Hello, I’m planning on creating a home server and getting some cameras.
I would like to have the server, cameras and all IOT devices be disconnected from the internet but still be able to access them within the house from different devices and maybe have limited access to them when outside.
Do I need a specific hardware for this? And what router would support this? I’m still in the planning phase but I’m looking for budget friendly solutions.
Thank you
For home, use your firewall. Either physical ports on the firewall with dumb switches or vlans with managed layer 2 switches.
There are many ways to do this. Proxmox can do it with ovs if all your devices are virtualized. Pfsense is probably the most straightforward.
The best way to run pfsense is on dedicated hardware. This would work for you https://protectli.com/vault-4-port/
You’ll also then need switches or a managed switch with vlans for each network segment.
Just throwing in the usual comment that OPNSense is a pfSense fork with a nicer interface.
Just throwing in the usual over-complication. The OP can do this with a simple OpenWRT router and by setting a few firewall rules. To be fair there are even some comercial routers from Asus and Netgear with their stock firmware that will allow you to block a device from accessing the internet.
Consumer routers fall apart when you want to do many common networking tasks, like setting up a VLAN on a separate subnet with pinhole access, so when faced with having to buy a significantly more expensive SMB router vs the cheap FOSS solutions others have mentioned, you’re better off just going the FOSS route.
Note: some consumer routers can be flashed with FOSS firmware, but be prepared to waste days tinkering and testing.
Just a few notes:
What you’re describing is not what the OP is asking for. He simply wants a quick solution to block a couple of devices from accessing internet.
I don’t get your “note” as that’s precisely what I suggested the OP to do. And if you actually read the manual and pick a recommend model it can be as simple as uploading the firmware using the router’s firmware upgrade feature.
The scenario you described can be done with OpenWrt on a consumer router and it isn’t that complex to setup. Even older hardware like the Netgear R7800 will be able to handle that.
Adding to that that you can also easily make a separate WiFi network (tied to a vlan even) for IoT. OpenWRT makes this very easy.