ntop/n2n
N2n
n2n is a peer-to-peer VPN that creates an encrypted mesh network by establishing layer 2 overlay networks. It uses UDP tunneling to connect remote computers into a shared virtual local area network, allowing devices to communicate as if they were on the same physical Ethernet switch.
The system utilizes a centralized signaling registry and federated coordination nodes to facilitate peer discovery and node registration. It implements NAT traversal through UDP hole punching and UPnP port mapping, while using supernode relay routing to ensure connectivity when symmetric NATs prevent direct peer-to-peer communication.
The software provides end-to-end payload encryption and asymmetric public-key authentication to secure data and verify node identities. Additional capabilities include automated IP address assignment, data stream compression to reduce bandwidth usage, and administration via a local management console or a remote JSON API.
Features
- Peer-to-Peer Tunneling - Connects remote computers into a shared virtual local network using direct encrypted UDP tunnels.
- Network Virtualization Tools - Creates a virtual Ethernet segment allowing remote devices to communicate as if on the same physical switch.
- Layer 2 Tunnels - Encapsulates layer 2 Ethernet frames into UDP packets to create a virtual local area network across the internet.
- Centralized Node Registries - Acts as a central registry and broadcast conduit to introduce nodes and facilitate peer-to-peer connectivity.
- UDP Tunneling - Encapsulates layer 2 ethernet frames into UDP packets for transport over IPv4 and IPv6 networks.
- NAT Traversal - Uses UDP hole punching and relay supernodes to establish connectivity between peers behind restrictive NATs.
- Overlay Networks - Creates a virtual Ethernet segment across different physical locations using a TAP interface overlay.
- Bootstrap Node Discovery - Implements a central signaling server for nodes to announce their presence and discover peers to join the P2P network.
- Supernode Relay Routing - Relays data packets through a central coordinator when symmetric NATs prevent direct peer-to-peer communication.
- Layer 2 Virtual LANs - Establishes a TAP interface to connect remote computers into a single layer 2 network segment.
- Hole-Punching Connection Dialing - Establishes direct peer-to-peer connections by manipulating NAT mappings to bypass firewalls without manual port forwarding.
- Asymmetric Signing - Uses asymmetric signing and public key verification to authenticate node identities.
- Network Access Control - Enforces security policies to limit node connectivity to specific named communities and obscures community identifiers via header encryption.
- End-to-End Encryption - Provides end-to-end encryption for transmitted data, ensuring that only the communicating edge nodes can access the content.
- Encrypted Mesh Networks - Provides a decentralized network that secures all data with end-to-end encryption between nodes.
- Public Key Authentication - Implements node identity verification using public-private key pairs stored at a central coordinator.
- Traffic Encryption - Secures data packets and metadata using configurable ciphers to ensure privacy for traffic in transit between nodes.
- Signaling Registries - Provides a centralized signaling registry to facilitate peer discovery and initial handshakes between remote nodes.
- Supernode Load Distribution - Distributes workload across multiple coordinating nodes to provide fail-over and increased network resilience.
- Automated IP Assignments - Provides a subnet range for an automated IP address service to simplify node networking within the overlay.
- Federated Coordination - Implements a distributed system of signaling servers to maintain high availability and resilience for the P2P overlay.
- Federated Coordination Networks - Utilizes a distributed architecture of supernodes to provide redundancy and high availability for peer discovery.
- Coordination Node Federation - Connects multiple coordination nodes into a federation to increase overall network resilience and availability.
- Automatic Port Mapping - Automatically configures network gateways via UPnP and NAT-PMP to open incoming ports for peer connections.
- Network Addressing - Maps specific IP address ranges to named communities to automate address assignment for connected nodes.
- Automatic Port Mapping - Automatically configures network gateways via UPnP and NAT-PMP to open incoming ports for peer-to-peer traffic.
- Network Traffic Routing - Relays network packets between members of the same virtual community while ensuring traffic isolation.
- Relay Fallbacks - Uses supernodes as relay fallbacks to ensure connectivity when symmetric NATs prevent direct peer-to-peer communication.
- Site-to-Site VPN Networking - Establishes encrypted tunnels between distributed locations to share private network resources securely.
- Access Authentication - Validates node registration using community identifiers and credentials provided via configuration files.
- Community Access Restrictions - Implements access control to restrict which virtual networks nodes can join using fixed names or regular expressions.
- Overlay Networks - Peer-to-peer VPN daemon using supernodes for traffic routing.
- Networking and Communication - Peer-to-peer VPN software.
- Vpn Services - Peer-to-peer virtual networking software.
