My Journey Used Raspberry Pi to install OpenWrt as the main system, but also wanted to build a Minecraft server. The Pi’s performance wasn’t sufficient, so I needed to upgrade. Purchased a Mini PC for the Minecraft server. Debian could also run a software OpenWrt router, but only as a bypass router. I thought it best to have a dedicated device for network management. Tried various web managers that could run on Debian like Cockpit, but they weren’t satisfying....
Wireguard is a very lightweight VPN with much simpler configuration than the cumbersome OpenVPN. It’s perfect for setting up your home VPN, allowing sensitive services to connect to your home VPN first before accessing the internal network.
The diagram below shows my home network topology (see: Setting up OpenWrt as a Bypass Router Using Raspberry Pi 4B+ | Kunyang’s Blog). I use OpenWrt as a bypass router - other devices’ default gateway and DNS point to OpenWrt....
Configuring DDNS on OpenWrt Since IPv4 resources are very abundant in North America, purchasing a home network plan in Canada typically comes with a public IP. However, ISPs frequently change IP addresses. DDNS binds your home’s public IP to your domain name, so you can always find your home regardless of IP changes.
Prerequisites A domain name
A public IP address
Some packages:
ddns-scripts-cloudflare luci-app-ddns drill Configuration Steps First, create an A record in Cloudflare....
AdGuardHome is an ad-blocking application, but it’s not just for blocking ads. It can also serve as a DNS server for your local network.
Installation Since this application is related to network management, I installed it on OpenWrt. During compilation, simply check the luci-app-adguardhome option.
Then download the core in the OpenWrt management page (you may need a VPN or proxy).
Ad Blocking The web management interface is on port 3000 by default....