this post was submitted on 09 Nov 2026
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How do you isolate a printer in your homelab? (lemmy.zip)
submitted 9 hours ago by rearview@lemmy.zip to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
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Hi all, I've gotten a Brother machine (DCP series) that can do wifi printing/scanning over their proprietary app. However, I'd like to lock it down from my network, because having it on the same LAN as my other devices and the ability to phone out to the internet seem like room for mischievious activities.

For context, I have OpenWRT on my router, and my clients can access the Brother using their iPrint&Scan app and AirPrint on wifi, as well as the traditional USB port. But I'm not good in networking. In my research, I drafted out the following solutions:

  1. Create a firewall rule to block the printer itself from making outbound requests. Seems simple, but I'm not sure if this can persist after IP changes or not.
  2. Create a VLAN for "IoT devices" that cannot send outbound requests to my normal VLAN nor the internet. Inspiration from this video, I'd need to manage a new SSID but it may come in handy for more IoT devices later.
  3. Hook the Brother up to a Raspberry Pi via USB, and install CUPS + SANE on the Pi. Assuming the Pi cannot "phone home" on behalf of the printer, this makes it a local-only "print+scan service" on my normal network and doesn't require an extra VLAN.

I'd like to ask: which solution above is best for "neutering" the Brother? Or are there any alternatives/details I might've missed? I'm not sure if blocking outbound requests this way is enough of a security hardening for an untrusted device, and if there are any usability issues I've overlooked so far.

Thanks for any advice, and please share any printer/scanner setup you have in your networks as well. So hopefully I can get more inspiration!

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[–] flueterflam@lemmy.world 3 points 8 hours ago

I did #2 and it works perfectly. I have an IoT VLAN and my Brother printer/scanner is on it. I pivoted to the Ubiquiti/Unifi network infrastructure several years ago due to mostly seemless integration with the routers/switches/APs. But have used OpenWRT in the past (but didn't set up VLANs then). Not sure the steps and if it requires manual firewall rules for the VLAN in OpenWRT.

In case there identical/similar options to Unifi, however, I'll just mention it's pretty simple. Create the VLAN (new subnet vs the default network, e.g. 10.0.0.0/24 vs 10.1.0.0/24), deselect the "allow internet access" option, and make sure to select "network isolation" option (which blocks it from speaking to other VLANs/subnets). That's it. (For conveniences, I also created another Wifi network call "XYZ_IOT" and then connected the printer to it. The network is fixed to that new IoT VLAN).

Technically, those options are effectively convenient shortcuts for firewall rules that will get removed or created, accordingly, for that specific VLAN.

Takes longer when you're uncomfortable or struggling through it, but the complete setup time took maybe 15-20mins. If OpenWRT doesn't have those convenience shortcuts, might take a bit longer to search for example firewall rule configs online and then make them.