I read today about VyOS and I really like the idea and approach but I am not sure how it compares to Opnsense in terms of performance and features. I know it doesn’t have a GUI, which is a bit of a bummer for me.
I have purchased a mini router PC and I was thinking to build a dedicated router and firewall on it. I also have another PC that I am planning to run as a Proxmox host and install a couple of VMs and LXC containers, as well as Home Assistant along with Omada, as I am thinking of purchasing some TP-Link AP compatible with Omada.
But would love to hear some feedback from people who used both what they think.
Keep in mind that although I am technical and have a fair understanding of networking and VLANs I am not exactly an expert in networking. Does it make sense to go into the VyOS route in that case?
The end goal is to have a dedicated network and routing for the IoT network, dedicated Wireguard, guest WiFi, etc.
Performance on opnsense is fine for anything you’ll be doing at home, so I wouldn’t factor that into your choice.
Features on opnsense are probably better, just due to all the packages you can install.
Do you prefer being 100% in a CLI all the time? If not I’d say opnsense, the GUI certainly makes things a lot easier when you’re not fully familiar with something and spending every day interacting with it.
VyOS for performance but if you don’t use a network device CLI regularly and it’s for home use OPNsense.
OPNsense comes with a lot of pretty sane defaults for a gateway/firewall, VyOS you really do everything from scratch, as it’s more geared towards enterprise or service provider.
VyOS does do well as a gateway/firewall and there is a lot you can install to extend features for stuff like what OPNsense has to the point that I have had 0 things I couldn’t do when I migrated a few years ago.
Never used VyOS so can’t help there. I do use OpnSense, TP-Link Omada EAP-650’s (with an isolated vLAN for the guest network) multiple vLAN’s for cameras, iot, management, Trusted devices, and DMZ, along with Wireguard for remote access and since my ISP only gives me an IPv4 address I use a Wireguard tunnel to Route64 for IPv6 connectivity, a cellular connection for backup internet connectivity, CrowdSec, Intrusion Detection, Caddy, and UnboundDNS.
I used multiple different Router OS’ since around 2005 and settled on OpnSense years ago. I stick around because there is rarely an issue and the reporting system makes it easy to visually spot issues.
I would start with opnsense as the router and then maybe play with VyOS in a VM to see if you want to switch down the road.
Opensense is often bound by single-core operations depending on where a network packet may plumb itself through the kernel. A great example is any PPPoE connections on the base OS BSD. Vyos doesn’t have these same limitations since it’s minted on Linux - which supports traffic steering.
Really though, IaC for vyos has always been rock solid. Even though the persistent config in Opnsense is cool, adding new features or configs can be a bit of a pain in the ass
Opensense is often bound by single-core operations depending on where a network packet may plumb itself through the kernel
Didn’t downvote, but when would this become an issue? Pfsense is about the same way as far as single-core operations, tho IDS/IPS like Suricata can utilize multiple threads. My standalone pfsense box sits between my modem and the rest of the network. I haven’t noticed any sluggishness or stuttering. Throughput seems quite reasonable, and supports a diverse group of devices attached to the network.
I gave the example of PPPoE, the other option is to read the linked kernel docs to understand traffic steering and infer where those situations could occur.
Both are just abstractions over primatives and services find in the underlying operating system.
Moving to just native of or nftables and running your firewall like a server has been on of my best moves. You will learn a tone more, have a lot more flexibility and overall o think it’s a much better experience.
I am a traditional network engineer as well (learned Juno’s/Cisco/etc). Ansible is a good way to do “commits” and config management.
Is your comment supposed to say “native pf or nftables”?
