this post was submitted on 13 Jul 2023
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You read right. It is an overlay network built on top of the internet. For now. This is only a proof of concept right now, so it has to reuse existing networks to work and test the scalability, reliability, etc...
But the end goal would be to only use that to build the network, connecting modes together through
$VARIOUS_MEANS, and implement the Yggdrasil code right at the network card level. So it could work without and underlay network, and that's basically the point of the project: prove that you can have a standalone mesh network that's fully encrypted. I've read an articles on people connecting nodes directly through AWDL, but it remains a proof of concept only for now.And to answer OP's question, that would not replace ISP because you'd still need a way to physically connect your node to the network, and ISP could provide such service. However, you could also connect directly to your neighbor's house and access the network from there :)
So, eventually it might be a (new) internet with encryption (and blackjack+hookers?). I already can connect my house trough neighbours connection (with limitations like NAT of course), but once ipv6 is available everywhere I don't immediately see if Yggdrasil offers anything else than protocol level encryption. Current internet is a mesh network after all, just built a bit differently and more controlled manner.
Interesting concept anyways, maybe it'll catch up some day.
In fact, full network encryption isn't a goal per-se, but a requirement. The main goal of Yggdrasil is to bring decentralized routing to the table, thanks to DHT. In its current state, internet (while being a mech network) is based on centralized routing, in the sense that the ISPs are responsible for routing their clients to other destinations. With Yggdrasil, every single node (your laptop, my phone) is a potential router to any destination, without you even knowing. That's why encryption is needed: the whole network is untrustworthy, and if traffic isn't encrypted, anyone can potentially sniff your packets.