In previous posts we have discussed how to enable SNMPv1 support on your APC UPS for remote monitoring. Here we are going to leverage this configuration to allow pfSense to monitor your UPS and protect it from outages! The first step is to install the nut package on pfSense, if it is not installed yet….
Category: Homelab
How to setup APC UPS to allow remote monitoring using SNMPv1
In previous posts we have seen how to factory reset an APC UPS Network Management Card (AP9631) and how to upgrade your APC UPS to the latest version. The next step is to enable SNMPv1 to allow remote devices to read and monitor status and, possibly, shutdown when appropriate. This steps was tested on a…
Installing Unifi controller Docker container on Synology NAS
A Unifi controller is a required piece of software if you have any Unifi gear, such as their famous Access Points. You can have the controller running on a dedicated hardware, as Unifi Cloud Key or Dream Machine Pro. However, in this post we are going to install the Unifi controller on a Docker container…
Upgrading APC AP9631 Network Management Card 2
As I mentioned earlier, recently I have acquired an AP9631 Network Management Card (NMC) and after factory resetting it, I’ve decided to upgrade to the latest firmware available. Here is how: Find a Windows machine (APC doesn’t support Linux, MacOS or other platforms for upgrades) Factory reset is an optional step, but I needed it…
Factory reset APC AP9631 Network Management Card 2
Recently I’ve purchased an APC Network Management Card AP9631 at eBay. After installing it on my APC UPS, I couldn’t get it to get an IP, possibly because it was configured with a static IP. As I didn’t have a serial cable for it, I had to reset it. Here is how. Turn on your…
Isolating Wi-Fi networks using VLAN subnets through pfSense + UDM-Pro and a little more…
A typical home network is a composed of a single network and if any of your devices is compromised or infected with malware, the attacker is able to spread malware or compromise all devices. You can better protect your home network by separating your home network into sub-networks (aka subnets). Devices in a subnet do not have…
Setting-up Load balancing and Failover using pfSense Gateway Groups
Load balancing, as the name implies, is the act of distributing load (in this case network packages) to one or more interfaces, which can be WANs if you have more than one ISP service connected to your pfSense appliance and/or VPN connections over a single WAN. Failover is similar, but instead of distributing, it switches…
Setting up VPN client on your pfSense (Surfshark) with Kill switch
Surfshark provides a cheap VPN service that allows unlimited number of devices with ad blocking. In this tutorial we are going to configure pfSense with Surfshark and assign an interface to it so that we can route it to other services. Surfshark information The first step is getting your Surfshark credentials. Go to the login…
How to allow ping on pfSense WAN?
By default, pings are not allowed and actually not recommended. Bu during a network debugging, it can be quite handy. In order to allow ping incoming on the pfSense WAN port, go to Firewall >> Rules >> WAN page and create a new rule by clicking on Add button (down arrow icon) and do as…
Configuring OpenVPN Server on pfSense with LDAP authentication
A OpenVPN server is useful if you want to safely connect to your house/office’s network from a remote place, say Disneyland or from abroad. In this article we are going to setup an OpenVPN server on your pfSense using LDAP for authentication based on Synology’s LDAP server. Getting ready A brief word on performance running…









