Provisioning Methods

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There is no single way to provision 44Net. The network is fundamentally decentralized, and operators participate from within different environments and toward different goals.

The provisioning models people have developed reflect those operational realities rather than a progression of experience, but there are some learning opportunities associated with moving among them or combining them.

To understand more about decentralization and why these approaches exist, see Decentralization.

Current provisioning models

44Net Connect

Provision 44Net to a single device or small network using a tunnel. This model works from typical home networks, cloud hosts, mobile environments, and other locations where direct routing infrastructure is not available.

IPIP Mesh

Participate in a shared community routing environment. Independently operated stations link with one another through a mesh of tunnels, and traffic to or from the wider Internet typically transits shared gateways (such as at UCSD). This model is common in long‑running regional and club networks.

BGP-announced subnet

Integrate 44Net directly into independently operated routing infrastructure. Operators announce their allocated prefixes using BGP and maintain their own routing policy and operational practices. This model is suited to research networks, IX -connected operators, multi-homing, community backbones, and other autonomous environments.

Comparing the approaches

Model	Typical environment	How routing reaches you	Operational responsibility
44Net Connect	Single host or small network without direct routing infrastructure	Tunnel between your device and a point of presence	Managing the tunnel and the provisioned subnet
IPIP Mesh	Regional or community network with shared routing	Shared mesh gateways (such as UCSD)	Operating a mesh node and participating in shared routing
BGP-announced subnet	Independently routed infrastructure	Global routing via BGP	Operating routers, BGP edge, and routing policy

How to choose

If you want to provision 44Net to a single device or a small LAN without operating routing infrastructure, start with 44Net Connect.

If you are participating in a regional or club network that exchanges routes cooperatively, or if you are working with a Regional Coordinator, consider IPIP Mesh.

If you already operate routed infrastructure and want your 44Net prefixes announced as part of your existing routing environment, use a BGP-announced subnet.

Under the hood

All provisioning models place your systems into the same shared 44Net address space. The differences are operational: how routes reach your network, where gateways exist, and who is responsible for routing decisions. These distinctions reflect the decentralized structure of 44Net rather than separate networks.

Learn more

Older docs and notes

Earlier pages that may still be useful: