Everyone Should Build Their Own Network Stack

In the ISP@Home series, an author proposes that each individual should create their own unique network stack for accessing the internet. The idea stems from a recent discovery of a remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in the mainstream Linux kernel’s network stack, which would expose every networked device to significant risk if left unaddressed. The author argues that a decentralized network, where everyone implements their own stack, would prevent a single faulty implementation from collapsing the entire internet.

The author recalls their own experience with writing a custom network stack during their studies at NJU. Frustrated by the lack of challenges in the DN42 network, they decided to deploy their own stack and offer services on it. They shared their project (DNet) through blog posts, but abandoned it after a few years due to lack of interest.

Recently, the author revisited the project, fixed a few bugs, and set up a minimal DNS server for their DN42 domain. The DNS server can be accessed via a specific IP address (172.20.42.224) and provides DNS responses directly from the author's stack.

To manage their VPS instances, the author migrated from NixOS to Debian, using pyinfra as an infrastructure tooling solution. They configured DN42 services with Docker Compose, allowing for isolated containers and avoiding configuration drift. The author's blog post serves as a showcase of their latest project, emphasizing the importance of individual network stacks in maintaining a robust and secure internet infrastructure.