NetBird creates an overlay peer-to-peer network connecting machines automatically regardless of their location (home, office, data center, container, cloud, or edge environments) unifying virtual private network management experience. It uses ICE protocol (WebRTC) to negotiate p2p connections and WireGuard (kernel module, when possible) to create a fast and encrypted tunnel between machines, falling back to relay (TURN) in case a p2p connection isn't possible. Pretty much just a client application installation is needed, the rest is done by the software!

Sharing the project with you wasn't the only purpose of the post. I wanted to discuss the future and vision behind it. I'm pretty sure that in a few years, such seamless connectivity without the hassle of configuring firewalls, managing IPs, manual key rotations, centralized gateways, etc. will become a commodity and the majority won't be talking about traditional VPNs.

But what we think is becoming more relevant is advanced network security. We've seen the rise of Zero Trust with its ZTNA solutions in the past years. There are big vendors like ZScaler or Palo Alto already offering advanced network security features that leverage ML or contextual access controls to allow/block access based on context, not just identity.

Why can't this be open-source and built on top of universal connectivity that works anywhere? That is what we are setting as a mission for our project - to bring seamless connectivity and advanced network security together in a single open-source solution. What do you think about it?

We welcome contributors and if your excited of what we are building, feel free to reach out to us!

P.S. We've been previously know as Wiretrustee :)