{"id":888,"date":"2022-11-27T00:22:23","date_gmt":"2022-11-27T04:22:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testmigration9367.live-website.com\/?p=888"},"modified":"2022-11-27T12:09:03","modified_gmt":"2022-11-27T16:09:03","slug":"home-network-update-meraki-to-netgate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testmigration9367.live-website.com\/?p=888","title":{"rendered":"Home network update \u2013 Meraki to Netgate"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='__iawmlf-post-loop-links' style='display:none;' data-iawmlf-post-links='[{&quot;id&quot;:9,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.dhs.gov\\\/news\\\/2020\\\/12\\\/22\\\/dhs-warns-american-businesses-about-data-services-and-equipment-firms-linked-chinese&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20240723162415\\\/https:\\\/\\\/www.dhs.gov\\\/news\\\/2020\\\/12\\\/22\\\/dhs-warns-american-businesses-about-data-services-and-equipment-firms-linked-chinese&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-08 14:21:34&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:403},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-12 20:18:57&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:403},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-18 14:13:33&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:403},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-23 19:39:41&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-02 20:53:07&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:403},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-15 01:11:08&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:403},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-02-06 02:24:15&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-02-12 01:41:01&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-02-17 00:28:30&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-10 00:53:38&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:403},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-14 11:51:10&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-18 20:18:59&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:403},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-03 15:52:42&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:403},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-11 19:51:09&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-19 23:10:33&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:403}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-19 23:10:33&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:403},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;}]'><\/div>\n<p>I avoid frequent changes to my home network.  My stated goal is to design and install a reliable, secure network and keep it updated, but otherwise leave it alone.  About five years ago, I took advantage of a Cisco program for free Meraki software for completing a professional certification class and exam.  Now the program has expired, and I needed to replace the MX64 security appliance.\n<\/p>\n<p>Moving from a commercial security device to a consumer product, I wanted to get something simple, but flexible.  I&#8217;ve always been interested in open-source products, and considered &#8216;rolling my own&#8217; firewall, but finding cost effective, silent (fanless) computer with multiple gig Ethernet ports in the current (Nov 2022) market was a challenge.  Also, there&#8217;s still a huge supply chain issue that I expect through 2023 and I don&#8217;t want to buy from China.  Not a nationalist issue, but I don&#8217;t trust security appliances from China (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.gov\/news\/2020\/12\/22\/dhs-warns-american-businesses-about-data-services-and-equipment-firms-linked-chinese\">https:\/\/www.dhs.gov\/news\/2020\/12\/22\/dhs-warns-american-businesses-about-data-services-and-equipment-firms-linked-chinese<\/a>).\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Selection Process<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Super simple \u2013 I looked at consumer products and found they weren&#8217;t flexible enough for my use, some products were discontinued, others are on back order.  I wanted to spend under $300 and narrowed the search to Ubiquiti Networks and Netgate (pfSense).  Ubiquiti availability was an issue, and Netgate was less expensive, so I went with the entry level Netgate 1100.\n<\/p>\n<p>Although the GUI lagged during the installation, subsequent configuration changes and overall performance of the device has been good.  I&#8217;ve updated the default configuration by disabling IPv6, not using VPN or packet inspection, using PiHole on a spare Raspberry Pi instead of using Netgate services.\n<\/p>\n<p>I would call this a &#8216;prosumer&#8217; product \u2013 you can&#8217;t install and use this product without reading the manual and understanding the basics of TCP\/IP networking.  However, it&#8217;s much more flexible than the average consumer product and using pfSense open-source software provides greater security and longer support life (IMHO).\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Performance<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Performance is equivalent to the Meraki MX64.  We have &gt;20 devices on our home network including three Roku devices streaming 1080p (not 4K).  If you plan to implement low level security, ad blocking, and other features, consider the 2100 model.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Recommendation<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div>Pros\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Good security appliance for home networks with under 500 Mbps Internet service\n<\/li>\n<li>Simple installation and silent operation\n<\/li>\n<li>Better security and longevity than consumer products at this price point.\n<\/li>\n<li>Performance is good\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div>Cons\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Install is not just &#8220;click next&#8221; \u2013 you need to read the manual!\n<\/li>\n<li>Lots of online chatter about performance issues using third party packages\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Home Network<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testmigration9367.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/112722_1609_Homenetwork1.png?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\"\/>\n\t<\/p>\n<p><strong>Netgate running statistics<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testmigration9367.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/112722_1609_Homenetwork2.png?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\"\/>\n\t<\/p>\n<p><strong>Internet speed<br \/>Comcast \u2013 300 Mbps download, 12 Mbps upload<br \/><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/testmigration9367.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/112722_1609_Homenetwork3.png?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\"\/><\/strong>\n\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I avoid frequent changes to my home network. My stated goal is to design and install a reliable, secure network and keep it updated, but otherwise leave it alone. About five years ago, I took advantage of a Cisco program &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/testmigration9367.live-website.com\/?p=888\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgXVG5-ek","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testmigration9367.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testmigration9367.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testmigration9367.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testmigration9367.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testmigration9367.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=888"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/testmigration9367.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":901,"href":"https:\/\/testmigration9367.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888\/revisions\/901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testmigration9367.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testmigration9367.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testmigration9367.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}