Private mesh networking with Tailscale and self hosted Headscale, plus a RustDesk remote desktop server you own outright. Access to your systems without exposing a single port to the open internet.
Remote work was bolted onto most small businesses in a hurry and never revisited. What is left behind is usually one of three things: a port forwarded straight to someone’s desktop, a consumer remote control tool running on a shared password, or a legacy VPN appliance nobody in the building knows how to configure any more.
All three are the same problem wearing different clothes. Something is exposed to the whole internet, access is all or nothing, and there is no record of who reached what. Scanners find open remote desktop ports within minutes of them going live.
A mesh network inverts it. Nothing is published to the internet at all. Devices authenticate to a control plane, build encrypted connections directly to each other, and access control lists decide precisely who can reach which machine on which port.
Tailscale is the fastest way to get a business onto a private mesh, and for many teams it is exactly right. Headscale is the open source control plane that does the same coordination job on a server you own. Same clients, same encryption, no third party holding the keys to your network map.
Which one suits you is a real decision, not a preference. If you handle client data under contractual obligations, or you simply do not want a vendor able to see your device inventory, Headscale is worth the extra operational weight. If you want it working this week with support behind it, Tailscale is the better call. We will give you a straight recommendation and run either one.
The first job is mapping what is currently exposed, which is usually more than anyone expects. Then the control plane goes up, whether that is a Tailscale tenant or a Headscale instance on your infrastructure, and devices are enrolled a role at a time so nothing breaks under people mid task.
Once every role is migrated and verified, the old doors get closed: port forwards removed, the VPN appliance retired, shared remote control passwords revoked. You finish with a documented topology, tested access rules, and a network where nothing is reachable from the outside because nothing is published to the outside.
Scoped by the number of devices, sites and access roles involved, plus whether you want the control plane self hosted. Contact us for a quote and we will start by telling you what is currently exposed, at no cost.