Wireguard developer working on Windows kernel implementation

VPN protocol WireGuard gets a separate implementation for the Windows kernel. The software is ported from the Linux kernel version. According to the makers, the software is six times faster than the current version, especially via WiFi connections.

WireguardNT is according to the makers a direct port of the software’s Linux codebase. This is an implementation of the VPN that is available directly to the Windows kernel. Currently, WireGuard for Windows uses a Go codebase that works cross platform, with a TUN driver called wintun. By being implemented directly in the kernel, it is not necessary to first address that codebase and communicate it through the driver. That makes the VPN a lot faster, say the makers.

The developers say they achieved a maximum speed of 7.5Gbit/s on a wired connection during a test, although they admit that this is of little relevance to most users. The real profit would be in Wi-Fi connections. With the use of wireguard-nt it would be just as fast as the old WireGuard connection via an Ethernet connection, and more than six times as fast as a WiFi connection without wireguard-nt. The makers say they will further optimize the protocol in the future. “But just being in the kernel lowers latency and eliminates the switch issues we have now.”

The kernel version of WireGuard is still in its early stages. The makers call it ‘experimental’. Three more development phases are required before wireguard-nt can become available, permanently removing the old codebase from the Windows client. The developers are not saying when that will happen.