Deploy a goblin
An old PC with two network ports, a mini PC, or a VM on the server you already have. Download, install, answer a few questions, done.
Sizing the goblin
Goblin Gate runs on any 64-bit x86 machine or VM. No special hardware, no box to buy.
| Network ports | Two: one for the internet (WAN), one for your network (LAN). VLANs add more networks on the LAN port; extra ports work too. |
|---|---|
| A home network | 2 CPU cores, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB disk |
| With IPS and big blocklists | 4 GB RAM or more. A DNS blocklist of about 850 000 domains takes around 1 GB on its own. More CPU cores help the IPS: it runs one queue per core (up to 4 per profile). |
| Firmware | BIOS or UEFI. Secure Boot works. |
| Tested on | QEMU/KVM (Proxmox), VirtualBox and VMware ESXi (use VMXNET 3 network cards). Bare metal works too. |
Measured throughput numbers come after 0.1.0. Until then, treat these sizes as the starting point from the install guide.
From download to first commit
Install
- Download the ISO and its
.sha256from the releases page, and check the checksum. - Boot it: write it to a USB stick (Rufus, balenaEtcher or
dd), or attach it to a VM. - Pick the disk. Everything on it is erased.
- On the console menu, assign the WAN and LAN ports (unplug and replug a cable to see which is which), and change the LAN address if
192.168.1.1clashes with your network.
Set it up
- Plug a computer into the LAN port and open
https://192.168.1.1(or the address the console shows). Accept the self-signed certificate the first time. - Run the setup wizard: admin password, WAN, LAN, security level (Off, Basic or Strict), review. It commits your first config.
- Open Goblin Checks: it tells you what's left to tighten.
- Add a notification channel and download a first backup.
The full walk-through, with every console option, is in the user guide: Installation and First setup.
Bring your old config, keep it updated
Coming from another firewall?
Run the wizard, then System → Import with your old firewall's XML backup. A report lists every item as converted, approximated or skipped, and nothing goes live until you commit. Details in the user guide.
Updating
You never need the ISO again. The box checks its channel (stable or beta) every 6 hours: System → Updates, one click. If an update doesn't come back healthy within 5 minutes, it rolls itself back. See Updates and backups.
The demo, first
Not ready to give it a box? Run the web UI on a pretend network on your own computer.
The demo, on your own computer
The real web UI on a pretend home network with made-up traffic. Click anything, commit, roll back, break it. Nothing reaches your network, and it's gone when you stop it.
Needs Docker (Windows, Mac or Linux). The download is about 10 MB.
One command
docker run --rm -p 127.0.0.1:8090:8090 ghcr.io/mostlywithinspec/goblin-gate-demoThen open localhost:8090. Ctrl+C stops it and nothing is left behind.
Every page, explained
The wiki covers the whole web UI, with recipes and troubleshooting.