01 / THE ROLE
In this lab.
OPNsense is part of the virtualised infrastructure and provides the lab’s routing and firewall functions. The public explanation uses broad roles—management, services, testing and connected devices—rather than the private interface, subnet or rule inventory.
02 / THE CONNECTIONS
Follow the flow.
- STEP 01Network zones
- STEP 02Routing & policy
- STEP 03Allowed traffic
- STEP 04Destination service
03 / How it works
How it works.
Network separation gives different workloads distinct boundaries. A connection needs an allowed path as well as a listening application. Troubleshooting therefore checks the source, intended destination, name resolution and relevant policy before changing a firewall rule.
04 / Persistent data & recovery
Persistent data & recovery.
The recoverable asset is more than the firewall VM disk: it includes the configuration, interfaces, routing intent and the ability to restore management access safely. Configuration exports are operational material and do not belong in this public notebook.
05 / How to check it
How to check it.
Validate the intended traffic from an appropriate source and check the relevant interface or route. An API response or reachable management page does not prove all network policies work. Changes require a clear target, validation plan and way to regain access.
06 / Decisions & limits
Decisions & limits.
A virtual firewall makes the network part of the same recoverability exercise as compute. That also creates dependencies: recovering the platform may require network access, and recovering the network may require the platform.