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98751bc1f4
Added a LICENSE and documentation on how to contribute Updated CI/CD to use the root level code
36 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
36 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
---
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id: netbird-vs-traditional-vpn
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title: NetBird vs. Traditional VPN
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sidebar_position: 5
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---
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# NetBird vs. Traditional VPN
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### Traditional VPN challenges
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In the traditional VPN model, everything converges on a centralized, protected network where all the clients are connecting to a central VPN server.
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An increasing amount of connections can easily overload the VPN server.
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Even a short downtime of a server can cause expensive system disruptions, and a remote team's inability to work.
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Centralized VPNs imply all the traffic going through the central server causing network delays and increased traffic usage.
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Such systems require an experienced team to set up and maintain.
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Configuring firewalls, setting up NATs, SSO integration, and managing access control lists can be a nightmare.
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Traditional centralized VPNs are often compared to a [castle-and-moat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moat) model
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in which once accessed, user is trusted and can access critical infrastructure and resources without any restrictions.
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### NetBird benefits
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NetBird decentralizes networks using direct point-to-point connections, as opposed to traditional models.
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Consequently, network performance is increased since traffic flows directly between the machines bypassing VPN servers or gateways.
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To achieve this, NetBird client applications employ signalling servers to find other machines and negotiate connections.
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These are similar to the signaling servers used in [WebRTC](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WebRTC_API/Signaling_and_video_calling#the_signaling_server)
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Thanks to [NAT traversal techniques](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAT_traversal),
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outlined in the [Why Wireguard with NetBird](/wireguard-plus-netbird) section,
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NetBird installation doesn't require complex network and firewall configuration.
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It just works, minimising the maintenance effort.
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Finally, each machine or device in the NetBird network verifies incoming connections accepting only the trusted ones.
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This is ensured by Wireguard's [Crypto Routing concept](https://www.wireguard.com/#cryptokey-routing). |