Securing private cloud workflows has protected sensitive AWS resources with fine-grained access
What is our primary use case?
We have been using Tailscale for about four or five months, and we have been using it from the beginning.
For our main use case, we use Tailscale because it creates a peer-to-peer VPN mesh where we host our AWS infrastructure behind it, so the general web cannot directly access it. It is only accessible from authorized systems, such as the one that I have.
A specific example of how we use Tailscale for this peer-to-peer VPN mesh in my daily work is that the entirety of our AWS infrastructure and systems that we use to build at Flyra are behind a private VPN that is accessible using Tailscale. The general web cannot access it, so we ensure that there is nothing unauthorized accessing our servers. Authorized and recognized systems are only able to access the infrastructure and the resources that we want restricted, and that is where Tailscale comes in.
About my main use case, I am fully aware that it is end-to-end encrypted. We maintain access using ACLs, which allows us to fine-tune the fine-grained rules for who can connect and to what.
What is most valuable?
The best features Tailscale offers are highlighted by the fact that setting up Tailscale was straightforward, at least once you are following the documentation and the guides. The security is valuable, as there are many providers available, but Tailscale fulfills the requirements that we had, allowing us to access and expose internal apps without exposing them to the general internet. The complex site-to-site connections are replaced using VPNs, and we can SSH into our remote desktops or SSH into our EC2 machines in our AWS regions in a secure way.
About the features that make Tailscale stand out for me, with access control lists, we can fine-grain what can be accessed and by whom. It solved our base use case, which is keeping our secured infrastructure behind a private VPN, and that is why we started using it in the first place.
Tailscale has had more positive impacts on my organization regarding security.
What needs improvement?
Regarding how Tailscale can be improved, I think for free users, there are some limited options. However, we have a paid policy, so we pay Tailscale every month. At some point, we may want to host our own coordination servers, which Tailscale does not have right now. However, it is just a general consideration, and I doubt that we will have that problem soon.
Regarding the needed improvements for paid users, I think things are acceptable. The limits could be higher for free users, and that is all.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been a software developer for about two years, and that represents full-time experience.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to others looking into using Tailscale is that if there is a use case where you want to secure your private EC2 instances, the workflows, your Git repositories, and sensitive data, Docker images, Maven builds, Gradle builds, and so forth, behind and away from the general internet and onto your private cloud, Tailscale can act as that link, allowing you access to that private information from authorized systems while also fine-graining that control. I would rate this product a nine out of ten.
Streamlined Local VPN Setup, Needs Better Connectivity
What do you like best about the product?
I really like how Tailscale is simple to use. It’s straightforward with a Mac desktop, where you just plug in your credentials and the client's credentials, and you’re good to go. The software has simple installations and clear guides. The setup was really easy with the documentation provided, and everything went smoothly.
What do you dislike about the product?
Sometimes it might be a blocker, I would say. You might be blocked out every now and then. For example, maybe they have some caches, so they keep your credentials locally for around forty-eight hours or seventy-two hours, so you might be logged out. Network isolation or something needs to be taken care of. That could be improved for better connectivity.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Tailscale allows me to work locally without the need for commercial VPNs, solving connectivity issues by enabling local setup.
Effortless Remote Access for Home Networks
What do you like best about the product?
Being able to install it on my Mac mini (home server of sorts) and use the subnets to be able to access my routers, and generally act like Im at my house, while away. Also this works for my NAS, I can not remove any exposure to it from the internet, and allow only LAN access, which allows me to access it remotely with TS.
What do you dislike about the product?
Tailscale is good for small “home scale” networks. I find it very cumbersome for large scale networks (eg at production scale networks) where you have to want to do more advanced stuff like DNS routing, granular ACLs, etc. Some of it is technically possible with Tailscale but it is very cumbersome and doesn’t scale well. For personal use, I think netbird and zerotier to be functionally similar and different pros/cons.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
I am not any sort of network guru. I just wanted to be able to access my home Linux box remotely with a laptop or tablet. Getting this set up using ddns and port forwarding through the cable box was getting to be a pain. Maybe I'm just not smart enough. I read about tailscale and a couple of YouTube videos I decided to give it a try. Couldn't have been easier. Now it's two desktops, two Amazon fire tablets, and a Linode instance later...
Secure and easy to use
What do you like best about the product?
Deploying and configuring tailscale on remote stations is quick and simple. The system is very reliable, works exactly as needed and the connection is quick and allows realtime data monitoring from remote sites.
What do you dislike about the product?
Convenience features like grouping systems and preventing certain specific stations from seeing eachother exist but are more complex than it should be to set up
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Access to remote equipment without having to install software at every site. This allows our company to monitor and troubleshoot control systems through the VPN connection without having to install software on the remote computer running Tailscale as it provides a tunnel through for us to directly connect from our office programming stations.
An essential app for anyone with more than one device
What do you like best about the product?
Tailscale provides a simple client that interlinks various devices together. This allows any devices on the Tailscale network to access each other regardless of any firewalls or network obstacles.
What do you dislike about the product?
Their Android client is lackluster, making it difficult to use an Android phone as a server for various purposes such as app testing.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
University networks are often segmented for security reasons. Keeping staff, student, and IoT networks segregated prevents malicious devices from spreading over the network as easily. The segementation, however, can be cumbersome when devices need to talk to each other across these different networks. Tailscale allows for our gadgets to communicate in a safe manner regardless of which network they are in.
A business management essential
What do you like best about the product?
Tailscale makes it easy to interconnect all of our devices, from servers running in a rack to the laptops of each employee. The simple, yet secure mesh VPN Tailscale provides means we don't have to worry about managing complex VPN configurations, making things just work.
What do you dislike about the product?
The lack of an official self-hosted option means we must depened on the cloud for a production-ready solution. Our business takes data privacy seriously, and having to depend on the cloud means yet another provider. While solutions such as Headscale exist, they lack important business features like SSO.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Oftentimes our employees are not working on site. They may be on the go or at home. Before we had Tailscale, we had to manually configure a VPN profile for each employee and show the employee how to enable it on their laptop. The result was a lot of complaints to I.T. about the VPN not working. Tailscale simplified everything. Tailscale is able to run in the background without and hitch, and utilizes a myriad of technologies to ensure the connection succeeds. We now hardly ever get complaints about the VPN.
I've used Talescale for a long time and have seen many improvements. This is a great product!
What do you like best about the product?
Flexibility, Security, and Ease of use make Talescale number one in its class. I've used this product in everything from access to nodes in my home lab to B2B solutions.
What do you dislike about the product?
There isn't much that I don't like. I feel this product should be baked into every OS from Desktops, Laptops, Servers, Kiosk, to Phones, Tablets, and POS solutions.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Talescale has made Securely connecting to remote networks much easier than trying to setup and configure standard VPN connections. Talescale has literally saved me many hours and headaches.
Has been great as we build a new product.
What do you like best about the product?
We're a small startup and product development team (under 15). Because of our business, we do need some physical hardware in our office, but we also are taking advantage of the flexibility of the cloud.
On the infrastructure development side, Tailscale gives us flexibility to connect cloud and physical resources securely. It lets us design our network and security in the logical fashion we'd like without physical locality constraining us.
Our team is partially remote, and many of them _don't need_ to know whether the resources are local or in the cloud. They can work effectively from wherever they are.
Tailscale has been reliable for us and has allowed us to adapt quickly as the sands of startup life shift beneath our feet.
What do you dislike about the product?
I didn't initially understand the differences between "teams" and "business" plans from their page because I didn't understand how their ACLs work. I think much use of ACLs will likely require a switch to the business plan.
I don't think there's anything terribly _wrong_ with this; it was just a surprise to me.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
- Transparent use of devices in cloud and physical locations for team use, and product development.
- VPN-like remote access.
- Ability to switch on for full traffic protection when on sketchy networks such as coffee shops.
VPNs reimagined with Tailscale
What do you like best about the product?
I love that Tailscale allows you to access devices / local network without having to open up a port (essentially a door) on your network. This limits the attack surface for potential security threats whilst still allowing you access to your devices remotely. They make it incredibly easy to get started with a VPN.
What do you dislike about the product?
There's no ability to share network subnets with other Tailscale members. This essentially restricts access to a local network to only one person without a paid plan. I hope that they'll add this in the future.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Tailscale helps me and others to remotely access a device or network from anywhere within the world easily and without having to have an open door to the internet.
Wonderfully user-friendly - some rough edges - but great in terms of concept and stability
What do you like best about the product?
Tailscale is quite fast compared to our - already fast - legacy IKEv2 VPN. We used Tailscale for our remote workers, as well as for a couple of site2site VPNs, with great success. We also use it as a bridge to an IKEv2 exit node, which works like a charm. The onboarding of users is a no-brainer, and the cross-platform experience is just superb.
What do you dislike about the product?
The ACL configuration could be better, the syntax sometimes forces you to be repetitive, and it becomes a lot (and a mess) if you are not careful. We combine it with server-side firewall rules.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
We got rid of a maintenance burden and won a lot of time in the on-boarding and off-boarding of employees and externals. The fact that everything works neatly on iOS and Linux helped us reduce the number of software tools we use to one, and close the gap with our cloud.
