SDN & OPNsense Security
Software-defined networking with managed OPNsense firewalls built into every deployment. Full network isolation, encrypted remote access, intrusion detection, and traffic management. Your infrastructure gets enterprise security without the enterprise complexity.
Security Capabilities
OPNsense Firewall Management
We deploy and manage OPNsense as your perimeter and internal firewall. Stateful packet inspection, NAT, port forwarding, and alias-based rule management. Firewall rules are version-controlled and auditable. We handle updates, plugin management, and configuration backups.
VLAN & Network Segmentation
Every deployment gets proper network segmentation via 802.1Q VLANs. Management traffic, storage replication, VM workloads, and public-facing services each run on isolated broadcast domains. Inter-VLAN routing is controlled by firewall rules, not switches.
WireGuard & OpenVPN Access
Secure remote access to your infrastructure via WireGuard or OpenVPN tunnels. We configure site-to-site VPNs for multi-location deployments and road-warrior profiles for individual engineers. Certificate management and key rotation are handled as part of ongoing maintenance.
Intrusion Detection (IDS/IPS)
Suricata-based intrusion detection and prevention integrated directly into OPNsense. ET Open and commercial rulesets are updated automatically. Alerts are correlated and filtered to reduce noise. Blocking mode is available for active threat prevention.
Traffic Shaping & QoS
Quality of Service policies ensure critical traffic gets priority. We configure traffic shapers, queues, and limiters to guarantee bandwidth for latency-sensitive workloads like databases, VoIP, or game servers. Burst limits prevent any single flow from saturating links.
DDoS Mitigation
Multi-layer DDoS protection starting at the network edge. SYN flood protection, connection rate limiting, and GeoIP blocking are configured in OPNsense. For volumetric attacks, we integrate with upstream scrubbing services to absorb traffic before it reaches your infrastructure.
Network Architecture
Perimeter Firewall
OPNsense runs on dedicated hardware or a high-priority VM at the network edge. All inbound traffic passes through stateful inspection, IDS/IPS, and GeoIP filtering before reaching any internal service. Redundant HA pairs with CARP failover ensure the firewall is never a single point of failure.
VLAN Backbone
Managed switches carry tagged VLANs for each network segment: management (IPMI/BMC), storage (Ceph replication), VM workloads, and public services. Trunk ports connect to OPNsense for inter-VLAN routing with full firewall rule enforcement at every hop.
VPN & Remote Access
WireGuard tunnels provide encrypted access for your engineering team. Each user gets a unique key pair with optional MFA. Site-to-site tunnels connect multiple deployments or bridge to your existing office network. Split tunnelling keeps non-infrastructure traffic off the VPN.
Visibility & Logging
NetFlow/sFlow data is collected from every interface for traffic analysis. Firewall logs, IDS alerts, and VPN connection events are centralised for audit and troubleshooting. Dashboards show real-time bandwidth, top talkers, and threat activity.
Deployment Process
Network Assessment
We document your current network topology, traffic patterns, and security requirements. Public IP allocations, internal subnets, DNS, and any existing VPN configurations are mapped. Compliance requirements (PCI-DSS, ISO 27001, etc.) are identified.
Architecture Design
We design a VLAN topology, firewall rule matrix, and VPN configuration tailored to your infrastructure. Network diagrams, IP allocation plans, and security policies are produced for your approval before any configuration begins.
Deployment & Hardening
OPNsense is installed and hardened. Default services are disabled, admin access is restricted to management VLAN, and SSH keys replace passwords. VLANs are configured on switches and trunked to the firewall. IDS rulesets are loaded and tuned.
Testing & Validation
Every firewall rule is tested to verify traffic flows correctly. Port scans confirm only intended services are exposed. VPN tunnels are tested for connectivity, throughput, and failover. IDS is validated against test attack patterns.
Monitoring & Ongoing Management
We monitor firewall health, IDS alerts, VPN status, and bandwidth utilisation 24/7. OPNsense updates and ruleset refreshes are applied during maintenance windows. Firewall rule changes go through a change management process with rollback capability.
Every SDN Deployment Includes
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