Network Booting Diskless Nodes with iPXE
Boot any OS over the network using iPXE, covers dnsmasq proxyDHCP setup, HTTP boot menus, Talos OS live boot, and the quick netboot.xyz shortcut method.
Tag: networking
All the articles with the tag "networking".
Mikrotik RouterOS for Home Lab
Mikrotik routers cost $50, run a real OS, and humiliate prosumer gear. RouterOS basics, VLANs, firewalling, and why your homelab probably needs one of these.
pfSense vs OPNsense in 2026
Two FreeBSD firewall distros, one bitter fork. pfSense vs OPNsense in 2026, which one to pick for your home lab, and why the licensing drama still matters.
Zeek for Home Lab Forensics
Zeek (formerly Bro) turns network traffic into structured logs you can actually query. The IDS that doesn't shout, it documents. Setup and use in a home lab.
mtr vs traceroute: Packet Loss
traceroute lies. mtr tells the truth. Here's how to read packet-loss reports like an oncall engineer and stop blaming your ISP for the wrong hop.
iperf3 + nload: Network Diagnosis
Your gigabit link drops to 200 Mbps and you don't know why. iperf3 measures throughput honestly, nload visualizes traffic, together they find the bottleneck fast.
OpenConnect vs AnyConnect
OpenConnect replaces the bloated AnyConnect client on Linux. Run ocserv for a self-hosted Cisco-compatible VPN server, no 200MB installer required.
stunnel vs spiped
TLS tunneling for legacy plaintext services, stunnel's X.509 cert model vs spiped's pre-shared key simplicity, and when each one actually wins.
Unbound vs Technitium vs BIND
Picking a recursive DNS resolver for your home lab, Unbound, Technitium, and BIND9 compared on speed, GUI, DNSSEC, and split-horizon.
ntopng vs darkstat
ntopng vs darkstat: full DPI flow analysis vs a tiny always-on stats page. Pick the right tool for home-lab network visibility without losing your mind.
FRR vs BIRD
FRR vs BIRD: two open-source routing daemons compared for BGP, OSPF, and home-lab dynamic routing. Which one belongs in your stack?
HAProxy vs Envoy
HAProxy vs Envoy for L4/L7 load balancing, config style, performance, observability, service mesh fit, and which one belongs in your home lab.