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 5 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

Your comment about #2 is not true. VLANs can be fully isolated from other subnets on the LAN - sure. But they can also NOT be isolated. I have one fully isolated VLAN, and the rest are not isolated.

With a savvy user, you can also tehnically isolate VLANs form only specific other VLANs. I've never needed to do this, but know it's possible.

Edit: for reference, I looked up details and found a helpful link and example:

5. Firewall zones for VLANs

config zone
    option name 'lan'
    option input 'ACCEPT'
    option output 'ACCEPT'
    option forward 'ACCEPT'     <-- This line allows intra-zone (inter-subnet) routing
    list network 'lan'
    list network 'your_new_vlan' <-- Adding your new VLAN here stops it from being isolated