July 2022 Summaries

July has been a busy month for Tailscale, marked by the release of Tailscale v1.28, which includes several updates and fixes, and the launch of a new status page. The company has also been focusing on expanding its learning library and integrating with Indent to offer on-demand access to network resources, enhancing DevOps capabilities. The newsletter highlights various community contributions, such as tutorials on setting up Tailscale with different systems, discussions on how Tailscale SSH simplifies SSH key management, and insights from podcasts and videos where Tailscale's functionality is explored. Additionally, the newsletter invites users to provide feedback via a form to help improve the product and encourages them to share their own guides and tutorials.

Tailscale, in partnership with Indent, offers a solution for managing on-demand and time-bound access to sensitive production resources. This approach is particularly useful for distributed teams, allowing access based on job functions and on-call status rather than persistent access. Tailscale's Access Control Lists (ACLs) define access rules as code, and Indent integrates with Tailscale to allow users to request and gain temporary access through Slack, ensuring compliance with frameworks like SOC 2. The collaboration facilitates secure management of resources by enabling automatic or reviewed approvals, logging requests, and revoking access after a set period, thus adhering to the principle of least privilege. This setup allows teams to react quickly to incidents, perform necessary tasks like debugging, and manage permissions efficiently without maintaining continuous access to production environments.

The article explores the process of installing Tailscale, a secure networking tool, on Valve's Steam Deck, a handheld Linux-based gaming device. Tailscale enables users to connect their computers securely, and on the Steam Deck, it can facilitate remote access to home networks and internal services. The Steam Deck's operating system, SteamOS, is a variant of Arch Linux, allowing for modifications such as installing Tailscale using the package manager pacman, although this method is not sustainable due to partition update mechanics. The article suggests utilizing systemd-run or systemd-sysext to manage Tailscale without compromising the SteamOS's integrity, ensuring updates don't disrupt the setup. Additionally, the author provides insights into using Tailscale for various applications, such as remote-mounting NAS for gaming and using Moonlight for game streaming, while teasing a forthcoming Steam Deck plugin for simplified installation.