How GIGO uses OpenZiti

Did you know Gorillas love Ziti? Just kidding — I have no idea if gorillas like ziti. But I do know that GIGO loves OpenZiti, and here’s why!

What is GIGO, and What is OpenZiti?

GIGO is an open-source platform designed to make learning to code easier. The goal is simple: eliminate the annoying parts of coding until you’ve fallen in love with it. Once you’re hooked, you’ll be motivated enough to tackle the inevitable challenges.

OpenZiti is an open-source, zero-trust network overlay. In plain terms, OpenZiti lets you create a secure “overlay” layer over your networks, ensuring data flows where and how you want it. It’s like creating secret pathways through the jungle of firewalls and security protocols.

So, a learn-to-code platform and some deep networking tech — what’s the connection? Let me explain.

The Challenge: Making Code Work Without Killing Enthusiasm

When you write code, there’s a lot of setup involved: configuring environments, connecting systems, and more. For beginners, this can be overwhelming. On GIGO, we’ve worked hard to automate all that. When you start a Byte or Challenge, we spin up a pod (a tiny computer in the cloud) and handle all the setup for you.

But here’s the tricky part: how do we get our servers to talk to these pods? Connecting them to the same network would be risky since anyone on the internet can sign up for GIGO. So, how do we securely link these pods with our servers?

Enter OpenZiti: Networking Made Simple

This is where OpenZiti shines. We needed a way to securely connect pods in a restricted network with servers in a separate network. OpenZiti gave us the solution: an overlay network that manages communication based on identity, not just IP addresses. With OpenZiti, we configured a secure “zitinet” that connects the pods and servers via a relay on the internet.

Why OpenZiti Beats Traditional Networking

Before OpenZiti, we used TCP punching through firewalls. (Brace yourself; this gets technical.) TCP punching involves using intermediary servers to help two computers in private networks establish a direct connection. It’s a clever idea but maddeningly complex in practice, and about one out of every twelve pods failed to connect properly. After two months of troubleshooting, we gave up and turned to OpenZiti.

OpenZiti’s approach was refreshingly simple: deploy three nodes (one in each network and one on the internet), and manage communication at the application level. No more TCP punching, no more DERP servers — just a few API calls and some simple rule sets.

How OpenZiti Works in GIGO

Let’s look under the hood.

When a GIGO Server is deployed, it creates a new identity in the Ziti Controller, tagged as a server. For pods, the process is slightly different: before creating a pod, the server generates a Ziti identity for it and initializes the pod’s volume with this identity. Once the pod launches, it connects to the Ziti Relay and starts communicating securely with the server.

The result? Servers and pods can talk to each other through the zitinet, with strict communication paths defined in OpenZiti. It’s simple, secure, and, most importantly, reliable.

The Results: A Networking Success Story

We went from wrestling with TCP punching and managing DERP servers to running quickstart scripts and making two API calls. The difference is night and day. OpenZiti not only solved our networking challenges but also saved us significant time and effort.

And the cost? A self-hosted setup runs about $30/month, which is a steal compared to the headaches it eliminates.

Why You Should Try OpenZiti (and GIGO!)

OpenZiti is a game-changer for secure networking, and GIGO is a great showcase of its potential. Curious about the result of all this networking magic? Check out GIGO’s Journeys or [Challenges](https://www.gigo.dev/about](https://www.gigo.dev/about).

Journeys are structured paths for beginners, complete with an AI companion and zero setup required. Challenges are more open-ended, designed for intermediate learners to tackle larger projects in a web-based VSCode editor. Want to see OpenZiti in action? Try [this GIGO Challenge](https://www.gigo.dev/challenge/1731766340382883840](https://www.gigo.dev/challenge/1731766340382883840) and experience it yourself!

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GitHub repository: https://github.com/Gage-Technologies/gigo.dev

Discord: discord.com/learnprogramming

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