheaper to buy a off the shelf router with OpenWRT that can handle gigabit speeds than it is is to build/buy a entire computer that pulls way more power and is several times the cost.
I recently installed OPNsense specifically because I had to buy a mini PC with 2.5 gig ports. There simply isn't anything reasonable on the market for the prosumer above the 1 gig threshold. Running splendidly on a Beelink EQ12.
Also, OPNsense has things OpenWRT doesn't offer (plugins, IPS, etc.)
So these noname boxes are good for making a hardware firewall/network?
Yeah, as long as it it's one with 2+ network ports. I use a little 4 port with pfsense loaded on it for my home network.
I use one with 6 LAN ports and a fanless 10th gen i5 running OPNsense, and it has worked well for years. It runs many services including Unbound DNS and Suricata with capacity to spare. It's much better than any consumer router, though I run WiFi separately with an Asus AI Mesh set to AP mode.
The only concerns are that you don't get BIOS updates, and you don't know for sure that there's nothing nasty in the firmware. But then you don't really know that on consumer routers either.
I've been running one for the past 6+ months with no issues.
Mine died after 2 years after a power cut.
I havent tried to debug it yet. At the time, it would power on but a monitor didnt see anything from the video port, and it didnt seem to actually boot.
I presume it is toast.
If you dont need compact, a rebfurbed SFF with a 4 port network card is gonna be cheaper
Sorry for my ignorance I tried googling but what is this exactly? A server for files or? A media server?
@madcaesar @otl It's a small server running OpenBSD, configured to operate as a router and/or firewall.
Linux and the *BSDs can operate as very good routers and firewalls, usually being much more configurable and enabling you to do more complex than off-the-shelf consumer-level hardware routers. Using them on a small form factor computer with a cheap switch in front of them can give you a better performing and nicer to use alternative.
Do any of those cheap Chinese computers ever get any firmware or bios updates?
No and they don't provide the source either. Makes you wonder what's running in there.
While i agree, no one provides full source blobs for firmware and bios that i am aware of. Please correct me if I am wrong, however.
Open source bios yes, but you still have close source firmware blobs for amd/intel used on those systems. The only way to do this is to make 100% of the hardware.
Also please note, I am using coreboot already on my pcengines router.
I'd be surprised if it wasn't just based off the UEFI sdk examples containing 30+ CVEs over the last couple of years. If anything, it won't get patched for logofail and all the others UEFI exploits we'll definitely see in the coming years.
I was wondering... that tp-link probably negates anything remotely resembling security on its own. But yeah, you can update some of these noname boxes easily, others, not so much.
I have dealt with (in a professional capacity) Chinese manufacturers that are under the impression they do not have to provide a working build tree for the kernel, let alone firmware, so its a gamble if you're not talking to a major Chinese name brand. Mind you, I was ordering hundreds of those boxes, so there was some leverage.
That TP-link is a dumb switch. Unless you're telling me that someone is going to find an opening in the firmware and hack their way into the ARP table or something (in which case the threat model here just became state actors and I don't think the OP is safe with this equipment), I don't think it affects much, if anything.
Now, if I'm mistaken and that is actually a managed switch; god help them with network security.
It is a managed switch. What’s wrong with TP-Link managed switches?
I have a basic Netgear managed switch for VLANs.
They do make managed switches, but just to be completely clear, my comment was mostly hyperbole. I just found the general combination of security - mindedness and cheap Chinese hardware curious / amusing.
I did realise that, and apologies for my tone earlier.
With that said, this seems to be a slight bias - unless the PCB has some nefarious spy-chip built inside, hardware is hardware, regardless of where it comes from.
None that I know of :(
But @benjja tells me that on some of these you can install coreboot: https://ohnepunktundkomma.org/@benjja/111991771619601081
Something I’m keen to look into.
Protectli ported coreboot for their hardware, and with a little research you can find this hardware on aliexpress, of course under a different name.
Does any board ever get firmware updates? I don't understand your logic.
I recognise that internet router on the right. That looks like the "smart router" Telstra gives their customers - we have one we used to use back when we had Telstra cable. It's currently playing the duty of an Ethernet switch for dad's office.
Good eyes! Yes this is one we got from Telstra on a VDSL NBN connection. Now it’s just a modem in bridge mode with Aussie Broadband
Smg2?
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
| Fewer Letters | More Letters |
|---|---|
| AP | WiFi Access Point |
| DNS | Domain Name Service/System |
| NAS | Network-Attached Storage |
| SATA | Serial AT Attachment interface for mass storage |
| SSL | Secure Sockets Layer, for transparent encryption |
| TLS | Transport Layer Security, supersedes SSL |
5 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 9 acronyms.
[Thread #543 for this sub, first seen 25th Feb 2024, 15:45] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]
Any cheap 2x 2.5gb n100 ones yet?
There are a few 5x 2.5g N100 for $120-130 USD range on AliExpress. I grabbed one a while back for my own network.
What bios tweak do you apply? That’s the one thing I still need to do.
These things are awesome!
Restore power status after AC loss
Basically auto power on after restore power.
Meaning if you get unplugged (or power outage) turn back on like any other networking gear.
Why
Why what?
I'm glad to see that we're not all addicts here
@otl What CPU does it have?
This one has an old Intel N2830:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003378019857.html
With this particular model you can get a newer N100 chip
I have one of these with PFSense on it. Works great, but when I had it in a hot room I had to zip tie a 120mm fan to it 😀
I bought some half-inch silicone feet to separate mine from the shelf it sits on. The added airflow underneath seems to do just fine.
@[email protected] @[email protected] what machine is that?
This one: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003378019857.html
Halfway through writing a follow-up blog post detailing set up, internals, etc. Should be available soon if you’re interested :)
Got a simmilar one, and once a time i get an IO error.
Im sacred to leave my country and find out my router is dead