How to Build your Own Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) at Home:https://www.zenarmor.com/docs/network-security-tutorials/how-to-build-ngfw-for-home"You can install the whole software virtually to any x86 based PC, mini-PC, or even to any virtualization platform on which a standard FreeBSD/Linux Operating system can natively run on, like KVM, VirtualBox, VMware, Proxmox, etc.
Next-generation firewalls for home use can be installed onto retired PCs, workstations, or servers. The only thing that needs to be kept in mind is that
at least 8 GB of memory is required to be able to generate faster reports."
"... we strongly recommend installing
OPNsense which has a robust and powerful next-generation firewall software
plugin known as Zenarmor (Sensei)."
I'm done with building my own hardware firewalls (another option):https://www.xda-developers.com/use-prebuilt-hardware-firewall-instead-of-making-one/"With the Firewalla, everything from Parental Controls to the robust Active Protect system that's constantly being updated is all included in the original purchase cost. I don't know about you, but I'd rather pay upfront than be locked into a service subscription for the features I wanted to use."
"The biggest issue with networking gear is that many consumer-level devices use Realtek Ethernet controllers, or NICs, and those have major issues with Linux. Intel NICs are more compatible, but the low-powered devices sold as routers and firewall replacements often have other hardware components that have similar issues or quirks."
Building a budget 10gbe router/firewall with pfSense from scratch (much more speed than needed at home in 2025, but some interesting ideas):
https://drakeor.com/2021/04/14/setting-up-pfsense-as-a-router/- "To function as a router, we want one port to talk to the internet (WAN) while the other ports are part of the same LAN network.
- We want the LAN devices to be able to talk to each other.
- We want the LAN devices to be able to connect to the internet."
"If you only have one NIC attached to your virtual machine and forego attaching any others when you install pfSense, pfSense will not configure a Lan port. This will not seem like a big deal at first (since you can just add the interfaces and configure LAN yourself later), but things start to get weird.
...
If using virtualization, remember to attach ALL your NICs and configure a LAN port on initial setup!""
Although reinstalling pfSense was a lot easier in a VM than bare metal, the performance was pretty subpar, especially in the realm of OpenVPN. This is the biggest reason I've decided to go with bare metal. Keep in mind that at the time of this writing, the hardware I'm using is about 7-8 years old so more modern machines will likely give you much better performance if you virtualize pfSense."
How to build your own firewall with pfSense - Create your own physical or virtual appliance with this free-to-use open source software:
https://www.itpro.com/security/firewalls/355328/how-to-build-your-own-firewall-with-pfsense"...
pfSense, an open source enterprise firewall based on FreeBSD that
offers features comparable to many of the most expensive big-name options on offer, along with a wide range of packages available to extend its capabilities. The best part is, as an open source solution, pfSense is completely free, and all of its features are available without any commercial licensing requirements."
"... pfSense requires a CPU with a base frequency of 600Mhz, at least 512MB RAM, one or more compatible network interface cards (NICs), a bootable USB drive or CD/DVD-ROM for initial installation, and at least 4GB of available storage - either on a hard disk, or a flash device such as an SD card."
Build Your Own Gateway Firewall:
"Through the use of open-source software (OSS), outdated PC hardware, and a little know-how, you can build a cheap and highly effective gateway firewall to protect your SOHO LAN."
How to Build a Hardware Firewall with IPFire -Firewall your home with IPFire, a Linux distro dedicated to keeping your network ports safe.
https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/build-hardware-firewall-ipfire"
IPFire is a dedicated Linux distro for firewalls or other network appliances. You don't need any particularly special hardware to run a firewall; an old PC or a Raspberry Pi is fine (you can find ISOs on IPFire's downloads page)., but
note that at least two network adapters are required."
"If you want to use a VM for IPFire, you can use the 32-bit ISO from the IPFire/ directory on the disc.
For a small installation, virtualization is unlikely to make any difference — memory requirements are low, but don't try it for a larger and more complex setup.
VPN traffic encryption/decryption requires a fair bit of CPU power, so if you're planning on allowing lots of data-hungry access to your VPN, be aware of this.""You can route your entire home network through IPFire (by setting it as the default gateway on your home router and shifting settings) or, if other users don't like the idea of sending all their traffic through the hardware firewall, you can just route selected machines through IPFire"
"If you want a VPN, you can set it up via OpenVPN with just a few clicks. Two configurations are offered — the appropriately apocalyptic sounding Roadwarrior, and the more descriptive Net-to-Net."
