Four increasingly sophisticated ways to put a service on your tailnet

Connecting a service to a Tailscale network, or tailnet, can be achieved through increasingly sophisticated methods, each tailored to varying levels of complexity and user preference. The basic approach involves installing Tailscale on the device or a subnet, which allows the service to be accessed via a hostname and port number. For enhanced functionality, the Tailscale serve command can be used to provide HTTPS support and automated certificates, simplifying browser access and identity management. A more advanced option involves running the service in a Docker container with a Tailscale sidecar, assigning it a unique tailnet IP address and domain name, which allows for cleaner access control lists (ACLs) and network architectures. For those comfortable with coding, integrating Tailscale directly into the service using the tsnet Go library offers maximum flexibility, allowing the service to function as a native device within the tailnet. These methods illustrate Tailscale's flexibility in adapting to various network configurations and user needs, enabling incremental upgrades as desired.