About
Published by skylar on Tuesday, May 2, 2023
What is ‘The MFN Project’?
The project is the end result of a very loose knit group of computer
and networking hobbyist. We work together to bring IPv6
connectivity to other hobbyist homelabs and devices, making things
such as port forwarding and direct connectivity easier to access and
deploy.
Why do y’all do this?
To learn new skills relating to IT and ISP tech, to practice building and
maintaining computer networks, to apply our skills and make the IPv6
internet more accessible. But mostly, we run the project just for fun.
Meet our team!
The whole idea is that Marbled Fennec Networks will try to provide a
space that can get accepted members connected to the greater IPv6
internet and they then can learn and experiment with networking within
their homelab.
Do you accept just anyone?
It is not that simple. Our resources and time are limited, so we tend
to limit who and what we accept into our project and network. Anyone
can make an application through the support desk, but that doesn’t
mean you’ll be accepted in. We have to be mindful of current server
load, network bandwidth and ability of our volunteer staff to keep up
with everyone.
Whats the cost?
For end users of the project, nothing. We don’t sell bandwidth or
hosting; we don’t provide support beyond getting end users up
and running on our network and we don’t have a staff overhead
because our project runs on a purely volunteer handled basis.
For the project’s core group, we foot the operational cost of MFN
ourselves, usually taking turns every month or two to front the cost
of keeping the lights on. At the end of the day, The MFN Project only
exist because we want it to and we put in the effort to keep it going.
What about reliability of your network?
The MFN Project is not a commercial company or a commercially
sponsored project. We have maybe two or three volunteer staff on
a good day handling tickets, creating/modifying connection profiles,
working on routing, keeping the firewall in check and so on. If
you need a service provider who has pure uptime and commercial
stability in mind; you need to look elsewhere, just being very
upfront about this.
For most homelab users, our network will likely do okay for getting
their services/VMs publicly accessible. We deliver IPv6 connectivity
just for that purpose. Bandwidth might be a little limited, but hey,
at the end of the day..folks get online even if they are behind a
5G, LTE or otherwise limited configurable internet connection.
While our volunteer staff and network moderators do strive for quick
turn around on tickets and emails, fast connections for new members
and firewall setup for homelabs; all of our volunteer staff have lives
outside of the project that come first. Again, we do this for fun.
Not for a profit.
Something else to keep in mind is that because our time for moderation
and project related task is limited; we tend to be choosy about which
service applications we approve and work with. We cannot simply accept
everyone onto our network. We have a limited set of resources such as
moderation staff, bandwidth and server hardware.
…And the purpose of all this is?
For those involved in our project to learn, grow and have fun. I guess
you could say it is one of those “because we could” kind of things.
Hopefully the project survives for a little while longer this time
around. We tend to come and go, as the finances aren’t always there
to keep everything together.
Will y’all be here tomorrow?
We can’t make any promises, but we always try to survive another month.
It depends on having enough volunteer staff members to keep everything
updated and running; as well as having the financing from our core
members to keep the lights on. I’d like to say “Yes! We’ll be here
until we burn out!” but in all honesty with you, the project’s wake
takes a slow toll on various folks play money. We’ll do our best to
keep marching forward for as long as the money is there to do so.