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Tailscale Setup

Tailscale is our VPN solution that connects you to the internal CWIQ network. Most internal tools (GitLab SSH, Vault, monitoring) are only accessible through Tailscale.

Installation

  1. Download from tailscale.com/download
  2. Install the application for your platform
  3. Launch Tailscale

Authentication

  1. Click Sign in (or Log in on the system tray icon)
  2. Select Sign in with Google
  3. Use your @cwiq.io Google account
  4. Approve the device authorization

Verify Connection

tailscale status

tailscale status

You should see a list of nodes including hostnames like gitlab-shared-cwiq-io, vault-shared-cwiq-io, etc.

Test Connectivity

# Ping the GitLab server via Tailscale
ping gitlab-shared-cwiq-io

# Verify HTTPS access
curl -f https://gitlab.shared.cwiq.io

How It Works

  • Tailscale creates a WireGuard-based mesh VPN
  • Each device gets a 100.x.x.x IP address
  • Internal servers have Tailscale hostnames (e.g., gitlab-shared-cwiq-io)
  • DNS records like gitlab.shared.cwiq.io resolve to the correct endpoints

Troubleshooting

"Unable to connect" or timeout

  1. Check Tailscale is running: look for the Tailscale icon in your system tray / menu bar
  2. Verify you're logged in with your @cwiq.io account (not a personal account)
  3. Try disconnecting and reconnecting

"Access denied" on Tailscale login

  • Ensure your admin has added your account to the Tailscale network
  • Contact your team lead if you see authorization errors

Slow connection

Tailscale uses direct peer-to-peer connections when possible. If traffic is being relayed:

tailscale status

Look for relay in the output. Direct connections show the peer's IP. If consistently relayed, check your firewall settings.