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Rhodium OS

A local-first network operating system built for people who want control of their infrastructure.

Rhodium OS is a custom network and security platform built on the proven OpenWrt foundation and expanded for modern homelabs, labs, edge deployments, and advanced network environments.

Rather than hiding important networking features behind cloud subscriptions, proprietary controllers, or scattered configuration files, Rhodium OS brings routing, security, VPN, wireless, monitoring, and system management together in a powerful web-based platform.

It is designed around a simple philosophy:

Your network. Your hardware. Your data. Your control.

Built Beyond Stock OpenWrt

Rhodium OS takes OpenWrt’s flexibility and extends it with a curated package set, enhanced management interfaces, security tooling, and functionality aimed at users who need more than a basic router.

The goal is to provide the flexibility normally associated with custom Linux networking while keeping common operations accessible through a clean graphical interface.

Rhodium OS is especially suited for:

  • Homelabs
  • Educational networking labs
  • Advanced home networks
  • Small business infrastructure
  • Edge gateways
  • Virtual routers
  • Security testing environments
  • Network engineering
  • Custom x86 router appliances

Security Built Into the Platform

Rhodium OS is designed to make security capabilities visible and manageable instead of burying them behind command-line configuration.

The platform is being developed around an integrated security stack that can include intrusion detection and prevention, threat intelligence, automated blocking, firewall management, traffic visibility, and hardened network services.

This gives administrators a central place to understand what is happening on their network and respond to suspicious activity.

Full VPN Toolkit

Rhodium OS is built for much more than basic remote access.

Its networking stack supports modern VPN technologies and advanced deployment scenarios, including site-to-site connectivity, remote users, encrypted tunnels, and segmented lab environments.

WireGuard and other VPN technologies can be integrated directly into the system alongside routing, firewall, and policy controls.

Advanced Wireless Networking

Rhodium OS includes an extensive Linux wireless stack intended for everything from ordinary access points to more advanced deployments.

Depending on hardware and configuration, the platform can support technologies such as:

  • WPA2/WPA3
  • Wireless access point operation
  • Wireless client modes
  • Mesh networking
  • Wireless roaming
  • Travel-router configurations
  • Scheduled wireless operation
  • Advanced radio and interface diagnostics

Designed for Real Hardware and Virtualization

Rhodium OS is especially focused on x86 systems, allowing inexpensive PCs, mini PCs, industrial appliances, and virtual machines to become capable network appliances.

This makes Rhodium OS useful anywhere from a small fanless router to a multi-interface virtualization host.

It can also be deployed inside virtualization environments, making it ideal for network labs and infrastructure training.

Local First. Cloud Second.

Rhodium OS does not require the cloud to make your router useful.

Core networking and administration remain under your control and run locally on your infrastructure.

Cloud services can complement the platform where they make sense, but they are not intended to replace local administration or make basic functionality dependent on an external vendor.

Built for Tinkerers — Designed to Become More

Rhodium OS is for people who actually want to understand and control their networks.

It combines the openness of Linux, the package ecosystem of OpenWrt, and a growing collection of Rhodium-specific management and security features into a platform that can evolve with the environment running it.

Whether you’re building a home firewall, an engineering lab, a virtual network appliance, or an experimental edge platform, Rhodium OS gives you a foundation you can modify instead of a black box you simply have to accept.

Open. Local. Flexible. Powerful.

Welcome to Rhodium OS.

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Rhodium-OS Beta BIOS

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Rhodium-OS Beta UEFI

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Installing Rhodium OS

Rhodium OS is distributed as a bootable disk image designed for x86-64 systems and virtual machines.

For most users, the easiest installation method is to write the Rhodium OS image directly to a USB drive or SSD using balenaEtcher, then boot the target system from that device.

Important: Writing the Rhodium OS image will erase the selected destination drive. Verify the correct USB drive, SSD, or virtual disk before continuing.

What You Need

Before installing Rhodium OS, prepare:

  • A compatible x86-64 computer or appliance
  • A USB flash drive, SSD, or other target storage device
  • The latest Rhodium OS image
  • Another Windows, Linux, or macOS computer for preparing the installation media
  • balenaEtcher
  • Ethernet connectivity for initial configuration

For router deployments, at least two network interfaces are recommended:

  • One interface for WAN
  • One interface for LAN

Additional interfaces can be used for VLANs, management networks, DMZs, labs, or other routed networks.

Method 1 — Install Using balenaEtcher

Step 1 — Download Rhodium OS

Download the latest Rhodium OS image from the Rhodium OS download page.

Depending on the release, the file may be distributed as an image such as:

rhodium-os-x86-64.img

or as a compressed image such as:

rhodium-os-x86-64.img.gz

balenaEtcher can normally write compressed images directly, so extracting the file may not be necessary.

Step 2 — Install balenaEtcher

Download and install balenaEtcher for your operating system.

balenaEtcher is available for:

  • Windows
  • Linux
  • macOS

Launch balenaEtcher after installation.

Step 3 — Connect the Destination Drive

Connect the USB drive, SSD, or other storage device that will contain Rhodium OS.

Make sure there is nothing important stored on the device.

Everything on the selected destination drive will be erased.

Step 4 — Select the Rhodium OS Image

In balenaEtcher:

  1. Click Flash from file
  2. Select the downloaded Rhodium OS image
  3. Confirm that the correct image appears in Etcher

Compressed .img.gz images can normally be selected directly.

Step 5 — Select the Target Drive

Click:

Select target

Choose the USB drive or SSD that Rhodium OS should be written to.

Carefully verify the drive size and device name before continuing.

Do not select your operating system drive.

Step 6 — Flash Rhodium OS

Click:

Flash!

balenaEtcher will:

  1. Write the Rhodium OS image
  2. Verify the written data
  3. Report when the operation has completed

Do not disconnect the drive while flashing is in progress.

When Etcher reports that flashing is complete, safely remove the drive.

Booting Rhodium OS

Connect the Rhodium OS drive to the system that will run the operating system.

Power on the system and enter its BIOS or UEFI boot menu.

Common boot-menu keys include:

  • F12
  • F11
  • F10
  • F9
  • Esc
  • Delete

The exact key depends on the motherboard or computer manufacturer.

Select the drive containing Rhodium OS.

The system should begin booting Rhodium OS.

BIOS / UEFI Settings

Most systems should boot Rhodium OS with their normal firmware configuration.

If the system does not boot, check the following settings.

Boot Mode

Use:

UEFI

when supported.

Some older hardware may require legacy BIOS or CSM mode depending on the Rhodium OS image being used.

Secure Boot

If Rhodium OS does not boot with Secure Boot enabled, disable Secure Boot in the system firmware.

Boot Order

Place the Rhodium OS storage device ahead of other bootable drives, or manually select it from the one-time boot menu.

First Boot

The first startup may take slightly longer than normal while the system initializes networking, storage, and Rhodium OS services.

Connect a computer to the Rhodium OS LAN interface using Ethernet.

Your computer should normally receive an IP address automatically using DHCP.

Open a web browser and navigate to the management address configured by the Rhodium OS release.

For example:

http://192.168.1.1

The exact default address may vary between Rhodium OS versions, so check the release notes included with your download.

Network Interface Detection

On systems with multiple Ethernet interfaces, Rhodium OS may assign interfaces according to the order in which Linux detects them.

Typical interface names may include:

  • eth0
  • eth1
  • eth2
  • enp1s0
  • enp2s0

After logging into Rhodium OS, verify which physical interfaces correspond to:

  • WAN
  • LAN
  • Management
  • Additional networks

Do not connect an unknown interface directly to an untrusted network until its firewall role has been verified.

Installing Directly to an Internal SSD

Rhodium OS images may also be written directly to an internal SATA, NVMe, or other supported drive.

One simple method is:

  1. Remove the target SSD from the router or appliance
  2. Connect it to another computer using SATA, NVMe, or USB storage adapters
  3. Open balenaEtcher
  4. Select the Rhodium OS image
  5. Select the SSD
  6. Flash the image
  7. Reinstall the SSD into the Rhodium OS system
  8. Boot from the SSD

This eliminates the need for a separate installer environment.

Running Rhodium OS in a Virtual Machine

Rhodium OS can also be deployed as a virtual network appliance.

Typical platforms may include:

  • XCP-ng
  • Xen Orchestra
  • Proxmox VE
  • KVM/QEMU
  • VMware
  • Hyper-V
  • VirtualBox

A basic Rhodium OS virtual machine should generally include:

  • x86-64 virtual CPU
  • 2 or more virtual CPU cores
  • 1–2 GB RAM minimum
  • 4 GB or more storage
  • At least two virtual network interfaces

A common virtual configuration is:

NIC 1 — WAN

Connected to the upstream or external network.

NIC 2 — LAN

Connected to the internal, lab, or isolated network.

Additional virtual NICs can be added for VLANs, DMZ networks, management networks, or isolated student environments.

After Installation

Once Rhodium OS is running, complete the initial configuration before using it as your primary gateway.

Recommended first steps include:

  1. Set a strong administrator password
  2. Verify WAN and LAN interface assignments
  3. Configure the LAN IP range
  4. Verify DHCP operation
  5. Confirm DNS functionality
  6. Configure firewall policies
  7. Configure wireless interfaces if present
  8. Configure VPN services if required
  9. Review installed security services
  10. Install available Rhodium OS updates
  11. Back up the completed configuration

Troubleshooting

The System Does Not Boot

Check:

  • BIOS/UEFI boot order
  • Secure Boot settings
  • Whether the image was successfully verified by balenaEtcher
  • Whether the target system supports x86-64
  • Whether the correct Rhodium OS image was downloaded

Try writing the image again if necessary.

balenaEtcher Cannot See the Drive

Try:

  • Disconnecting and reconnecting the drive
  • Using another USB port
  • Restarting balenaEtcher
  • Running Etcher with administrator privileges when required
  • Checking whether the operating system detects the drive

The Web Interface Does Not Open

Verify:

  • The Ethernet cable is connected to the LAN interface
  • Your computer received an IP address
  • You are connected directly to the Rhodium OS LAN
  • The management IP matches the version you installed

You can inspect your computer’s assigned IP address to determine whether DHCP is functioning.

No Internet Connection

Verify:

  • The WAN cable is connected to the correct interface
  • The WAN interface received an address
  • DNS servers are configured
  • The default route is present
  • Firewall rules permit outbound traffic

Some ISPs may also require DHCP lease renewal, VLAN configuration, PPPoE credentials, or modem rebooting when changing routers.

Upgrade Notes

Before upgrading Rhodium OS:

  • Back up your configuration
  • Read the release notes
  • Verify that the release supports your hardware
  • Review any major networking or package changes

Do not assume that every custom configuration will automatically migrate between major releases.

Recommended Installation Method

For most physical Rhodium OS deployments:

Download image → Flash with balenaEtcher → Install drive → Boot → Configure LAN/WAN → Secure the system

This provides the simplest and most reliable path from a downloaded Rhodium OS image to a functioning network appliance.

Create something extraordinary