Networking

Homelab 10GbE Networking — Hardware, MikroTik Switch Setup, and Performance Tuning

Planning a 10GbE upgrade for your homelab? From MikroTik CRS switches and SFP+ cabling to Proxmox NIC tuning, this guide covers the hardware decisions, configs, and performance optimizations you need.

Linux TCP BBR Congestion Control — Enable on Proxmox, Docker, and LXC

Enable TCP BBR congestion control on your Proxmox host, Docker containers, and LXC guests. Step-by-step sysctl config, kernel module loading, and iperf3 benchmarks showing real-world throughput gains for homelab and remote streaming.

Cilium CNI for K3s — eBPF Networking in the Homelab

Replace K3s default Flannel with Cilium CNI for accelerated eBPF networking, remove kube-proxy, gain Hubble observability, and enforce identity-based network policies in a lightweight homelab cluster.

Proxmox Firewall Security Hardening — IPSets, Rules, Cluster Firewall

Harden Proxmox VE with datacenter firewalls, dynamic IPSets for trusted management networks, cluster-wide security, fail2ban for web UI brute-force protection, and firewall log auditing.

MikroTik RouterOS Container Apps — One-Click Service Deployment

Deploy containers on your MikroTik router in minutes using the new Apps catalog. Automatic firewall rules, NAT, and veth interfaces — no manual Docker setup required.

OPNsense Virtual Firewall on Proxmox — Homelab Security

Deploy OPNsense as a virtualized firewall on Proxmox with VLAN segmentation, Suricata IDS/IPS, and WireGuard VPN. Real VM configs, bridge setup, firewall rules, and performance tuning.

Docker Proxy Configuration Guide — HTTP/HTTPS Proxy for Containers

Configure HTTP/HTTPS proxy for Docker daemon, CLI, and individual containers in your homelab. Covers systemd drop-in overrides, daemon.json settings, Docker Compose proxy variables, and the critical NO_PROXY configuration to avoid breaking internal container communication.

Linux Network Performance Tuning — ethtool, irqbalance, and tc for Homelab

Optimize Linux network performance on Proxmox and Docker hosts with ethtool ring buffer tuning, irqbalance configuration, multiqueue RSS/RPS, and tc traffic shaping — with real benchmarks and systemd persistence.

Docker MACVLAN Homelab Networking — Assign Direct VLAN IPs

Give your containers their own IPs on any VLAN with Docker MACVLAN and IPVLAN. A practical guide with docker-compose configs, routing tweaks, and real-world homelab use cases.

MikroTik RouterOS 7 VRF Configuration — Multi-Tenant Network Segmentation

Configure VRFs on MikroTik RouterOS 7 for multi-tenant network segmentation. Step-by-step guide covering VRF creation, static routes, BGP VRF, route leaking between VRFs, firewall integration, and practical homelab topology examples.