WireGuard VPN: Secure Remote Access for Your Business

Remote work is now standard, which means every business needs a way for employees to securely access internal systems from outside the office. WireGuard is the best tool for this job: it is fast enough that you forget it is running, simple enough to configure without a networking degree, and secure by design with a minimal codebase that has been formally verified.

Why WireGuard Over OpenVPN?

OpenVPN has been the standard for decades, and it works. But it is complex, uses aging cryptography, and runs in userspace which limits performance. WireGuard runs inside the Linux kernel itself, which means it handles encryption at line speed with negligible CPU overhead. A WireGuard tunnel on a 1Gbps connection uses about 5 percent CPU. The same tunnel with OpenVPN might use 30 percent or more.

WireGuard's codebase is approximately 4,000 lines compared to OpenVPN's 70,000+. Fewer lines means fewer bugs and a smaller attack surface. The protocol has undergone formal verification, a mathematical proof that the cryptography is correct.

WireGuard vs. Tailscale

Tailscale is built on WireGuard but adds a coordination layer with identity-based access control. WireGuard alone is simpler and gives you complete control. Tailscale is easier to manage at scale and integrates with SSO. For a small business with fewer than 20 users, plain WireGuard is sufficient. For larger teams with complex access policies, Tailscale is the better choice. VPS1 deploys and manages both.

Setting Up WireGuard for Your Business

Basic WireGuard setup: install it on your server, generate a key pair for the server and each client device, and configure the tunnel. Each client gets a configuration file they import into the WireGuard app on their laptop or phone. Once connected, they can access internal services via private IP addresses that are invisible to the public internet.

A more polished option is WG-Easy, a Docker-based WireGuard server with a web admin interface. It manages client configurations through a web UI, generates QR codes for mobile device setup, and shows which clients are currently connected.

VPS1 handles the full WireGuard deployment: server configuration, client setup, access control rules, and ongoing maintenance.