[GH-ISSUE #5315] Is It Possible to Not Use Bridged Networks in Docker Containers for Network Transparency? #11126

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saavagebueno · 2026-08-05T01:28:36-04:00

saavagebueno commented

2026-08-05 01:28:36 -04:00

Originally created by @maxideus85 on GitHub (Feb 13, 2026).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/issues/5315

Hello,

I have deployed Netbird via the advanced setup guide using Docker containers. This setup works fine but the Docker network is bridged and NAT'd which obfuscates network transparency for me. My firewall rules have the various required ports forwarded to the Docker host. I did try turning on transparency settings within the Management portal but it doesn't help with transparency. Currently on my firewall, Netbird traffic is recorded as coming from the Docker host, rather than the individual connected Netbird client.

Do you have any suggestions for me to achieve network transparency (where the firewall can see each individual Netbird client) without using a bridged network? I had tried MACVLAN networking, where all Docker containers are on the same network subnet as the Docker host, but I couldn't get the management on 443 to load, but port 80 works. This is with the proper firewall rules and port forwarding. However, the MACVLAN setup doesn't work for me, as the client won't connect.

Is it possible to deploy Netbird without Docker containers? If so, is that the way to go, and how would I achieve that?

I would appreciate any suggestions and direction. Please let me know if more clarity is required.

Originally created by @maxideus85 on GitHub (Feb 13, 2026). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/issues/5315 Hello, I have deployed Netbird via the advanced setup guide using Docker containers. This setup works fine but the Docker network is bridged and NAT'd which obfuscates network transparency for me. My firewall rules have the various required ports forwarded to the Docker host. I did try turning on transparency settings within the Management portal but it doesn't help with transparency. Currently on my firewall, Netbird traffic is recorded as coming from the Docker host, rather than the individual connected Netbird client. Do you have any suggestions for me to achieve network transparency (where the firewall can see each individual Netbird client) without using a bridged network? I had tried MACVLAN networking, where all Docker containers are on the same network subnet as the Docker host, but I couldn't get the management on 443 to load, but port 80 works. This is with the proper firewall rules and port forwarding. However, the MACVLAN setup doesn't work for me, as the client won't connect. Is it possible to deploy Netbird without Docker containers? If so, is that the way to go, and how would I achieve that? I would appreciate any suggestions and direction. Please let me know if more clarity is required.

saavagebueno added the question label 2026-08-05 01:28:36 -04:00

saavagebueno commented

2026-08-05 01:28:36 -04:00

@maxideus85 commented on GitHub (Apr 7, 2026):

BUMP. Just looking to get some feedback from the dev team on this.

@maxideus85 commented on GitHub (Apr 7, 2026): BUMP. Just looking to get some feedback from the dev team on this.

saavagebueno commented

2026-08-05 01:28:36 -04:00

@jnfrati commented on GitHub (Apr 8, 2026):

Hey @maxideus85!

Going to try my best here to answer, but please let me know if I'm missing any point here.

I did try turning on transparency settings within the Management portal but it doesn't help with transparency.

What do you refer here? I don't know of any setting regarding transparency around the management dashboard.

but I couldn't get the management on 443 to load, but port 80 works.

We suggest running a reverse proxy in front of the services, that's why it's only allowed port 80, have you checked these two pages? There's a chance they can clarify a couple of questions around how to configure Netbird

https://docs.netbird.io/selfhosted/external-reverse-proxy
https://docs.netbird.io/selfhosted/configuration-files#config-yaml

Is it possible to deploy Netbird without Docker containers? If so, is that the way to go, and how would I achieve that?

Right now we don't support "bare-metal" installations, but I do encourage you to open a new issue regarding this! If we have some community traction around it we're definitely up to set some instructions on how to do this.
Having said this, you can still download the repo and compile the different services, there's no "hard requirement" around docker, it's usually just simpler to distribute this way!

Summarizing, I'm running under the assumption that you're trying to see from the firewall the traffic from your different peers and see which docker container (netbird service) are you hitting, if that's the case I hope my answer gave a bit more direction, if not just let me know!

@jnfrati commented on GitHub (Apr 8, 2026): Hey @maxideus85! Going to try my best here to answer, but please let me know if I'm missing any point here. > I did try turning on transparency settings within the Management portal but it doesn't help with transparency. What do you refer here? I don't know of any setting regarding transparency around the management dashboard. > but I couldn't get the management on 443 to load, but port 80 works. We suggest running a reverse proxy in front of the services, that's why it's only allowed port 80, have you checked these two pages? There's a chance they can clarify a couple of questions around how to configure Netbird https://docs.netbird.io/selfhosted/external-reverse-proxy https://docs.netbird.io/selfhosted/configuration-files#config-yaml >Is it possible to deploy Netbird without Docker containers? If so, is that the way to go, and how would I achieve that? Right now we don't support "bare-metal" installations, but I do encourage you to open a new issue regarding this! If we have some community traction around it we're definitely up to set some instructions on how to do this. Having said this, you can still download the repo and compile the different services, there's no "hard requirement" around docker, it's usually just simpler to distribute this way! --- Summarizing, I'm running under the assumption that you're trying to see from the firewall the traffic from your different peers and see which docker container (netbird service) are you hitting, if that's the case I hope my answer gave a bit more direction, if not just let me know!

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Reference: DYNR/netbird#11126