EST. 2026 — Notes from real server work SYSADMIN · SECURITY · AI · DIRECTADMIN Issue 01
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VLAN

#VLAN

4 articles
Network / VPN
Borrowing a VLAN for Windows Tools That Need the Same L2
Network

Borrowing a VLAN for Windows Tools That Need the Same L2

Many manufacturers' device discovery tools use broadcasts that cannot cross L3, so connecting over a VPN still leaves devices invisible. A solution that leaves switch ports alone is to put a small Windows VM on Proxmox with its interface directly in that VLAN, with pitfalls around vlan-aware bridges, a full thin pool breaking other VMs, and virtio leaving Windows without a network adapter after installation.

#proxmox#kvm#vlan#networking
8 min read·19 Sep
Managing Site Switches Remotely with UniFi's Cloud Connector Proxy
Network

Managing Site Switches Remotely with UniFi's Cloud Connector Proxy

My workstation is in a different location from the site, with no VPN and no inbound ports open, but I still need to change VLANs per port, reserve fixed IPs, and track down failing cables. This article explains how Site Manager's connector proxy reaches the legacy API for both reads and writes without requesting a CSRF token, and the discipline needed when holding a key this powerful.

#networking#unifi#rest-api#api
10 min read·18 Sep
Set VLANs on a Hikvision Switch Using Its Web UI API
Network

Set VLANs on a Hikvision Switch Using Its Web UI API

A smart managed switch whose Switch ISAPI endpoints return 403 can still be scripted if you inspect what its web UI sends. This article turns that API into a VLAN configuration script with a dry-run before apply, covering the traps I actually hit, including different field names for reads and writes, CCTV mode forcing 10 Mbps, and a calculated PoE load that exceeds the switch's budget.

#networking#vlan#switch#poe
9 min read·17 Sep
Network-as-code on MikroTik RouterOS
Network

Network-as-code on MikroTik RouterOS

A network-as-code approach for MikroTik — save /export output as a file, strip secrets with a sanitize script before sharing, split it into sections, then generate configs for multiple sites from Jinja2 templates + one set of variables

#mikrotik#routeros#networking#automation
9 min read·19 Jul