https://www.neelc.org/ Recent content on Neel Chauhan Hugo en-us neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) © 2026 Neel Chauhan Wed, 20 May 2026 13:45:00 -0400 https://www.neelc.org/posts/ive-moved/ Wed, 20 May 2026 13:45:00 -0400neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/ive-moved/ While I’ve brought back my old neelc.org website, I’m now primarily posting on Mom & Pop Network. If you want new articles, please go there. https://www.neelc.org/posts/mikrotik-dns-sucks/ Wed, 10 Dec 2025 20:10:00 -0500neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/mikrotik-dns-sucks/ For quite a while, on my two Rocky Linux servers/hypervisors, I got the following message if I log in via my Samba Active Directory: Domain Controller unreachable, using cached credentials instead I upgraded both my hosts to Rocky 10 via re-installing, yet the same error still showed. I used a MikroTik core router, with a DNS resolver forwarding AD DNS to the domain controllers. Unrelated yet somewhat related, I had family members complain about “slow internet” even when I get 180-300 Mbps download and 40-75 Mbps uploads. https://www.neelc.org/posts/remap-copilot-fedora/ Sun, 16 Nov 2025 21:15:00 -0500neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/remap-copilot-fedora/ If you own a modern non-Mac system, chances are there’s a Copilot key on it. As a Fedora user, there’s absolutely no way I’d use Copilot. And even if I could, I wouldn’t: I’ve worked at Microsoft yet barely used AI. However, I do want a working Right Ctrl key for VirtualBox. How do I do that? Step 1: Enable the Copr repository You’ll need to import keyd from Copr and install it: https://www.neelc.org/posts/searxng-podman/ Sun, 12 Oct 2025 18:10:00 -0400neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/searxng-podman/ While I’ve never really used DuckDuckGo, due to me liking Google results better (although I hate the data collection), I was bored today and wanted something in my home lab. When checking awesome-selfhoted I thought “why not try SearXNG” after seeing someone else run it too. On my home lab, I run two Minisforum MS-01s as compute nodes, both running Rocky Linux 9 with a mix of Incus, Podman and Cockpit KVM. https://www.neelc.org/posts/virtualizor-groups-ip/ Sun, 14 Sep 2025 13:55:00 -0400neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/virtualizor-groups-ip/ For a living, I run the VPS host Fourplex. I am launching a storage VPS service alongside our flagship Ryzen 9000 VPS. When I added the new VPS group, I got this error in WHMCS: Error: No server found which fits in the criteria for your VPS configuration ... Server ID: 8, Reason: XXX.fourplex.net | Required number of IPv4 : 1 and I support : 0 The funny part is in Virtualizor I added the IPv4 and IPv6 pools to the “Storage” group alongside the “Ryzen” group. https://www.neelc.org/posts/incus-epel-10/ Sat, 06 Sep 2025 16:00:00 -0400neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/incus-epel-10/ When I set up Rocky Linux on my homelab, I initially set up LXD containers. But when Incus got Rocky Linux 10 images while LXD didn’t, I decided to switch. After all, like most Linux users I never liked snap packages. The problem? The Rocky Linux installation instructions for Incus points to a Copr repository for Rocky Linux 9, not 10. While I have two Minisforums running Rocky Linux 9, I also have a HPE ProLiant ML30 Gen9 running Rocky Linux 10 as a domain controller, UniFi controller and virtual router for NYC Mesh. https://www.neelc.org/posts/qemu-internal-network-macos/ Sat, 28 Jun 2025 15:50:00 -0400neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/qemu-internal-network-macos/ For years I’ve primarily used x86 PCs. With that, VirtualBox had a unique feature called the Internal Network that could be used to isolate VLANs. But more recently I’ve been daily-driving a M3 Pro MacBook Pro on-and-off. However, VirtualBox on Apple Silicon cannot run MikroTik CHR. While it does run on UTM, UTM doesn’t give me isolated non-DHCP VLANs. Also, attempts at using “bridge” interfaces failed miserably. The solution? QEMU. I tested this guide on macOS 15 Sequoia but it should also work on Linux, Windows and BSD variants. https://www.neelc.org/posts/unifi-debian/ Wed, 11 Jun 2025 13:50:00 -0400neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/unifi-debian/ While I’m more of a fan of Red Hat-based distros, using a Fedora desktop and laptop, and multiple Rocky Linux servers, I decided to revisit UniFi after our NYC townhouse had poor Wi-Fi from MikroTik wAP AXs. The reality is that UniFi is designed for Debian and Ubuntu as most hobbyists (and startups) use those. Trust me, I run a VPS host and like 90% of my customers (not exact) use Debian or Ubuntu. https://www.neelc.org/posts/asrock-b650d4u-ryzen-9000/ Mon, 03 Mar 2025 12:00:00 -0500neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/asrock-b650d4u-ryzen-9000/ If you thought HPE support was bad, ASRock Rack support is 100x times worse. But for my startup Fourplex branded servers have become cost-prohibitive post-COVID-19. I remember when HPE servers were actually affordable for a homelab. That being said Fourplex is planning to expand into VPS hosting and I have one 1U2S-B650 (using the B650D4U motherbord) and have three more shipping. One of the problems with the B650D4U is that the stock BIOS does not recognize Ryzen 9000 CPUs, nor can you flash from USB without booting the system first. https://www.neelc.org/posts/mastodon-vs-bluesky-gsm-vs-cdma/ Sat, 07 Dec 2024 10:20:00 -0500neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/mastodon-vs-bluesky-gsm-vs-cdma/ With Bluesky’s apparent rise after the elections, I’ve heard a lot of criticism about Bluesky on the Fediverse. I’m starting to feel the Mastodon vs Bluesky war is a new standards war, one that is analogous to the cellular standards war. While Gen Z readers are used to LTE and 5G phones which is based off the historically more popular GSM branch, there was another cellular technology CDMA which was a fierce rival and chosen by carriers like Verizon pre-4G days. https://www.neelc.org/posts/mikrotik-capsman-v2/ Sun, 24 Nov 2024 13:40:00 -0500neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/mikrotik-capsman-v2/ After a disasterous experiment with Ubiquiti UniFi APs, I decided to sell them on /r/homelabsales (because I’m not allowed to return) and buy MikroTik wAP ax APs. Interestingly, the Wi-Fi experience on MikroTik beats the UniFi one despite technically being “inferior” and the EU model. But one issue with CAPsMAN is how hard it is to configure, especially with a home network full of VLANs (actually three at home). So how do you configure it? https://www.neelc.org/posts/opensuse-tumbleweed-sony-bluetooth/ Fri, 01 Nov 2024 18:25:00 -0400neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/opensuse-tumbleweed-sony-bluetooth/ After my old Sol Republic earbuds died, all the headphones I daily drive are or have been made by Sony. This includes the WF-1000XM5 earbuds for going out and the WH-1000XM5 headphones I use on my desk or for plane travel. While Sony headphones generally work well with Linux (I’m looking at you, Apple and Beats), I recently switched my Linux desktop and laptop back to openSUSE Tumbleweed from Fedora. https://www.neelc.org/posts/mikrotik-bypass/ Tue, 17 Sep 2024 14:20:00 -0400neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/mikrotik-bypass/ Although I now live primarily in Verizon territory, my family has a second home in Frontier-land at least for a few more months. Frontier in Connecticut inherited AT&T’s 802.1X setup so if you’re not on XGS-PON, you are required to use Frontier’s router, in my case an Arris NVG468MQ. However, if you’re using a MikroTik CCR2004-series router, you can use that connected to the ONT and bridge 802.1X from the Arris. https://www.neelc.org/posts/diy-ipv6-tunnel/ Tue, 03 Sep 2024 20:56:00 -0400neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/diy-ipv6-tunnel/ For many years, Hurricane Electric was the de-jure IPv6 tunneling platform. If you wanted Netflix, just force Netflix on IPv4. For people without native IPv6, HE.net was truly a godsend. Then HE.net tunnels became more problematic, now we have multiple streaming services and other services blocking HE.net tunnels under the “public proxy” blanket ban. I remember the pre-COVID and the early-COVID era when only Netflix blocked HE.net tunnels when I lacked native IPv6 until summer 2020. https://www.neelc.org/posts/diy-hpe-sas-cable/ Wed, 07 Aug 2024 20:33:00 -0400neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/diy-hpe-sas-cable/ Remember when Reddit /r/sysadmin said HPE support blows? Well it does. I got an open box HPE ProLiant ML110 Gen11 as a NAS. This is my second whereas my first is a compute server. To my surprise, there was no SAS cables in the open box server. When sourcing the official sources, I was in back and forth conversations with HPE and their “part suppliers” to no avail. And no, I did not get the right SAS cable. https://www.neelc.org/posts/archiveteam-warrior-podman/ Wed, 31 Jul 2024 11:50:00 -0400neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/archiveteam-warrior-podman/ I don’t remember where I heard about ArchiveTeam from, but when I did learn about it I knew I wanted to join in. I have run Tor relays for over a decade now but always wanted to participate in other volunteer-run services as well. I always felt good when my home servers serve more people than just me. I run an I2P node too, but CPU-and-GPU-heavy tasks like Folding@Home are out usually due to excessive power consumption and noise. https://www.neelc.org/posts/hpe-ml110-gen11-noise/ Thu, 13 Jun 2024 14:00:00 -0400neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/hpe-ml110-gen11-noise/ As mentioned earlier, my homelab server is a HPE ProLiant ML110 Gen11 which is a single-socket Intel Sapphire Rapids-based server. One problem with this server is how much noise it generates. I swear, the ML110 Gen10 was much quieter. It’s a big trouble especially since right now I’m “houseless” meaning I’m living with my brother and have my ML110 in a bedroom closet. However, with the default power settings it’s still very noisy especially when running a cluster of Tor relays. https://www.neelc.org/posts/mikrotik-frontier-ct-bypass/ Thu, 06 Jun 2024 15:28:00 -0400neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/mikrotik-frontier-ct-bypass/ I’ve made it back eastwards! Yay! While my family looks for NYC hosing, I’m living in Stamford, CT in my brother’s townhouse/condo. The condo has Frontier FiberOptic. But as Connecticut is a former AT&T market, unless you’re on XGS-PON which I’m not, GPON is based off AT&T Fiber with the infamous 802.1X requirement. Initially, I used a Wi-Fi to Ethernet bridge but after having performance issues, I moved the Cat6 drops to near my equipment and “bypassed” the Frontier gateway. https://www.neelc.org/posts/mikrotik-6rd-mangle/ Thu, 29 Feb 2024 21:00:00 -0800neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/mikrotik-6rd-mangle/ For many years, I’ve stuck with OPNsense, first initially since until a couple of years ago I was a die-hard FreeBSD user. But more importantly, by default Linux-based firealls play poorly with CenturyLink’s 6rd. I’ve been wanting to use a MikroTik as my core router instead of OPNsense for many years, but whenever I tried, 6rd browsing was just so slow for some reason. A few days ago, I got myself a MikroTik CCR2004-16G-2S+ and intially went IPv4-only. https://www.neelc.org/posts/mikrotik-ipv6-bgp/ Sun, 25 Feb 2024 12:55:00 -0800neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/mikrotik-ipv6-bgp/ As my long-awaited sequel to my MikroTik RouterOS v7 BGP configuration, I will do a RouterOS v7 configuration, but this time with IPv6. The setup will have: R1 with AS1 and R2 with AS2 1::/64 that R1 will advertise 2::/64 that R2 will advertise 3::/64 for the point-to-point link between R1 and R2 3::1 for R1 and 3::2 for R2 The ether1 interface for the R1 and R2 point-to-point links The ether2 interface for the internal, to-be-advertised subnet To setup BGP, first set your IP addresses, on R1: https://www.neelc.org/posts/kvm-cockpit/ Thu, 08 Feb 2024 20:30:00 -0800neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/kvm-cockpit/ In my homelab, I have a Rocky Linux 9 server/hypervisor. For quite a while, I’ve just used the command line to manage virtual machines. It was tricky to know which TCP port was used for VNC, and forward it to my Fedora laptop. I’ve always been dreaming about a Web UI for virtual machines, but didn’t want ESXi or Proxmox, and was pretty dissapointed when I tried SmartOS and OmniOS. One day, I was on Mastodon (or Reddit) and learned that there is a KVM virtual machine module for Cockpit. https://www.neelc.org/posts/mikrotik-simple-bgp/ Sun, 04 Feb 2024 13:25:00 -0800neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/mikrotik-simple-bgp/ While I’m not a professional network engineer at the time of writing, lately I’ve been playing with MikroTik’s CHR in EVE-NG. One thing I wanted to set up is a basic BGP configuration between two ASes. In this setup, I will assume there are two neighboring routers with eBGP. The setup will have: R1 with AS1 and R2 with AS2 1.0.0.0/24 that R1 will advertise 2.0.0.0/24 that R2 will advertise 3. https://www.neelc.org/posts/fedora-folding/ Fri, 22 Dec 2023 22:45:00 -0800neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/fedora-folding/ At the present moment, my desktop is technically a “gaming PC” but really a workstation for various non-gaming tasks. It’s a Mini-ITX homebuilt PC with an Intel i9-13900F CPU and a RTX 4070. It runs Fedora 39. I’ve been wanting to run Folding@home on my main PC for a while now. I run Folding@home at my work systems, both Windows 365 and physical workstation (although I mostly WFH, yay!). One problem with using the default binaries from the Folding@home website is FAHControl is designed for Python 2. https://www.neelc.org/posts/multicore-pppoe/ Fri, 22 Dec 2023 16:40:00 -0800neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/multicore-pppoe/ One commonly-stated problem with PPPoE, especially done on x86-based routers like pfSense and OPNsense is they’re “single-threaded”. The reason why they’re single-threaded is because of how NICs are designed. These NICs know how to sort IPv4 and IPv6 traffic, but not PPP traffic. combined with both Linux and FreeBSD processing PPPoE in the thread that process packets. However, using virtualization and bridge interfaces (not PCIe passthrough), you can mitigate this issue and get real multi-threaded PPPoE. https://www.neelc.org/posts/opnsense-pppoe-kvm/ Mon, 13 Nov 2023 21:30:00 -0800neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/opnsense-pppoe-kvm/ I am currently a CenturyLink Fiber customer in Seattle, WA and its well known that CenturyLink uses PPPoE. Yes, I’m aware of the migration to “Quantum Fiber” which uses DHCP, but I’ll probably move to NYC before I get shifted to Quantum and subsequently have Verizon FiOS (again), also with DHCP. My home server, a massive HPE ProLiant ML110 Gen11 with a Broadcom 10GbE OCP adapter, I virtualize OPNsense inside of Rocky Linux 9 using KVM, which is directly connected to my (hacked) CenturyLink ONT. https://www.neelc.org/posts/twitter-statement/ Sun, 05 Nov 2023 18:50:00 -0800neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/twitter-statement/ If you are wondering why my Twitter/X account @_neelc is blank, it’s because of this reason: X is basically KiwiFarms, but mainstream: a platform to spread hate. I have gotten politically conservative ads despite following tons of LGBTQ+ accounts, having a trans brother, and being non-binary and aromantic myself. Pre-Elon Musk, I used to look up to Twitter as a company. Now, Twitter is a dumpster fire. The posts aren’t even high quality, just “low effort” garbage. https://www.neelc.org/posts/hpe-ml110-gen11-ilo-nvme-fan-noise/ Thu, 21 Sep 2023 15:15:00 -0700neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/hpe-ml110-gen11-ilo-nvme-fan-noise/ I recently got a HPE ProLiant ML110 Gen11. While it cost far more than the previous generation thanks to COVID-19, the trade war, and supply chain issues, it is still an excellent server. One thing with HPE servers is that by default, if you use a third-party NVMe drive, or any PCI Express card that isn’t blessed by HPE, the fan becomes very loud. By very loud, I mean I can hear it from a shut closet. https://www.neelc.org/posts/opnsense-port-80-443/ Tue, 20 Jun 2023 09:30:00 -0700neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/opnsense-port-80-443/ If you’re like me and run your own home server, you might find yourself needing to forward TCP ports 80 and 443 on your router. I recently changed my firewall from OpenWrt to OPNsense and obviously needed to forward ports 80 and 443 to my home server, a M1 Mac Mini running Fedora Asahi Remix. By default, OPNsense tries to listen it’s web UI on all ports, well sort of. Many suggestions online say you should change the port the web UI listens on. https://www.neelc.org/posts/net-neutrality-activism/ Tue, 07 Mar 2023 15:20:00 -0800neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/net-neutrality-activism/ For many years, telecom and Net Neutrality-related policies have been a hot-button political issue for me, to the extent that I, an ordinary software engineer at Microsoft have been blocked on Twitter by former FCC chairman Ajit Pai because I tweeted support for Net Neutrality publicly. I also noticed that Net Neutrality is less of a hot-button topic than it was, presumably because of a deadlocked FCC that couldn’t pass anything. https://www.neelc.org/posts/chatgpt-gmail-spam/ Sun, 22 Jan 2023 09:15:00 -0800neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/chatgpt-gmail-spam/ If you haven’t been living under a rock, you probably already know what ChatGPT is. I am an operator of high bandwidth Tor exit relays, and with that, I get a lot of abuse complaints. Combined with the fact that I have ai lease on a “/24” of IPv4 space, basically a block of 256 IP addresses, I have the IP space’s contact to my LLC’s email address. What does this have to do with ChatGPT, you may ask? https://www.neelc.org/posts/clone-calix-ont/ Fri, 24 Jun 2022 10:45:00 -0700neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/clone-calix-ont/ UPDATE: I now live with my brother in Stamford, CT while my family renovates a NYC townhouse/brownstone and right now I’ll be using Frontier FiberOptic until the new home is ready. Frontier here uses a Nokia ONT and since it’s an ex-AT&T area standard GPON uses 802.1X. I’m currently “bypassed” to my MikroTik box, the older AT&T Fiber bypass method works here also. Also, Lumen/CenturyLink/Quantum Fiber now uses Smart NIDs (basically an ONT plus a wired router) instead of Calix ONTs. https://www.neelc.org/posts/freebsd-ad-login/ Sun, 10 Apr 2022 21:00:00 -0700neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/freebsd-ad-login/ Disclaimer: I work at Microsoft, but not on Windows Server or Active Directory. Recently, in my homelab, I decided to enable a single sign-on using Active Directory on my two servers. Despite my employment, my homelab is very FreeBSD-centric, due to me having used it for 9+ years versus 2+ at my current job. While I could use OpenLDAP which is technically more Unix-centered than Windows-centered, I hate OpenLDAP. I find it easier to use Active Directory, whether Windows or Samba, as I am currently using a Samba 4. https://www.neelc.org/posts/optimize-freebsd-for-intel-tigerlake/ Wed, 09 Mar 2022 20:00:00 -0800neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/optimize-freebsd-for-intel-tigerlake/ My current FreeBSD laptop is a 2020 14" HP Spectre x360, which uses Intel’s 11th Gen CPU and “Evo” platform, although I previously also had the 13" 2020 version with a similar setup (but lacked working audio on non-Windows). This article isn’t specific to HP: your shiny-new Lenovo ThinkPad, Dell XPS, or Framework Laptop can also apply. One thing with FreeBSD is that unlike Windows or desktop Linux, the default configuration is poorly optimized for laptops that are newer than your ancient ThinkPad T420, or maybe a T460s. https://www.neelc.org/posts/hp-t740-freebsd/ Sat, 15 Jan 2022 16:00:00 -0800neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/hp-t740-freebsd/ While expensive and hard to find on eBay (thanks, ServeTheHome), the HP t740 “Thin Client” is a great pfSense box if you want more power, or a compact home server. While I could get away with a t730 or t620 Plus, but I have CenturyLink Fiber and PPPoE is more computationally intensive versus pure DHCP. That running a Tor relay, so I’d like some headroom and upgrade path to 10 Gigabits. https://www.neelc.org/posts/freebsd-speed-shift-laptop/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 20:00:00 -0700neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/freebsd-speed-shift-laptop/ When running FreeBSD on laptops with a 6th Gen (Skylake) or later Intel CPU, for me these are HP Spectre x360s (sorry, I’m not a ThinkPad fan), one annoyance with the out of the box FreeBSD configuration is the fact that the fan is running most of the time. In comparison, a HP Envy with an AMD Ryzen does not have this issue with an out-of-the-box FreeBSD. One thing that Intel has done with these modern CPUs is include a technology called Speed Shift. https://www.neelc.org/posts/freebsd-signal-proxy/ Fri, 05 Feb 2021 20:00:00 -0800neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/freebsd-signal-proxy/ With the events that the private messaging app Signal has been blocked in Iran, Signal has come up with an “proxy” solution akin to Tor’s Bridges, and have given instructions on how to do it. For people who prefer FreeBSD over Linux like myself, we obviously can’t run Docker, which is what Signal’s instructions focus on. Fortunately, the Docker image is just a fancy wrapper around nginx, and the configs can be ported to any OS. https://www.neelc.org/posts/freebsd-bootloader-uefi-manual/ Sun, 29 Nov 2020 20:00:00 -0800neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/freebsd-bootloader-uefi-manual/ On my laptop (HP Spectre x360 2018), I decided to install a second FreeBSD install, this time on the Intel Optane drive. When I proceeded to install, I chose manual partitioning, and while it finished extraction, it proceeded me to this error: This happened to me on a recent 13-CURRENT. I don’t believe it happened on earlier snapshots or 12.x. I had this issue with both UFS and ZFS partitioning. https://www.neelc.org/posts/freebsd-ttl-ipv6/ Fri, 04 Sep 2020 06:00:00 -0700neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/freebsd-ttl-ipv6/ My current wireless service is T-Mobile and I use a unlocked (Google Store edition) Google Pixel 3 running LineageOS. I am a heavy user of tethering, and unlike Sprint (switched pre-merger), T-Mobile checks for the TTL to count for hotspot bandwidth if TTL<=64 (can be bypassed with TTL=65 on a laptop). My personal laptop happens to run FreeBSD, so I initially thought that setting net.inet.ip.ttl sets both the IPv4 and IPv6 TTL, since at the time I didn’t see a net. https://www.neelc.org/posts/freebsd-azure-pkg/ Mon, 01 Jun 2020 21:00:00 -0700neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/freebsd-azure-pkg/ I work at Microsoft, and with that, I get free Azure credits. Considering where I work, I have no use for FreeBSD at work, only Windows. However, I spent seven years of my life prior to getting $DAYJOB using FreeBSD, going back to high school and basically built my personal setup on it. I haven’t bothered to switch my personal desktop or home server to Windows (yet*), so I’ll create a FreeBSD VM in Azure and try to update it. https://www.neelc.org/posts/freebsd-dummynet-kernhz/ Fri, 22 May 2020 15:00:00 -0700neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/freebsd-dummynet-kernhz/ As a hobby, I play with software routers in virtual machines (always FreeBSD). One recent project of mine was to emulate DSL bandwidth and latency in a VM, from varying bandwidths of 1.5 Mbps (ADSL) to 50 Mbps (VDSL2). By default, when using FreeBSD on a hypervisor, the kern.hz tunable is set to 100. This is to prevent additional CPU use from idling. But dummynet recommends kern.hz=1000 which is also the default on physical hardware. https://www.neelc.org/posts/android-outlook-firefox/ Sun, 12 Jan 2020 19:00:00 -0800neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/android-outlook-firefox/ I’m a recent Microsoft hire. That being said, it’s obvious that they’re using Office 365’s Hosted Exchange for their email, which is a departure from G Suite at NYU and CacheCash, and my personal FreeBSD/Postfix/Dovecot setup. Like many big companies, Microsoft requires 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication) for logging in to company resources. Well, okay, I done this before. But then, to use corporate email “officially”, I have to use not only Outlook, but also the InTune App, which “manages” my device. https://www.neelc.org/posts/freebsd-ipfw-nat/ Wed, 25 Dec 2019 21:39:00 -0500neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/freebsd-ipfw-nat/ After graduating college, I am moving from Brooklyn, NY to Redmond, WA (guess where I got a job). I always wanted to re-do my OPNsense firewall (currently a HP T730) with stock FreeBSD and IPFW’s in-kernel NAT. Why IPFW? Benchmarks have shown IPFW to be faster which is especially good for my Tor relay, and because I can! However, one downside of IPFW is less documentation vs PF, even less without natd (which we’re not using), and this took me time to figure this out. https://www.neelc.org/posts/hp-t730-opnsense-bcm/ Thu, 21 Nov 2019 20:45:00 -0500neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/hp-t730-opnsense-bcm/ I recently picked up an HP T730 as my OPNsense firewall, mainly to repurpose my previous HP ProDesk as a desktop. With that, I also initially tried an Intel NIC primarily because the de-facto NIC choice for OPNsense/pfSense is in fact Intel. To my surprise, the T730 froze with the Intel-based NICs I tried, both igb and em based cards. Many people have reported on pfSense’s subreddit that certain Intel-based NICs actually do freeze on the T730. https://www.neelc.org/posts/geni-tools-freebsd/ Wed, 04 Sep 2019 10:31:00 -0400neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/geni-tools-freebsd/ I have been asked to use GENI to test some software I have written at CacheCash/NYU. To communicate with GENI, you usually use a tool called Omni. FreeBSD has been my choice of desktop operating system since 2012, and since I am using my personal machine, my work is being done on FreeBSD. However, Omni only supports Python 2 while FreeBSD’s default version of Python is Python 3. Not that a default of Python 3 is a bad thing (I think it’s a blessing), but some additional steps are needed to install run Omni in this case. https://www.neelc.org/posts/hp-t620-plus-opnsense/ Fri, 05 Jul 2019 15:36:00 -0400neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/hp-t620-plus-opnsense/ I have gotten a HP T620 Plus as a firewall box, replacing a Chinese “Mini PC” which barely handles my 300/300 Verizon FiOS. The T620 Plus is a very popular choice in the pfSense world, however I wanted to go with OPNsense. One issue with the T620 Plus with OPNsense is that when you attempt to install, you get a segmentation fault in the installer. From forum posts, many other people have had this issue with HP and non-HP hardware. https://www.neelc.org/posts/hpe-ml110-gen10-freebsd-sata/ Mon, 10 Jun 2019 18:54:00 -0400neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/hpe-ml110-gen10-freebsd-sata/ Note: I am using FreeBSD as the operating system in the article, but the information should be generic to Linux or any non-Microsoft operating system. This should also apply to most other current HPE ProLiant servers (as of 2019) other than the MicroServer (UPDATE: Don’t own one, but this article should apply to the new MicroServer Gen10 Plus as well). I recently got a Xeon 4108 HPE ProLiant ML110 Gen10 to replace my MicroServer as a home server along with two 1TB hard drives to run in ZFS RAID. https://www.neelc.org/posts/freebsd-hd-audio-device.hints/ Sat, 23 Mar 2019 19:57:46 -0400neel@momandpop.network (Neel Chauhan) https://www.neelc.org/posts/freebsd-hd-audio-device.hints/ If you’re like me and run FreeBSD on a laptop (mine is was a HP EliteBook x360 1030 G2 before I broke it in a bothed “repair” job), one issue you may encounter is the fact that switching between speakers and headphones isn’t automatic. This isn’t a HP-specific problem as I also know this impacts Dell laptops, and probably impacts other laptop brands as well. However, not all hope is lost.