I Might Have Went A Little Crazy With The Free Stuff

# I Might Have Went a Little Crazy With The Free Stuff: Managing an Unintended Surplus of Access Points in Your Homelab

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of integrating and managing a large number of access points (APs) obtained for free, addressing the challenge and opportunity that arises when you find yourself with more network gear than you initially planned for. This guide is particularly beneficial for home lab enthusiasts and self-hosted environments seeking to expand their networking capabilities.

By the end of this guide, you’ll learn how to install, configure, operate, and troubleshoot a system designed to manage multiple APs, optimizing performance and enhancing security within your network infrastructure.

Prerequisites

• Operating System: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa) or newer
• Hardware Specs: Minimum 4GB RAM, 64-bit architecture, and at least 100GB of free disk space
• Required Software: Dnsmasq (2.83 or later), avahi (0.7 or later), hostapd (2.9 or later)
• Network Requirements: Static IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway for the management network
• Firewall Considerations: Ensure your firewall allows traffic on UDP ports 53, 67, 68, and 802.11 (wireless band specific)
• User Permissions: Root access is required for installation and configuration; user account with sudo privileges for daily operations

Installation & Setup

Install Dnsmasq and Avahi

sudo apt-get update -y && sudo apt-get install dnsmasq avahi -y

Configure Dnsmasq

Edit the Dnsmasq configuration file at /etc/dnsmasq.conf, adding the following lines:

# /etc/dnsmasq.conf
...
dhcp-range=10.0.0.50,10.0.0.250,12h
interface=wlan0
dhcp-option=option:router,10.0.0.1
dhcp-option=option:domain-name-servers,8.8.8.8,8.8.4.4
dhcp-option=option:dnssec-validation,no

Install and Configure Hostapd

sudo apt-get install hostapd -y

Edit the Hostapd configuration file at /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf, adding the following lines:

# /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf
...
interface=wlan0
driver=nl80211
ssid=YourSSID
hw_mode=g
channel=6
macaddr_acl=0
auth_algs=1
wpa=2
wpa_passphrase=YourWPAPassword
wpa_key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
rfcnewformat=1
ieee80211n=1
ieee80211ac=1

Configure Avahi

Edit the Avahi configuration file at /etc/avahi/avahi-daemon.conf, adding the following lines:

# /etc/avahi/avahi-daemon.conf
...
publish-multicast-dns=yes
publish-fdt-servers=yes

Start and Enable Services

sudo systemctl enable dnsmasq avahi-daemon hostapd
sudo systemctl start dnsmasq avahi-daemon hostapd

Configuration

After setting up the basic infrastructure, you can customize various options to suit your specific use case.

Security Hardening

• Change default SSID and WPA password
• Enable MAC address filtering (add MAC addresses of approved devices)
• Implement WPA3 security (if APs support it)

Performance Optimization

• Adjust channel width based on the number of APs in your area
• Implement band steering (guide clients to prefer 5GHz band if available)

Integration with Other Services

• Configure RADIUS authentication for centralized management
• Implement Captive Portal for guest access control

Usage & Operations

Monitoring and Maintenance

• Use tools like Wireshark or tcpdump to analyze network traffic
• Regularly check logs in /var/log/hostapd and /var/log/syslog

Backup and Recovery

• Periodically backup configuration files (Dnsmasq, Avahi, Hostapd)
• Restore from backup in case of configuration changes or system failure

Troubleshooting

• Check for incorrect network settings and hardware compatibility issues
• Verify that the APs are associating with the correct SSID and are receiving an IP address
• Use journalctl -fu hostapd to inspect Hostapd logs

Conclusion

With this guide, you’ve learned how to integrate, configure, operate, and troubleshoot a system designed for managing multiple access points in your homelab environment. As your networking skills grow, consider exploring advanced topics such as load balancing, mesh networks, and cloud management of APs.

For further learning, we recommend checking out the Official Dnsmasq Documentation, Hostapd Manual, and Avahi Documentation. Happy networking!