Corporate VPN startup Tailscale secures $230 million CAD Series C on back of “surprising” growth

Pennarun confirmed the company had been approached by potential acquirers, but told BetaKit that the company intends to grow as a private company and work towards an initial public offering (IPO).

“Tailscale intends to remain independent and we are on a likely IPO track, although any IPO is several years out,” Pennarun said. “Meanwhile, we have an extremely efficient business model, rapid revenue acceleration, and a long runway that allows us to become profitable when needed, which means we can weather all kinds of economic storms.”

Keep that in mind as you ponder whether and when to switch to self-hosting Headscale.

  • Robust Mirror@aussie.zone
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    6 days ago

    So I asked chatgpt for alternatives and I liked the look of ZeroTier, does this sound right to people with more knowledge than me, and would people recommend it in general?


    Spoiler

    Perfect! Here’s everything you need — broken down into three stages, from quick setup to full self-hosted control.


    🧩 Part 1: Install and Connect ZeroTier

    ✅ Step 1: Create a ZeroTier account

    Go to https://my.zerotier.com/

    Sign up (only to create your private network — it’s free)

    Click “Create a Network”

    Give it a name

    Note the Network ID

    ✅ Step 2: Install ZeroTier on your devices

    🖥️ On your PC (Windows/Linux/Mac):

    Download from: https://www.zerotier.com/download

    Install and run

    Join your network with:

    zerotier-cli join <your-network-id>

    (or click in the tray app if using the GUI)

    📱 On your Android phone:

    Install the ZeroTier One app from Google Play

    Open the app, paste the network ID, tap Join

    ✅ Step 3: Authorise your devices

    Go back to my.zerotier.com

    Under your network, you’ll see your PC and phone listed

    Tick “Auth” to allow them on the network

    Note the IPs assigned (e.g. 10.147.17.34)


    🎶 Part 2: Access Jellyfin + Symphonium Over ZeroTier

    ✅ Step 1: On your PC (Jellyfin server):

    Open Jellyfin settings → Dashboard → Network

    Ensure “Allow remote connections” is enabled (This just means other IPs — not the internet — can connect)

    ✅ Step 2: On your phone (Symphonium):

    Open Symphonium

    Add a new Jellyfin library

    For the server address, enter:

    http://<zerotier-ip-of-your-PC>:8096

    e.g. http://10.147.17.34:8096/

    It should connect exactly as it does on home Wi-Fi!

    No public ports, no tailscale, no cost 🎉


    🛠️ Part 3: Optional – Self-Host Your Own ZeroTier Controller

    Only needed if you want to avoid using their cloud control plane. Not needed for basic private use.

    ✅ Requirements:

    A Linux machine (can be your PC or a VPS if you change your mind)

    Some CLI familiarity

    Quick Guide:

    1. Install Docker

    2. Run:

    docker run -d
    –name zerotier-controller
    -p 9993:9993/udp
    -v zerotier-one:/var/lib/zerotier-one
    zyclonite/zerotier-controller

    1. You’ll now control your own ZeroTier networks, not theirs.

    Docs: https://github.com/zyclonite/zerotier-controller

    🔐 Even if you stick with their hosted controller, your traffic is still end-to-end encrypted. Self-hosting just removes the cloud coordination step.


    ✅ TL;DR:

    Task Done

    ZeroTier installed and devices connected ✅ Jellyfin accessible via ZeroTier IP ✅ Public internet avoided ✅ Self-hosting ZeroTier controller (optional) Available when ready

    Let me know if you’d like help testing connection, optimising for battery/wake-on-LAN, or even integrating LAN fallback + ZeroTier for seamless home/away streaming.


    Then asking if I can use a pi as a controller for the optional step 3:


    Spoiler

    Yes — an old Raspberry Pi running Raspberry Pi OS is perfectly capable of hosting a ZeroTier controller! It’s low-power, quiet, and ideal for self-hosted network services.

    Here’s how to get it up and running.


    🛠️ Self-Hosting a ZeroTier Controller on Raspberry Pi (PiOS)

    ✅ Requirements:

    Raspberry Pi with PiOS Lite or Full (Debian-based)

    Internet access (Ethernet or Wi-Fi)

    Static IP on your LAN (recommended)

    Port UDP 9993 open on your LAN (only needed if other clients are connecting over LAN)


    🔧 Step-by-Step: Install Docker and the Controller

    1. Update and install Docker

    Open a terminal on your Pi or SSH in:

    sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y curl -sSL https://get.docker.com/ | sh sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

    Log out and back in (or reboot) to activate Docker group access.


    1. Run the ZeroTier controller in Docker

    docker volume create zerotier-one

    docker run -d
    –name zerotier-controller
    –restart unless-stopped
    -p 9993:9993/udp
    -v zerotier-one:/var/lib/zerotier-one
    zyclonite/zerotier-controller

    This starts the controller and creates a persistent volume.


    1. Initialise the Controller

    After a few seconds, you’ll have config files generated inside the container volume. To extract your identity.secret and create/manage networks, you can either:

    Option A: Exec into the container

    docker exec -it zerotier-controller bash

    Then use the zerotier-cli inside the container:

    zerotier-cli status zerotier-cli listnetworks zerotier-cli createnetwork

    Option B: Install the CLI on your Pi (outside Docker)

    This gives you easier long-term control, but it’s optional. Let me know if you want help setting this up.


    1. Connect clients to your Pi’s controller

    On each device (PC, phone, etc.):

    Install ZeroTier as normal

    Instead of the default control plane, point the client to your Pi

    This requires updating the local.conf to override the default controller (ask if you’d like help with that — it’s a little involved but totally doable).


    🧪 Notes & Tips

    Your Pi can stay on your LAN. It doesn’t need a public IP if your devices are already on the same network or are able to relay.

    If you do want this to work outside your LAN, you’d need to:

    Port forward UDP 9993 (if your router allows it), or

    Run a small VPS relay or drop it entirely and let ZeroTier do relaying automatically (works 95% of the time)


    ✅ Summary

    Task Possible on Pi? Notes

    Host ZeroTier controller ✅ Lightweight and runs well Use with Jellyfin via ZeroTier ✅ No public exposure needed Use Docker ✅ Simplifies setup Avoid external services ✅ No Tailscale, no cloud

    Let me know if you’d like:

    Help setting up the network manually on the Pi

    Step-by-step for configuring your clients to talk to your own controller

    Instructions for adding DNS, wake-on-LAN, or file access over ZeroTier too

    Your Pi just became your private VPN brain 🧠💻