The Need For A Cloud Native Tunnel by Alex Ellis, CNCF Ambassador and Founder @ OpenFaaS Ltd
Why do we need a tunnel? What are the alternatives? What can inlets and inlets-operator do?
8. @inletsdev
FAST FORWARD “A FEW” YEARS ⏩
• 30-year old me
• Software developer
• Integrating with
webhooks
• Restricted corporate
network
• No “cloud” budget
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1
2
9. @inletsdev
THE NETWORK IS STILL THE PROBLEM
• 30-year old me
• Software developer
• Integrates with GitHub
• Builds open source
deployment platforms
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10. @inletsdev
• Incoming webhooks (HTTPS)
• Stable URL
• Kubernetes integration
• Low-cost
• Easy to use
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WHAT DID WE NEED?
11. @inletsdev
A STORY OF TWO NETWORKS
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Private network Public network
No public IP
NAT
Firewall
Captive portal
Corporate proxy
Hotel WiFi
Public IP
IPv4 capacity
Additional cost
Vs.
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..BUT WHAT ABOUT…
• IPv6
• “Every Atom of the
surface of the Earth”
• Adoption
• Dual stack
• VPNs
• Virtual Private Network
• OpenVPN
• Wireguard/Tailscale
• UDP / Double VPN
• AWS Direct connect
• 1 or 10 gigabit fibre-optic
• $$$$
• MetalLB
• Not a tunnel
• NAT traversal? 👎
• SSH -R
• Encryption tax
• Baby-sitting
• Hard to automate