2d ago

Replacing router with OpenWRT on Proxmox

Not sure if this 100% goes here but I'm relatively new to the self hosting world. Please advise if this needs to be moved elsewhere and I will.

I recently picked up a beelink mini PC and have been running Proxmox for things like jellyfin, home assistant, etc.

I'm looking to set up OpenWRT and found a helper script that sets up the VM but I'm having issues being able to configure wireless. According to the official docs, wireless is off by default if there are eth ports. When I go to edit it, both in the LuCl and in the /etc/config/wireless file, I hit 2 issues:

The web client doesn't have a wireless option.
There is no wireless file In the config directory.

I tried looking for some solutions online but wasn't sure what was exactly specific for me. I wasn't sure if this was a hardware issue or a Proxmox/OpenWRT config issue. Any advice on this?

Side note: My thoughts were I could use the internal wi-fi adapter for wireless but would I need a USB adapter of some sort for this capability?

22 comments

What is the point in installing OpenWRT on something that is not a router? I use it, i have it on a few different WiFi access points...
but what would be the reason to install on a regular pc, whether on VM or not?
- It's a handy router OS, why not?
  Consumer router hardware generally under performs a lot, so running your router on better hardware solves that.
  
  Better hardware is not a VM in Proxmox. You want quality gear with each component doing one job.
- It can be used as a VPN router, any VM that needs a VPN can be connected to a network bridge that is forward through the VPN. This could also be done on the primary router and a VLAN.
- Well currently I have a nest wifi pro router that doesn't allow a lot of customization. (I used to be a Google fan). And since I had a beelink I figured I would try it. I was also wanting to be able to run a VPN on my router and the nest doesn't allow clients.