Requirements
Check these requirements before installing. Most network professionals already have compatible hardware sitting in a closet.
Hardware
Section titled “Hardware”Processing Power
Section titled “Processing Power”Tested reference: Intel i5-8250U (8th gen, 2017) with 8GB RAM handles gigabit throughput through multi-provider, multi-hop circuits with post-quantum encryption on every layer. An older laptop with this CPU can run parallel + nested topologies and still saturate its gigabit NIC.
Minimum tested: Dual-core VMs with 2GB RAM run Wirebump successfully for lighter configurations.
What you actually need: Depends on your configuration. Each encryption layer adds CPU overhead.
| Configuration | CPU Demand | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Traffic shaping only | Very light | Almost anything works |
| Single VPN provider | Moderate | Most old laptops handle this fine |
| Multi-hop or multi-provider | Higher | Can run on less than reference hardware if you don’t need full line rate |
Understanding Encryption Overhead
Section titled “Understanding Encryption Overhead”When running nested (multi-hop) configurations, every packet gets encrypted multiple times. If your hardware can handle 2 Gbit/sec of encrypted throughput:
- Single hop: ~2 Gbit/sec effective throughput
- Dual hop (split knowledge): ~1 Gbit/sec (double encryption)
- Triple hop: ~700 Mbit/sec or less
This is the tradeoff for split knowledge. You’re encrypting once for the exit provider, then wrapping that in encryption for the entry provider. Think of it like Tor’s onion routing, but with much better performance.
When people think about nested routing, they often think of Tor’s reputation for low throughput and high latency. Wirebump enables topologies where you can have low latency AND high throughput, to the point where you can genuinely tax an x86 CPU doing these nested encryptions. That’s the fun of it. We’re enabling something that has never been easy before.
Future Hardware Guide
Section titled “Future Hardware Guide”I’m still exploring this space. Eventually, I’ll put together more of a hardware guide with:
- Specific laptop models known to perform well
- Mini PCs that make good dedicated Wirebump devices
- What it takes to saturate a 10 Gbit pipe
- Raspberry Pi options for lower-bandwidth, high-security setups (many hops, modest throughput)
For now, the i5-8250U reference point and the 2GB VM minimum should help you gauge whether your hardware will work.
Network Interfaces
Section titled “Network Interfaces”| Mode | NICs Required | Typical Setup |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 2 | Built-in ethernet + USB adapter |
| Single-NIC | 1 | One interface handles both WAN and LAN |
| On-the-Go | 1-2 | WiFi for WAN + optional wired LAN downstream |
USB Network Adapters
Section titled “USB Network Adapters”USB-to-gigabit ethernet adapters work fine. Wirebump detects them automatically (they show up as enx* interfaces with predictable naming).
Historical concerns: USB NICs used to have a reputation for being problematic. People complained about dropouts, disconnects, and driver issues. I was skeptical going in.
My experience: I grabbed a dirt-cheap USB-C to Gigabit adapter with a Realtek chip from a generic electronics store. Realtek adapters were supposedly flaky in the past. But it’s been totally fine. I’ve run the same model on several different machines without any trouble. I don’t know if that makes them universally reliable, but newer Linux kernels (Ubuntu 24.04/25.10) seem to have ironed out many of the historical NIC issues.
Recovery: Even if a USB NIC does disconnect momentarily, Wirebump has decent recovery support. If the NIC drops and reconnects to the OS, Wirebump should detect the change and keep traffic flowing.
Share your experience: I plan to expand this section as I try more hardware or receive reports from others. If you have a setup that works well (or doesn’t), please share it so I can update this section. Reach out @kcolemangt.
Operating System
Section titled “Operating System”Supported
Section titled “Supported”| OS | Status |
|---|---|
| Ubuntu 25.10 | Recommended (better hardware and USB NIC support) |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | Supported |
Both Desktop and Server editions work. Ubuntu Server uses systemd-networkd instead of NetworkManager, and Wirebump handles both automatically.
Not Supported
Section titled “Not Supported”| OS | Reason |
|---|---|
| Ubuntu 22.04 and earlier | Networking stack limitations |
| Debian | Missing required system utilities |
VPN Accounts
Section titled “VPN Accounts”You need at least one active VPN subscription:
- Mullvad VPN - mullvad.net
- Proton VPN - protonvpn.com
For multi-provider circuits with split knowledge (no single provider sees both your identity and your traffic), you can use accounts from both providers simultaneously.
Quick Compatibility Check
Section titled “Quick Compatibility Check”Your hardware is ready if you have:
- amd64 or ARM64 machine (2017 or newer recommended, older may work)
- 2 network interfaces (or 1 for single-NIC mode)
- Ubuntu 25.10 or 24.04 LTS
- Active Mullvad VPN or Proton VPN account
Ready to install? Continue to Installation.