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This Old Network | LINUX Unplugged 650

Jan 18, 2026
They rebuild a small office network around Linux with real-world constraints and unexpected problems. Troubleshooting covers OpenWrt performance, Wi‑Fi congestion, and printer and IoT connectivity. A NixOS mini PC becomes the router and Home Assistant server. They track down a USB tethering issue using an LLM and set up a Nebula mesh VPN for remote access and backups.
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ANECDOTE

Local Clinic Network Rebuild

  • Chris, Wes, and Brent rebuilt a small clinic network around Linux using a Geekom mini PC and an OpenWrt AP. The job included Home Assistant, NextCloud, Zigbee, and Sonos speakers but ran into real-world Wi-Fi and printer hurdles.
ADVICE

Create A Legacy IoT SSID

  • Use a dedicated IoT SSID with lower WPA settings when devices struggle to join modern WPA modes. Downgrade to WPA2 PSK and B/G/N compatibility for legacy printers and similar IoT devices to reliably connect.
INSIGHT

Wi‑Fi Crowding Masks Deeper Problems

  • Crowded Wi‑Fi environments often hide issues beyond channel collisions, including overlapping IP schemes and upstream NAT behavior. Removing as much Wi‑Fi from the path and reassigning routing to a Linux host clarified the real bottleneck.
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