The main issue is to separate regular users from a backbone infrastructure. What is done in the infrastructure and how it is interconnected is not important to the end user. It can be mesh, direct routing, whatever. But the user needs to be able to connect his subnet to the backbone via a (local) point of presence (POP) using a easy to use way, a way that is supported by regular, or at least some commercial routers out of the box or regular operating systems, without scripts and custom code running on them.

From my point of view, It should be the choice of the operator of the POP to decide what user access protocol they choose. For example L2TP is still supported on many devices and is a good candidate, and even the old PPTP will do.

There is no need to find a single universal solution for everything. If the backbone works (and the current mesh could be the base of this backbone, with simple users just opting out as other connection options become available).

I fully agree with what Marius has written there. We already operate such a POP, and there are others in the world. The implementation and connection options need not be the same all over the world, as long as some of the base requirements ("works behind NAT router, does not require to open ports or protocols in router, works well with a dynamic endpoint address") are satisfied by at least one of the offered connection options.

And in my opinion, there should be the option to use BGP over the endpoint connections so that locally routed networks can be advertised over links to the POP. Operators can choose whether they want to offer a static routing option but of course it will limit the versatility and redundancy options.

At the same time, I think it would be worthwhile to have a standard solution and deployment of that solution in datacenters all over the globe (in the form of a VPS so that no physical visits are required) so that everyone can have a good connection even when there is no local activity to setup a POP. Those would be managed by/via ARDC in a similar way as how the UCSD gw is managed now. This network of POPs would replace the current IPIP mesh as the connection option for users. The effort now spent on maintaining the IPIP mesh, RIP, gateway list can be spent on such a system instead and it will make it much easier for people to join and use the network.

Rob