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How to Use Camouflage

This guide covers common scenarios and best practices for deploying Camouflage in real-world situations.

Understanding Networks vs Nodes​

Before diving into scenarios, it's important to understand the building blocks:

  • Network - An isolated virtual overlay network with its own subnet (e.g., 10.99.0.0/24)
  • Node - A device connected to a network (laptop, server, phone, etc.)
  • Community Edition - 10 nodes total across up to 2 networks
  • Cloud Edition - Unlimited nodes across unlimited networks

Scenario 1: Small Team with Contractors​

Use Case: You have 5 full-time employees and 3 contractors who need different access levels.

Setup with Community Edition (2 Networks)​

Network 1: Employee Network (10.99.0.0/24)

  • 5 employee devices
  • Full access to internal resources
  • Can access development and production systems

Network 2: Contractor Network (10.98.0.0/24)

  • 3 contractor devices
  • Limited access (ACL rules can be configured)
  • Access only to specific project resources

Configuration Steps​

  1. Create nodes on separate networks:

    Employee Network (5 nodes):
    - alice-laptop (10.99.0.2)
    - bob-laptop (10.99.0.3)
    - charlie-desktop (10.99.0.4)
    - dana-laptop (10.99.0.5)
    - evan-phone (10.99.0.6)

    Contractor Network (3 nodes):
    - contractor-1 (10.98.0.2)
    - contractor-2 (10.98.0.3)
    - contractor-3 (10.98.0.4)

  2. Configure access control (optional):

    • Enable ACL on Contractor Network
    • Define rules limiting access to specific servers
    • Allow contractors to communicate with each other

  3. Benefits:

    • Complete network isolation between employees and contractors
    • Contractors cannot access employee resources
    • Easy to revoke access by deleting contractor nodes
    • Clear security boundary

When to Upgrade to Cloud Edition​

If you need:

  • More than 3 contractors
  • More than 5 employees
  • Third network (e.g., for partners or vendors)
  • High availability with multiple gateways

Scenario 2: Development and Production Environments​

Use Case: Separate dev and prod environments to prevent accidental changes to production systems.

Setup with Community Edition (2 Networks)​

Network 1: Development (10.99.0.0/24)

  • Developer laptops (5 nodes)
  • Dev servers (2 nodes)
  • Testing environment
  • Experimental configurations allowed

Network 2: Production (10.98.0.0/24)

  • Production servers (2 nodes)
  • Admin access only (1 node)
  • Strict change control
  • Monitoring and logging

Configuration Steps​

  1. Development Network:

    Nodes (7 total):
    - dev-laptop-1 (10.99.0.2)
    - dev-laptop-2 (10.99.0.3)
    - dev-laptop-3 (10.99.0.4)
    - dev-laptop-4 (10.99.0.5)
    - dev-laptop-5 (10.99.0.6)
    - dev-server-1 (10.99.0.10)
    - dev-server-2 (10.99.0.11)

  2. Production Network:

    Nodes (3 total):
    - prod-server-1 (10.98.0.10)
    - prod-server-2 (10.98.0.11)
    - admin-laptop (10.98.0.2)

  3. Best Practices:

    • Only senior admins get access to production network
    • Use tags to organize nodes (e.g., "dev", "prod", "web-server", "database")
    • Enable ACL on production to limit inter-node communication
    • Use route all traffic on dev but not on prod (security)

  4. Benefits:

    • Developers can't accidentally touch production
    • Clear environment separation
    • Production stays clean and controlled
    • Easy to debug without affecting customers

When to Upgrade to Cloud Edition​

If you need:

  • Staging environment (3rd network)
  • More than 7 dev nodes
  • More than 3 prod nodes
  • Multiple production environments (US, EU, Asia)

Scenario 3: Two Separate Companies (Joint Venture)​

Use Case: Company A and Company B collaborate on a project but need to keep their internal networks isolated.

Setup with Community Edition (2 Networks)​

Network 1: Company A Internal (10.99.0.0/24)

  • Company A employees only
  • Access to Company A resources
  • Private communication

Network 2: Company B Internal (10.98.0.0/24)

  • Company B employees only
  • Access to Company B resources
  • Private communication

Limitation​

With CE's 2-network limit, there's no shared collaboration network. Each company stays isolated.

Workaround Options​

  1. Use Cloud Edition - Create 3rd network for shared resources
  2. Use one company's network - Add Company B nodes to Company A network
  3. Deploy separate instances - Each company runs their own CE

Network 1: Company A Internal (10.99.0.0/24) Network 2: Company B Internal (10.98.0.0/24) Network 3: Joint Venture Project (10.100.0.0/24)

  • Shared project resources on Network 3
  • Both companies connect nodes to Network 3
  • Internal networks remain isolated
  • ACL rules control who can access what

Scenario 4: Home Lab and Personal Devices​

Use Case: Separate your home network from personal devices that travel.

Setup with Community Edition (2 Networks)​

Network 1: Home Lab (10.99.0.0/24)

  • Home server
  • NAS storage
  • Smart home hub
  • Desktop workstation
  • Always stays at home

Network 2: Mobile Devices (10.98.0.0/24)

  • Laptop (travels)
  • Phone
  • Tablet
  • Remote access to home lab via VPN

Configuration Steps​

  1. Home Lab Network (stationary devices):

    - home-server (10.99.0.2) - Gateway enabled
    - nas-storage (10.99.0.3)
    - smart-hub (10.99.0.4)
    - desktop (10.99.0.5)

  2. Mobile Network (traveling devices):

    - laptop (10.98.0.2) - Route all traffic enabled
    - iphone (10.98.0.3) - Route all traffic enabled
    - ipad (10.98.0.4) - Route all traffic enabled

  3. Gateway Configuration:

    • Enable gateway on home-server
    • Mobile devices route all traffic through home
    • Access home resources while traveling
    • Use home IP address when remote

  4. Benefits:

    • Access home lab from anywhere
    • Secure tunnel for public WiFi
    • Devices stay in separate subnets
    • Clear separation of static vs mobile

When to Upgrade to Cloud Edition​

If you need:

  • More than 10 total devices
  • Additional networks for guest access
  • High availability and backup

Scenario 5: Multi-Site Office Network​

Use Case: Small business with 2 office locations that need to communicate.

Setup with Community Edition (2 Networks)​

Network 1: Office Location A (10.99.0.0/24)

  • 4 employees
  • 1 office gateway server
  • Local resources

Network 2: Office Location B (10.98.0.0/24)

  • 3 employees
  • 1 office gateway server
  • Local resources

Configuration Steps​

  1. Office A:

    - office-a-gateway (10.99.0.1) - Gateway enabled
    - employee-a1 (10.99.0.2)
    - employee-a2 (10.99.0.3)
    - employee-a3 (10.99.0.4)
    - employee-a4 (10.99.0.5)

  2. Office B:

    - office-b-gateway (10.98.0.1) - Gateway enabled
    - employee-b1 (10.98.0.2)
    - employee-b2 (10.98.0.3)
    - employee-b3 (10.98.0.4)

Limitation​

Offices are isolated - Employees in Office A cannot reach Office B resources and vice versa.

Solution: Upgrade to Cloud Edition​

With Cloud Edition, you can create:

Network 1: Unified Company Network (10.100.0.0/24)

  • All employees from both offices
  • Gateway nodes at each location
  • Full mesh connectivity
  • Site-to-site communication

Network 2: Management Network (10.101.0.0/24)

  • Executives and IT admins only
  • Access to all infrastructure
  • Separate from general employee access

Scenario 6: Freelance Developer with Multiple Clients​

Use Case: Freelancer working for 2 different clients who shouldn't see each other's work.

Setup with Community Edition (2 Networks)​

Network 1: Client A Project (10.99.0.0/24)

  • Your laptop (10.99.0.2)
  • Client A dev server (10.99.0.3)
  • Client A staging server (10.99.0.4)

Network 2: Client B Project (10.98.0.0/24)

  • Your laptop (10.98.0.2) - Same laptop, different network!
  • Client B dev server (10.98.0.3)
  • Client B database (10.98.0.4)

Configuration Steps​

  1. Install both network configs on your laptop:

    • Connect to Network 1 when working on Client A
    • Connect to Network 2 when working on Client B
    • Switch between networks as needed

  2. Client isolation:

    • Client A cannot see or access Client B resources
    • Complete network separation
    • Different subnets prevent accidental access

  3. Benefits:

    • Professional separation of concerns
    • Clients trust you won't leak their IP
    • Easy to onboard/offboard clients
    • Clear boundaries

When to Upgrade to Cloud Edition​

If you:

  • Work with more than 2 clients simultaneously
  • Need to connect to multiple client networks at once
  • Have more than 10 total nodes across all clients

Best Practices​

Network Naming​

Use descriptive names that indicate purpose:

  • ✅ "Production Environment"
  • ✅ "Development Team"
  • ✅ "Contractor Access"
  • ❌ "Network 1"
  • ❌ "Test"

Node Naming​

Use a consistent naming scheme:

  • username-device (e.g., alice-laptop)
  • location-purpose (e.g., nyc-web-server)
  • client-role (e.g., acme-database)

Security Tips​

  1. Enable ACL for sensitive networks

    • Production environments
    • Contractor/vendor access
    • Customer-facing systems

  2. Use tags for organization

    • Tag nodes by role (web, database, admin)
    • Tag by location (office-nyc, office-sf)
    • Tag by ownership (alice, bob, charlie)

  3. Route all traffic carefully

    • Enable for mobile devices on untrusted networks
    • Disable for servers to avoid routing overhead
    • Consider bandwidth implications

  4. Regular audits

    • Review active nodes monthly
    • Remove departed employees/contractors
    • Check for unused or stale nodes
    • Update node configurations

When to Upgrade to Cloud Edition​

Consider upgrading when you:

  1. Hit node limits (approaching 10 nodes)
  2. Need more networks (3+ separate environments)
  3. Require high availability (multiple gateways)
  4. Multi-site deployments (offices in different cities/countries)
  5. Need relay coordination (complex NAT traversal scenarios)
  6. Want business support (SLA, priority support)

Quick Decision Matrix​

ScenarioCE (10 nodes, 2 nets)Cloud (Unlimited)
Small team (under 10)✅ Perfect✅ Works
Dev + Prod split✅ Perfect✅ Works
2 separate groups✅ Perfect✅ Works
3+ environments❌ Upgrade✅ Perfect
10+ devices❌ Upgrade✅ Perfect
Multi-site mesh❌ Upgrade✅ Perfect
HA gateways❌ Upgrade✅ Perfect
Home lab✅ PerfectOverkill
Enterprise❌ Upgrade✅ Perfect

Next Steps​

Now that you understand how to use Camouflage for different scenarios:

  1. Install Community Edition - Docker Installation
  2. Create your networks - Plan your network topology
  3. Add nodes - Connect your devices
  4. Configure access - Set up ACL rules if needed
  5. Monitor - Check dashboard for network health

For hosted SaaS with unlimited nodes, visit Cloud Edition. For on-prem enterprise deployment, see Enterprise Edition.