Learning BSD with homemade firewall: good Idea?

Hello,

I'm a dev, currently on Debian, and I want to learn BSD because this OS is never taught (in french education).

Practicing is the best way to learn so my project is to build an FreeBSD system:
  • with firewall, proxy, DNS cache, ability to use tshark (and maybe VPN)
  • with physical button and LED to interract with system (GPIO, arduino-like)
  • running on SBC (probably APUDC0)
  • not using solution like pfsense
Is this idea bad ? over-ambitious ?

I'm reading freeBSD handbook
If you have any advice like "this part is easy, this one is difficult", any website recommandation, blog post, twitter account, I would be very grateful :)
Thank you
 
All are possible and will give you plenty to do over time. You'll have fun! That's the most important. (I've done most of what you ask about.)
 
I think it is a great way to learn FreeBSD.
APU2 is a great platform as it is cheap and headless. GPIO driver works on it and it uses coreboot.

What I recommend is using pfSense/OPNsense behind your modem and use the APU to learn.
It makes a great AccessPoint (FreeBSD only has 802.11n support though).
So I run a APU2 Wireless AP with Mikrotik-Atheros module behind my OPNSense machine closer to the center of my home..
That gave me a chance to learn pF behind a firewall and with some WPA2 protections.
I already had pF on the AP for NAT so I picked up the "Book of pF" and learned how to use it.
FreeBSD makes a great appliance OS. I currently run a NanoBSD image on my WAP.
You can construct FreeBSD into your own custom OS with the /usr/src/release scripts/makefile.
All this under one of the most liberal licenses there is.
The source code has annotations for most all files so if the manual is lacking you can learn easily from the code base.
If your a developer you will like our source structure. It uses a very logical arrangement.

We have 3 major support branches with devs on IRC, devs on mailing lists and the forum with some developers.
Welcome Aboard
 
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