episode 22 — Rust URL with Simon Sapin.

In this episode of Netstack.fm, Simon Sapin discusses building the rust-url crate based on the WHATWG URL specification. He also highlights that IDNA support was integrated to handle internationalized domain names, which includes critical security checks to prevent phishing from "confusable" characters that look identical to users.

Learn more:

• https://docs.rs/url — rust-url is an implementation of the URL Standard for the Rust programming language
• https://docs.rs/idna — IDNA (Internationalizing Domain Names in Applications) and Punycode
• https://docs.rs/idna_adapter — unicode back end for the idna crate
• https://docs.rs/form_urlencoded — Parser and serializer for the application/x-www-form-urlencoded syntax, as used by HTML forms
• https://docs.rs/percent-encoding — Percent encoding and decoding
• https://servo.org/ — official servo website
• https://url.spec.whatwg.org/ — WHATWG URL Specificaton
• https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5890 — Internationalized Domain Names for Applications (IDNA) (RFC)
• https://exyr.org/ — official website of Simon Sapin

Rama

If you like this podcast you might also like our modular network framework in Rust: https://ramaproxy.org

Chapters

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:50 Get to know Simon Sapin
• 05:35 Origin of rust-url
• 07:19 Implementing Specifications in Rust
• 10:05 Understanding IDNA and Its Importance
• 11:17 Origins of form-url / percent encoding crates
• 12:36 The Role of Percent Encoding in URLs
• 13:21 IDNA Crate Origin
• 15:41 Challenges with IDNA and Usability
• 30:13 unpacking the rust-url crate
• 39:25 Understanding URL Specifications and Compatibility
• 45:10 Url Crate Parser
• 52:41 Surprising Insights into URL Implementation
• 01:01:41 Final words
• 01:14:07 Outro

Netstack.FM

• More information: https://netstack.fm/#episode-22
• Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/29EetaSYCD
• Reach out to us: [email protected]

Music for this episode was composed by Dj Mailbox. Listen to his music at https://on.soundcloud.com/4MRyPSNj8FZoVGpytj

episode 21 — GraphQL and Rust with Tom Houlé.

In this episode of Netstack.fm, Glen and Tom Houlé discuss GraphQL's transition from a high-hype mobile data solution at Facebook to a mature enterprise technology. They explore technical challenges like the N+1 problem and persisted queries, as well as the rise of GraphQL Federation for unifying microservices in Rust-based gateways. Tom also highlights GraphQL’s future potential as a self-documenting interface for LLMs and its healthy, community-driven development.

Learn more:

• https://www.tomhoule.com — Personal website of Tom Houlé
• https://graphql.org/learn/ — Learn GraphQL
• https://www.jovidecroock.com/blog/graphql-myths/ — GraphQL Myths (about trusted documents — Jovi De Croock)
• https://benjie.dev/graphql/trusted-documents — Another great blog post about trusted documents, by Benjie
• https://www.apollographql.com/docs/graphos/schema-design/federated-schemas/federation — Introduction to GraphQL Federation (Apollo)
• https://github.com/graphql/composite-schemas-spec/ — The Composite Schemas specification, the vendor neutral next iteration of federation
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_RETbpPogw — Transforming Capital One’s Data Marketplace with Embedded Governance and a Product Mindset (enterprise adoption)
• https://relay.dev/docs/ — Relay docs
• Rust Crates:
  • https://github.com/async-graphql/async-graphql — async-graphql, the server framework
  • https://github.com/graphql-rust/graphql-client/ — graphql-client
  • https://github.com/obmarg/cynic — cynic
• https://www.youtube.com/@GraphQLFoundation — @GraphQLFoundation on YouTube
• https://www.youtube.com/@graphqltv — @GraphQL TV on YouTube
• https://grafbase.com/blog/seamless-grpc-subgraphs-with-extensions-and-composite-schemas — Seamless gRPC subgraphs with extensions and composite schemas

Rama

If you like this podcast you might also like our modular network framework in Rust: https://ramaproxy.org

Chapters

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:39 Meet Tom Houlé
• 03:24 Origins of GraphQL
• 10:05 The Shift to Persistent Queries in GraphQL
• 18:09 GraphQL's Role in Frontend and Backend Development
• 21:11 Challenges and Criticisms of GraphQL
• 24:07 Optimizing GraphQL for Performance
• 35:06 Schema first vs Code first
• 40:44 Optimizing GraphQL Server Query Implementations
• 44:39 GraphQL Federation: A Unified Approach
• 51:08 Authentication in GraphQL: Challenges and Solutions
• 01:05:23 The Future of GraphQL: Trends and Innovations
• 01:16:03 Outro

Netstack.FM

• More information: https://netstack.fm/#episode-21
• Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/29EetaSYCD
• Reach out to us: [email protected]

Music for this episode was composed by Dj Mailbox. Listen to his music at https://on.soundcloud.com/4MRyPSNj8FZoVGpytj

episode 20 — Netstack.FM New Year Special, 2025 Wrap-Up.

This New Year special reflects on the first nineteen episodes of netstack.fm, highlighting key lessons about networking, Rust, open source, and the people behind the protocols and systems that power the internet. It also looks at the evolution of the Rama framework and sets the stage for continued learning, collaboration, and new conversations in the year ahead.

Learn more:

• https://github.com/plabayo/rama — rama repository
• https://github.com/plabayo/rama/discussions/782 — rama-0.3.0-alpha.4 release
• https://ramaproxy.org/ — rama official website
• https://ikorason.dev/posts/from-frontend-to-low-level-networking-my-journey-to-contributing-to-open-source — irfan's blog article

Chapters

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:54 Introduction and Year In Review
• 03:28 Insights from Guests and the 2025 episodes
• 22:21 Rama Testimonials
• 27:28 Rama in 2026
• 31:07 Closing Message
• 32:07 Outro

Netstack.FM

• More information: https://netstack.fm/#episode-20
• Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/29EetaSYCD
• Reach out to us: [email protected]

Music for this episode was composed by Dj Mailbox. Listen to his music at https://on.soundcloud.com/4MRyPSNj8FZoVGpytj

episode 19 — Firezone and Zero-Trust Network Security with Thomas Eizinger.

In this episode of Netstack.fm, Glen talks with Thomas Eizinger from Firezone about designing a zero trust enterprise VPN built on top of WireGuard. They break down how modern VPNs work in practice, covering virtual network adapters, split tunneling, DNS interception, policy based access, and secure packet routing using WireGuard, ICE, and TURN relays.

The discussion highlights how Firezone differs from legacy VPNs by focusing on performance, reliability, and minimal user friction, while also touching on the role of Rust and Elixir in Firezone’s architecture and the long term importance of IPv6 adoption.

Learn more:

• https://github.com/firezone/firezone — Firezone main repository
• https://github.com/firezone/firezone/tree/main/rust/relay/ebpf-turn-router — Firezone eBPF in kernel relay router
• https://www.firezone.dev/kb/architecture/critical-sequences#detailed-connection-setup — Firezone Connection Setup
• https://www.wireguard.com/papers/wireguard.pdf — WireGuard whitepaper
• https://github.com/firezone/boringtun — Firezone fork of boringtun user space WireGuard
• https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8656 — TURN RFC 8656
• https://x.com/firezonehq — Firezone on X
• https://x.com/oetzn — Thomas Eizinger on X
• https://hachyderm.io/@wheezle — Thomas Eizinger on Mastodon
• https://github.com/thomaseizinger — Thomas Eizinger on GitHub

Rama

If you like this podcast you might also like our modular network framework in Rust: https://ramaproxy.org

Chapters

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:42 Introduction to Thomas Eizinger
• 05:19 Firezone's Turn implementation
• 11:00 Understanding VPNs and Firezone's Approach
• 29:27 Legacy VPNs vs. Firezone: A New Era of Networking
• 36:19 Firezone is opensource
• 37:27 Zero-Trust VPNs
• 40:28 What is WireGuard
• 43:36 Firezone's Integration with WireGuard
• 50:19 Handling Connection Failures
• 58:00 Geolocation and Relay Selection
• 01:04:45 Elixir Developer Experience (DX)
• 01:10:19 IPv6 Adoption and Future Considerations
• 01:15:03 Outro

Netstack.FM

• More information: https://netstack.fm/#episode-19
• Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/29EetaSYCD
• Reach out to us: [email protected]

Music for this episode was composed by Dj Mailbox. Listen to his music at https://on.soundcloud.com/4MRyPSNj8FZoVGpytj

episode 18 — Curiosity, Quake, and Networking with Fabien Sanglard.

Glen talks with Fabien Sanglard about curiosity driven engineering, from early computers and classic games like Doom and Quake to modern Android development and ADB. They discuss how networking evolved in games, why latency shaped multiplayer design, how Rust improves reliability in large systems, and why writing and diagrams are powerful tools for truly understanding complex technologies.

Learn more:

• https://fabiensanglard.net/ — Fabien Sanglard’s Blog
• https://fabiensanglard.net/quake_chunnel/ — How quake.exe got its TCP/IP stack

Rama

If you like this podcast you might also like our modular network framework in Rust: https://ramaproxy.org

Chapters

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:19 Fabien's background
• 07:02 Android Debug Bridge (ADB)
• 11:05 Fabien's Blog
• 16:45 mDNS and Blog Target Audience
• 24:23 Quake TCP/IP
• 32:37 Nostalgia with Pink Glasses
• 37:58 Later Quake Versions
• 39:58 Fabien's books
• 41:53 The importance of Diagrams in documentation
• 47:19 Lessons that can be learned from ADB
• 51:58 Rust Iteration Speed
• 59:22 Outro

Netstack.FM

• More information: https://netstack.fm/#episode-18
• Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/29EetaSYCD
• Reach out to us: [email protected]

Music for this episode was composed by Dj Mailbox. Listen to his music at https://on.soundcloud.com/4MRyPSNj8FZoVGpytj

episode 17 — Early Web History and Interlisp with Larry Masinter.

We sit down with internet pioneer and longtime IETF contributor Larry Masinter to revisit the origins of many technologies developers use every day. From his early days at Xerox PARC to co-authoring foundational RFCs on HTTP, URIs, and more, Larry shares first-hand stories that connect the early web to the world we build in now. The conversation also explores his current passion project: reviving the Interlisp environment as a living historical system.

Learn more:

• https://larrymasinter.net/ — Official website from Larry Masinter
• https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2616 — RFC 2616 – HTTP/1.1 Specification
• https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3986 — RFC 3986 – URI Generic Syntax
• https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2324 — RFC 2324 – Hypertext Coffee Pot Control Protocol
• https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2732 — RFC 2732 – Literal IPv6 Addresses in URLs
• https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-masinter-dated-uri — Draft: the 'tdb' and 'duri' URI schemes, based on dated URIs
• https://interlisp.org — The Interlisp Revival Project

Rama

If you like this podcast you might also like our modular network framework in Rust: https://ramaproxy.org

Chapters

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:34 Introduction to Larry Masinter
• 05:32 The Intellectual Environment at Xerox PARC
• 06:49 The Interlisp Project and Its Impact
• 10:05 Transitioning to Document Servers and HTTP
• 12:02 Resources, Gopher and the Early Web
• 15:45 Why did HTTP succeed where Gopher faded away
• 20:56 Larry's Involvement in Web Standards and Protocols
• 25:11 Reviving Interlisp post-pandemic
• 27:13 interlisp.org, 5 years later
• 32:57 The Tradition of April 1st RFCs
• 33:51 Invention of Hypertext Coffee Pot Control Protocol (1998)
• 37:04 The Invention of HTCPCP
• 40:55 Exploring URI Schemes
• 47:58 Form-Based File Upload
• 49:12 The Politics of Web Standards
• 01:05:12 The Evolution of Web Protocols
• 01:05:53 Developing in the Interlisp Environment
• 01:14:03 Goals of the Interlisp Revival Project
• 01:23:39 Collaborations and Future Aspirations
• 01:25:09 Outro

Netstack.FM

• More information: https://netstack.fm/#episode-17
• Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/29EetaSYCD
• Reach out to us: [email protected]

Music for this episode was composed by Dj Mailbox. Listen to his music at https://on.soundcloud.com/4MRyPSNj8FZoVGpytj

episode 16 — WebRTC and Sans IO with Martin Algesten.

We sit down with Rust developer Martin Algesten for a deep dive into WebRTC and the Sans IO approach to protocol design. Martin traces the surprising origins of WebRTC, explains why real time media over UDP is both powerful and painfully complex, and walks through how peer to peer connections work under the hood. The conversation then shifts to Sans IO design, why it matters for clean protocol implementations in Rust, and how Martin applies it in his own WebRTC stack, str0m.

Learn more:

• https://github.com/algesten — Github profile of Martin Algesten
• https://github.com/algesten/str0m — A Sans I/O WebRTC implementation in Rust
• https://github.com/algesten/dimpl — DTLS 1.2 implementation (Sans‑IO, Sync)
• https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/rfc8489/ — Session Traversal Utilities for NAT (STUN)
• https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/rfc8656/ — Traversal Using Relays around NAT (TURN)
• https://www.w3.org/TR/webrtc/ — WebRTC: Real-Time Communication in Browsers

Rama

If you like this podcast you might also like our modular network framework in Rust: https://ramaproxy.org

Chapters

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:40 Get to know Martin Algensten
• 06:16 A bit of WebRTC history
• 09:38 WebRTC 101
• 30:05 P2P and Stun
• 36:00 WebRTC: stages and flow from start to finish
• 45:43 How Martin got into WebRTC and started the str0m project
• 52:36 What is Sans IO?
• 01:06:36 Why DTLS is not Sans IO in Str0m, but Str0m is
• 01:18:34 Outro

Netstack.FM

• More information: https://netstack.fm/#episode-16
• Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/29EetaSYCD
• Reach out to us: [email protected]

Music for this episode was composed by Dj Mailbox. Listen to his music at https://on.soundcloud.com/4MRyPSNj8FZoVGpytj

In Episode 15 of netstack.fm, Glen sits down with Edward and Noah from Cloudflare to unpack the design of Pingora, the Rust based proxy framework that now powers Cloudflare’s origin facing traffic. The discussion covers why Cloudflare moved away from NGINX, how Pingora differs from Oxy, and what it takes to operate a high performance global proxy at massive scale. Listeners will learn about connection reuse strategies, dynamic traffic handling, gRPC and protocol translation, custom HTTP implementations, TLS backend choices, and the practical trade offs of Rust, Tokio, and work stealing in real production systems. It is an episode full of deep technical insights into building and operating modern networking infrastructure.

Learn more:

• https://blog.cloudflare.com/how-we-built-pingora-the-proxy-that-connects-cloudflare-to-the-internet/ — Pingora's introduction blog
• https://blog.cloudflare.com/pingora-open-source/ — Pingora launch blog post (Cloudflare)
• https://github.com/vicanso/pingap — pingap, built on top of pingora
• https://blog.cloudflare.com/road-to-grpc/ — Cloudflare gRPC and gRPC Web article
• https://github.com/hyperium/h2 — Hyperium h2 crate
• https://github.com/cloudflare/quiche — Quiche (QUIC and HTTP3 implementation)
• https://blog.cloudflare.com/technical-breakdown-http2-rapid-reset-ddos-attack/ — Cloudflare Rapid Reset HTTP2 attack analysis
• https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/fips/140-3/final — NIST FIPS 140-3 publication
• https://blog.cloudflare.com/introducing-oxy/ — Introducing Oxy (Cloudflare)
• https://blog.cloudflare.com/oxy-extensibility/ — Oxy's extensions via generics
• https://blog.cloudflare.com/20-percent-internet-upgrade/ — Oxidizing other CDN components for performance
• https://github.com/cloudflare/foundations — Cloudflare's foundations crate

Rama

If you like this podcast you might also like our modular network framework in Rust: https://ramaproxy.org

Chapters

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:37 A bit of background on the episode and our guests
• 03:18 The Evolution of Proxy Frameworks: Oxy vs. Pingora
• 14:59 The Philosophy Behind Pingora's Design
• 20:53 Understanding Pingora's Bare Bones Structure
• 27:50 Metrics and Observability in Pingora
• 39:19 Caching Strategies and Backend Structures
• 42:56 Usage of OnceCell
• 45:39 TLS Implementations and Their Importance
• 50:51 Dynamic Traffic Management and gRPC Support
• 01:02:10 Optimizing Connection Reuse with Pingora
• 01:07:10 The Importance of Layer 7 Processing
• 01:11:16 The Shift from Static to Dynamic Web Traffic
• 01:18:48 Performance Improvements with Rust and Tokio
• 01:26:00 Memory Management and Allocation Strategies
• 01:37:59 Outro

Netstack.FM

• More information: https://netstack.fm/#episode-15
• Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/29EetaSYCD
• Reach out to us: [email protected]

Music for this episode was composed by Dj Mailbox. Listen to his music at https://on.soundcloud.com/4MRyPSNj8FZoVGpytj

Episode 14 – Roto And Cascade with Terts and Arya from NLnet Labs.

In this episode we have a conversation with Terts and Arya from NLnet Labs. Together we explore their paths into systems programming, the mission of NLnet Labs, and the critical internet infrastructure the organization maintains. The discussion spans DNSSEC, large scale DNS operations, Rotonda, and the Roto scripting language, with deep dives into performance engineering, zero copy design, and building resilient open source networking software. It is a technical episode that highlights the people and ideas behind essential internet protocols.

Learn more:

• https://www.nlnetlabs.nl/ — NLnet Labs website
• https://github.com/NLnetLabs/cascade — A friendly DNSSEC signing solution
• https://indico.dns-oarc.net/event/55/contributions/1186 — slides of conference talk introducing Cascade
• https://github.com/NLnetLabs/rotonda — Modular, programmable BGP Engine
• https://github.com/NLnetLabs/roto — strongly-typed, compiled embedded scripting language for Rust
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xJEFPlfy7Y — EuroRust 2025 talk by Terts on Roto
• https://docs.rs/domain/latest/domain/new/base/wire/index.html — domain's zerocopy module
• https://bal-e.org/blog/ — Blog from Arya
• https://2026.rustweek.org/ — RustWeek 2026 (with open CFP until EOY 2025)

Rama

If you like this podcast you might also like our modular network framework in Rust: https://ramaproxy.org

Chapters

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:14 Backgrounds of Terts and Arya
• 10:37 Overview of NLnet Labs
• 17:43 Understanding DNSSEC
• 25:29 The Role of Cascade in DNSSEC
• 41:06 Understanding Roto and Rotonda
• 45:55 The Evolution of Roto's Scripting Language
• 49:34 Integration and Efficiency in Roto
• 52:05 Real-World Applications of Roto
• 01:00:36 The Importance of Data Structures in Performance
• 01:06:34 Optimization Strategies for High Performance
• 01:17:14 Zero-Copy Techniques in DNS Handling
• 01:26:06 Outro

Netstack.FM

• More information: https://netstack.fm/#episode-14
• Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/29EetaSYCD
• Reach out to us: [email protected]

Music for this episode was composed by Dj Mailbox. Listen to his music at https://on.soundcloud.com/4MRyPSNj8FZoVGpytj

Episode 13 – Inside Ping Proxies with Joseph Dye.

In this episode of Netstack.fm, Glen from Plabayo talks with Joseph Dye (Joe), founding engineer at Ping Proxies, about building large-scale proxy infrastructure in Rust. Joe shares how he went from art student to programmer, joining Ping when it was a tiny startup running on Python and Squid. He explains how they rebuilt everything in Rust, creating performant HTTP and SOCKS5 proxies and managing massive IP networks for web scraping. The conversation covers the evolution of their stack, challenges with HTTP versions, TCP/IP fingerprinting, user-space networking with DPDK, and the adoption of MASQUE and HTTP/3. Joe also reflects on Rust’s safety benefits, being the only Rust engineer at Ping, and how the company stays competitive through technical innovation rather than size.

Learn more:

• https://github.com/smoltcp-rs/smoltcp — A Rust-based user-space TCP/IP stack
• https://dpdk.org — The Data Plane Development Kit for high-performance packet processing and kernel bypass
• https://github.com/cloudflare/quiche — Cloudflare’s QUIC and HTTP/3 implementation, mentioned for MASQUE support w/ tokio support
• https://github.com/tokio-rs/tokio — The asynchronous runtime used by Ping Proxies for concurrency
• https://github.com/hyperium/h2 — Rust’s HTTP/2 library, referenced as part of Ping Proxies’ stack
• https://github.com/hyperium/h3 — Rust’s HTTP/3 library, used for advanced proxy tunneling
• https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/rfc9298 — Proxying UDP in HTTP (MASQUE)
• https://ipxo.com — Marketplace for leasing IP addresses, discussed in how Ping acquires IP ranges
• https://pawns.app/sdk/ — Example of SDK-based residential proxy provider referenced in the episode
  

Rama

If you like this podcast you might also like our modular network framework in Rust: https://ramaproxy.org

Chapters

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:41 Introduction to Proxies and Joe's background
• 03:42 Understanding Pink Proxies and Their Offerings
• 06:52 The Technical Journey: From Squid to Rust
• 09:47 Proxy Types: Data Center vs. Residential
• 12:42 Building a Proxy Infrastructure
• 15:44 Challenges with HTTP Protocols
• 18:39 The Importance of Customization in Proxy Development
• 21:38 Team Dynamics and Future Growth
• 29:32 Transitioning to Rust Development
• 30:59 Understanding HTTP Protocols
• 32:40 Exploring HTTP/2 and HTTP/3
• 34:05 The Future of Proxying with Mask
• 36:14 Evaluating New Technologies for Proxies
• 37:51 Developing for End User Devices
• 39:49 Challenges in Network Stack Development
• 41:15 Proxying Non-HTTP Traffic
• 42:51 TCP/IP Fingerprinting Explained
• 47:57 The Importance of TCP/IP Fingerprinting
• 53:28 Performance Considerations in User Space TCP
• 58:22 Competing in the Proxy Market
• 01:00:05 Cancellation Safety in Rust Concurrency
• 01:03:53 Outro
  

Netstack.FM

• More information: https://netstack.fm/#episode-13
• Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/29EetaSYCD
• Reach out to us: [email protected]
  

Music for this episode was composed by Dj Mailbox. Listen to his music at https://on.soundcloud.com/4MRyPSNj8FZoVGpytj.