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Add documentation for evaluation of mesh protocols
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T-X created a pretty cool table to evaluate mesh protocols on this hedgedoc:
https://md.chaotikum.org/zRkW6JXXQs-8WCnwdtig5w?view

To give it more visibility, I would like to add it to the docs as suggested somewhere
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maurerle committed Jul 9, 2024
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63 changes: 59 additions & 4 deletions docs/features/vpn.rst
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.. _mesh-vpn:

Mesh VPN
========

Gluon integrates several layer 2 tunneling protocols to
allow connections between local meshes through the internet.

Protocol handlers
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Protocols overview
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For a comprehensive comparison and evaluation of the supported and formerly supported VPN methods that best suit your needs, refer to the following table (Be sure to scroll to the right):


+---------------------------------------+------+----------+----------------+----------------------------+------------------------+------------------+----------------+--------------------------+
| Gluon VPN method | IPv4 | IPv6 | Authentication | Encryption | Kernelspace forwarding | MTU overhead | Multithreading | Single interface for all |
| | | | | (no→faster,insecure [1]_) | (yes→faster) | (bytes @v4) [7]_ | | peers |
+=======================================+======+==========+================+============================+========================+==================+================+==========================+
| fastd, encrypted | yes | yes | optional [2]_ | yes | no | low (98) | no | optional |
+---------------------------------------+------+----------+----------------+----------------------------+------------------------+------------------+----------------+--------------------------+
| fastd, null | yes | yes | optional [2]_, | no | no | low (98) | no | optional |
| | | | partial [3]_ | | | | | |
+---------------------------------------+------+----------+----------------+----------------------------+------------------------+------------------+----------------+--------------------------+
| fastd, ``null@l2tp``, with offloading | yes | yes | optional [2]_, | no | yes | low (82) | | optional |
| | | | partial [3]_ | | | | | |
+---------------------------------------+------+----------+----------------+----------------------------+------------------------+------------------+----------------+--------------------------+
| fastd, ``null@l2tp``, no offloading | yes | yes | optional [2]_, | no | no | low (82) | no | optional |
| | | | partial [3]_ | | | | | |
+---------------------------------------+------+----------+----------------+----------------------------+------------------------+------------------+----------------+--------------------------+
| Tunneldigger (L2TP - deprecated) [6]_ | yes | no [4]_ | no | no | yes | low (82) | | no |
+---------------------------------------+------+----------+----------------+----------------------------+------------------------+------------------+----------------+--------------------------+
| WireGuard + VXLAN | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | high (162) | yes [5]_ | yes |
+---------------------------------------+------+----------+----------------+----------------------------+------------------------+------------------+----------------+--------------------------+










.. [1] No encryption allows internet providers to read and alter mesh traffic.
.. [2] The Gateway can ignore authentication for the initial connection request, via ``"on verify 'true'"``. However, a node→gateway handshake authentication with valid fastd keys in the site.conf is still required.
.. [3] Initial connection request can be authenticated, however payload data is not authenticated afterward.
.. [4] https://github.com/wlanslovenija/tunneldigger/issues/75
.. [5] https://www.wireguard.com/performance/
.. [6] https://github.com/ffac/community-packages/tree/master/ff-mesh-vpn-tunneldigger
.. [7] :ref:`mtu`
Additional, notable compatibility features
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

* fastd: multiple encrypted and unencrypted methods can be handled by one daemon
* fastd: a ``null@l2tp`` peer with offloading is fully compatible with a peer with ``null@l2tp`` without offloading
* fastd+WireGuard: a single secret can be used for both fastd and WireGuard via :ref:`gluon-mesh-vpn-key-translate <gluon-mesh-vpn-key-translate>`, so no need for a node owner switching to (or from) Wireguard from (or to) fastd to submit a new key


Core Protocol handlers
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

There are currently two protocol handlers which can be selected
as a feature:
There are currently two supported protocol handlers which
can be selected as a feature:

mesh-vpn-fastd
""""""""""""""
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1 change: 1 addition & 0 deletions docs/user/mtu.rst
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.. _mtu:
MTU for Mesh-VPN
================

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