OPNsense on Dell hardware.
There’s an OPNsense system in each rack: the 7050 SFF with a 10G NIC, and the 7050 Micro with an extra 2.5G interface. The lab also includes three Cisco router platforms.
THE HARDWARE BEHIND THE CURIOSITY
Two racks.
Room to explore.
A mix of rack servers, compact systems and networking gear. Built up one useful piece at a time.
This is my home setup: a 19-inch rack, a smaller 10-inch rack, and a 10G fibre backbone. Somewhere to work with the systems behind the software, not just the software itself.
TAKE A LOOK INSIDE- RACKS
- 19″ + 10″
- BACKBONE
- 10G fibre
- VIRTUALISATION
- Proxmox
- WIRELESS
- 2 × Cisco 9120
01 / OVERVIEW
One lab. Different ways to build.
The larger rack brings the Dell servers and a collection of Cisco and HP networking platforms together. The compact rack puts routing, virtualisation, wireless control and storage into a smaller setup.
19″ RACK
10G FIBRE BACKBONE
10″ RACK02 / THE INVENTORY
What’s in the racks.
A hardware snapshot, based on the setup as of 23 October 2026.
RACK 01 / FULL SIZE
The 19-inch rack
- EDGE
Dell OptiPlex 7050 SFF
OPNsense router
Fitted with a 10G network interface.
- NETWORK
Cisco 3560
24-port switch
Switching hardware in the main rack.
- COMPUTE
Dell PowerEdge R720xd
Rack server
Part of the main compute platform.
- COMPUTE
Dell PowerEdge R710
Rack server
A second Dell platform to work with.
- ROUTING
Cisco 2911 / 1921 / 887VA
Three Cisco routers
A collection of routing platforms for the lab.
- NETWORK
2 × HP ProCurve
24-port switches
Additional switching hardware.
RACK 02 / COMPACT
The 10-inch rack
- NETWORK
Cisco 3560-CX
12-port switch
The compact rack’s Cisco switching platform.
- EDGE
Dell OptiPlex 7050 Micro
OPNsense router
Fitted with an additional 2.5G network interface.
- VIRTUALISATION
Dell OptiPlex 7000 Micro
Proxmox host
Hosts the Cisco Catalyst 9800 virtual wireless controller.
- WIRELESS
2 × Cisco Catalyst 9120
Wireless access points
The wireless side of the lab setup.
- STORAGE
8-bay drive enclosure
Storage hardware
An enclosure for the lab’s storage expansion.
03 / HOW IT FITS
Hardware with a job to do.
A controller without another appliance.
The Dell 7000 Micro runs Proxmox and the Cisco 9800 virtual wireless controller. Two Cisco 9120 access points complete the listed wireless hardware.
Rack servers meet compact systems.
The PowerEdge R720xd and R710 sit in the larger rack. An eight-bay drive enclosure is part of the compact setup, adding another piece to the storage side of the lab.
STILL EVOLVING
There’s always
another iteration.
More is planned. This page records the equipment that’s here now; future additions can join the inventory as the setup develops.
The workbench is where the experiments go. Log is where the changes and lessons get written down.