Supported Protocols

The Nekotopia mesh operates on WireGuard, a modern Layer 3 VPN transporting IPv4 and IPv6. For members requiring legacy protocol support, we provide Layer 2 overlay capability via VXLAN encapsulation.

Native Transport (Layer 3)

Protocol	Status	Notes
IPv4	✅ Native	Full support, default transport
IPv6	✅ Native	Full support, dual-stack available on request

Layer 2 Overlay (VXLAN)

By establishing a VXLAN tunnel over the WireGuard mesh, members gain a virtual Ethernet segment spanning all participants. This enables transport of any protocol that runs over Ethernet, including legacy and vintage networking stacks.

Protocol	Status	Use Case	Notes
IPX/SPX	✅ Supported	Novell NetWare, DOS/Windows 9x gaming	Frame type 802.2 or Ethernet II. Ideal for classic multiplayer: DOOM, Duke Nukem 3D, Descent, Warcraft II
AppleTalk Phase II	✅ Supported	Classic Macintosh networking	EtherTalk encapsulation. Supports file sharing (AFP), printing (PAP), and zone discovery
NetBEUI	✅ Supported	Windows for Workgroups, LAN Manager	Non-routable, broadcast-based. Works within single VXLAN segment
DECnet Phase IV	✅ Supported	VAX/VMS, PDP-11, Ultrix	Runs natively over Ethernet. Area routing possible within overlay
LAT	✅ Supported	DEC terminal services	Latency-sensitive; performance depends on baseline RTT across mesh
NetBIOS over LLC	✅ Supported	OS/2, early Windows networking	Raw 802.2 LLC frames; distinct from NetBIOS over TCP/IP
Banyan VINES	⚠️ Untested	Banyan network services	Should work over Ethernet encapsulation; no active members to verify
XNS	⚠️ Untested	Xerox Network Systems	Predecessor to IPX; theoretically supported

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        Member Endpoint                          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Vintage Host (IPX/AppleTalk/NetBEUI)                          │
│         │                                                       │
│         ▼                                                       │
│  ┌─────────────┐                                               │
│  │ Bridge/TAP  │ ← Ethernet frames                             │
│  └──────┬──────┘                                               │
│         ▼                                                       │
│  ┌─────────────┐                                               │
│  │   VXLAN     │ ← Encapsulates L2 in UDP                      │
│  └──────┬──────┘                                               │
│         ▼                                                       │
│  ┌─────────────┐                                               │
│  │  WireGuard  │ ← Encrypted IP transport                      │
│  └──────┬──────┘                                               │
│         ▼                                                       │
│     Internet                                                    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Considerations

MTU

VXLAN adds 50 bytes of overhead. Combined with WireGuard's 60-80 byte overhead, effective payload MTU is approximately 1370 bytes assuming a standard 1500-byte internet path. ~~Vintage~~Nekotopia offers no genuine business services and provides no guarantee of quality; however, retro computer systems rarely approach this limit, ~~but~~though fragmentation may occur with large NetWare packets.

Broadcast Domains

Legacy protocols are chatty. We need to keep bandwidth usage down from both cost and service availability perspectives. IPX SAP advertisements, AppleTalk NBP lookups, and NetBEUI name queries are all broadcast. Each ~~VXLAN~~layer-2 segment forms a single broadcast ~~domain—~~domain so we will hope to keep segments ~~small or expect background traffic.~~small.

Latency Sensitivity

Some ~~protocols~~protocols, ~~(notably~~such ~~LAT~~as ~~and certain real-time IPX games)~~IPX, assume LAN-grade latency. Performance over a ~~geographically distributed mesh~~WAN will ~~vary.~~vary and could be problematic at times. The network equity tools ~~described~~we ~~elsewhere~~have ~~can~~deployed ~~normalize~~may ~~latency~~work atfor ~~the~~TCP, ~~cost~~but ofother ~~imposing~~protocols, ~~artificial~~especially ~~delay~~tunnelled onones, ~~all~~will ~~participants.~~not be normalised.

Routing

IPX and DECnet support routing across multiple network segments. AppleTalk Phase II supports zone routing. If your ~~deployment~~service requires multi-segment topologies, contact ~~the network team~~us to discuss ~~architecture.~~a possible collaboration and solution - this is the sort of thing we want!.

Requesting Access

Layer 2 overlay access is available to members on ~~request.~~request ~~Provide:~~and following a due diligence review. You can contact us through the member portal or email us at noc@nekotopia.io with your query. Please provide as much detail as you can in the request including:

Protocol(s) required
Intended use case
Estimated number of remote hosts (your local network)
Whether you require a dedicated ~~segment~~segment, will create a shared vintage LAN or ~~will~~peers (e.g., a Netware Network) or else join ~~the~~an ~~shared~~existing vintage LAN