The platform should include regular security updates.The router should be concerned with wired connections only–I have good wireless coverage and speed with Netgear Orbi APs, in addition to an unmanaged gigabit switch.Fast, reliable hardware able to handle a 1 Gbps symmetrical fiber connection at line speed (my ISP is Frontier FIOS).My criteria and goals with this build were as follows: I hope this helps others looking to build a more capable home office router and firewall than what most off-the-shelf products offer. I’ll walk through a setup of OPNsense and include a few nice-to-haves for home and home office usage. At the time of this writing, the current release version is OPNsense 22.1.

OPNsense originally started as a fork of pfSense and continues as a firewall based on HardenedBSD, which itself is a downstream fork of the FreeBSD foundation on which pfSense is built. OPNsense will work on a variety of different hardware, but I chose the Protectli because it fits my needs and has a company behind it to support the product. I’m in a WFH situation myself, and I recently installed and configured a new router running OPNsense, an open-source router and firewall, using a Protectli FW4B. With many people continuing to work from home or shifting to a hybrid work model, our home internet connections are more crucial than ever.

Protectli opnsense