Networking on Ops & Obfuscation

Bell Home Hub 4000: DMZ vs PPPoE Passthrough (What Actually Works)

nothanks@donttalkto.me (Corey) — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

TL;DR

If you’re looking for easy, do Advanced DMZ. If you’re looking for stable, do PPPoE.

If you’re feeling adventurous, you may attempt a complete bypass at your own discretion.

Intro

If you’ve been doing any networking at all outside of the basic functionality that your Bell Home Hub 4000 (HH4K) provides, you’ll quickly notice that while there are options, they’re not great ones.

UniFi WiFi Multi-SSID & Roaming with Cisco PoE+ Switches & Self-Hosted Controller

nothanks@donttalkto.me (Corey) — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Setting the stage

Many people pick up their new UniFi access points for their home, starry-eyed with dreams of roaming and multiple SSIDs, allowing fast and segregated WiFi for all their needs.

Then reality sets in. You go to plug in your access points and realize you’ve got no ports left on your ISP router. Fine, go on Amazon and purchase your $20 8-port switch.

Bell Home Hub 4000 PPPoE Passthrough on OPNSense

nothanks@donttalkto.me (Corey) — Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

My favorite protocol that sounds like it has a stutter is on the menu for today’s post. We’ll be discussing my migration from using the Bell Home Hub 4000 (HH4K) in Advanced DMZ mode to expose my OPNSense VM to the internet, to using PPPoE passthrough instead.

TL;DR

1. Get your PPPoE credentials.

2. Plug your router into one of the HH4K ports.

3. Create a PPPoE device interface and enter your credentials.

Lab Writeup Series: 2025 Update

nothanks@donttalkto.me (Corey) — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

It’s been a while. New lab, new me.

A lot has changed, but I’m still at it. The lab keeps growing.

In fits and starts, I stumble forward toward something resembling a home datacenter.

To those who have read my previous posts about my lab, just know that it’s a work in progress, and there’s always something new going on. This iteration is much prettier than the previous one.

Intro

Above is a simplified view of the physical network topology for my home. The bulk of the networking happens across these devices. This is a family household of roughly 10 ± 2 people, most of whom are heavy users of internet-connected devices. One other person and I work from home and rely on a rock-solid internet connection for Zoom.

Lab Writeup Series: Hardware

nothanks@donttalkto.me (Corey) — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This is my lab

It’s not much, but it’s mine. I got it piece by piece, at great discount to my wallet, and at great cost to my sanity.

Come along as we explore the Jank.

I call this the maw of the beast. It screams like a banshee and spews hot air.

The Switch

Image retrieved from https://www.vibrant.com/Cisco-WS-C3750G-24TS-S.html

Now, this is what it looks like off the shelf, but how does it look in my lab? Behold my spaghetti.