Protectli Networking with Open Source Software - micahgrinnell/CC-Capstone-Project GitHub Wiki
The Topic
This capstone will follow my testing of open-source operating systems on the 4 port Protectli device. The final documentation will act as a guide to those new to open source network operating systems and small enterprise networking. A collection of interactable scripts and Ansible playbooks will provide the targeted user with ample resources in order to get started.
Overview
This project looks at the current debate between using larger organizations' networking products vs. the recently more popular open-source options. More specifically, I will dissect financial benefits as well as the accessibility of using Protectli devices when designing and implementing networks into smaller enterprises. Large network solution organizations such as Cisco sell their products as bundles, out-sourced hardware with their own software preloaded onto them. Although this has proven to work over the last few decades, it is not always financially feasible. The costs of implementing these network bundles are consistently much higher than using bare-metal solutions with open-source operating systems, such as PicOS.
Throughout this project, I will document my building of a small enterprise network replication using a 4 port Protectli device and Raspberry Pi's. My end goal is to create a comprehensive, interactive and entry-level guide to open-source networking using Protectli products.
Topic Description
I will be diving deep into the accessibility of open-source operating systems along with their monetary benefits. Using a replica environment of a small enterprise network I will be able to experiment with their capabilities. I have several devices I can use for this project, including several Raspberry Pi's, some small switches, and routers. Some NOS I will look at are pfSense, Qubes, and PICA8.