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Self-hosted vs. Cloud-hosted NetBird

NetBird can be used in two ways: self-hosted and cloud-hosted (SaaS). The self-hosted version is a standalone version that can be installed on your own servers while the cloud-hosted version is a SaaS (Software as a Service) that is hosted on our servers.

Often times, the question arises: what is the difference between the two? This post gives a short overview of the differences between the two versions.

Before Choosing to Self-Host NetBird in Production

When we first created NetBird, our goal was to simplify network administration — freeing admins from the headaches of configuring firewalls, opening ports, managing VPN gateways, handling certificates, and so on. We wanted to provide a tool that lets teams completely close off their network from the outside world, while still enabling devices to seamlessly discover and connect to internal resources just by installing the client apps. However, as is often the case with easy-to-use tools, a lot happens behind the scenes. NetBird relies on a range of interconnected components that work together to ensure secure peer-to-peer connectivity, fallback relayed connections through a network of geographically distributed relay servers, and overall system reliability and availability. It is not an easy task to deploy and maintain such infrastructure in a reliable manner. NetBird is not just one VPN server. You can read more about how NetBird works here.

Installation and Maintenance

NetBird platform is a combination of multiple components that make it possible for machines to establish direct point-to-point connections and for network administrators to manage the network, e.g., control network access.

When running the self-hosted version, you are responsible for installing and maintaining all the components as well as backing up and securing the data. The cloud-hosted NetBird only requires you to install the client software (NetBird agent) on your machines and log them in to the network. The cloud-hosted version is more suitable for organizations that want a hassle-free solution that is easy to set up and maintain.

Features

While the self-hosted and cloud-hosted versions share the same core connectivity features, the cloud-hosted version has some additional features that are targeted at business customers and help with network automation and management. These features include:

Geo Distributed Relay Servers

NetBird uses relay servers to establish connections between machines when a direct point-to-point connections isn't possible.

When using the cloud-hosted version, you benefit from the geo-distributed relay server clusters that are located in multiple regions around the world ensuring that your machines can always establish a connection. The NetBird agents pick the closest relay server.

When using the self-hosted version, you need to set up your own relay servers. This a complex task and requires additional maintenance effort.

Highly Available Management Layer

When using the cloud-hosted version, you benefit from highly available control plane servers (Management) providing stability for your critical network infrastructure.

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