netstack.fm

episode 24: WebAssembly and Rust in Practice, A Conversation with Alex Crichton.

In this episode we sit down with Alex Crichton to talk about WebAssembly and Rust in practice. We discuss how Wasm grew beyond the browser into a serious runtime for servers and plugins, and why Rust fits so well in this space.

We also explore WASI, the component model, and lessons from building Wasmtime, covering performance, security, and what it takes to run Wasm in production.

Learn more:

https://github.com/alexcrichton — Alex Crichtton on GitHub
https://webassembly.org/ — WebAssembly overview and introduction
https://wasi.dev/ — WASI introduction and goals
https://component-model.bytecodealliance.org/ — WebAssembly component model documentation
https://bytecodealliance.org/ — Bytecode Alliance home page
https://wasmtime.dev/ — Wasmtime runtime home page
https://docs.wasmtime.dev/ — Wasmtime documentation
https://docs.rs/wasmtime/latest/wasmtime/ — Wasmtime Rust API documentation
https://github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime — Wasmtime source code
https://github.com/bytecodealliance/wasm-tools — wasm tools used throughout the Wasmtime ecosystem
https://github.com/bytecodealliance/wit-bindgen/ — wit bindgen tooling for the component model
https://webassembly.github.io/spec/ — WebAssembly specification rendering
https://github.com/WebAssembly/WASI — WASI specification repository
https://github.com/WebAssembly/proposals/ — Active WebAssembly proposals
https://bytecodealliance.org/articles/ — Bytecode Alliance blog and technical articles

Rama

If you like this podcast you might also like our modular network framework in Rust: https://ramaproxy.org

Chapters

00:00 Intro
00:42 Introduction to Alex Crichton and His Journey
04:14 Understanding WebAssembly: Basics and Benefits
07:35 Challenges of WebAssembly and DOM Access
16:29 Exploring WASI: The WebAssembly System Interface
31:11 The Relationship Between WebAssembly and WASI
34:43 Understanding WebAssembly Instructions
37:09 The Role of Compilers in WebAssembly
40:07 Exploring Roto and WebAssembly Integration
42:19 Garbage Collection in WebAssembly
44:17 Dynamic Libraries and Code Sharing in WebAssembly
45:49 Core WebAssembly and Its Layers
48:39 The Component Model's Evolution
51:25 String Handling in WebAssembly
54:26 Simplifying WebAssembly for Developers
55:30 Specifications and Documentation in WebAssembly
57:31 Asynchronous Support in the Component Model
01:01:29 Exploring WASI P3 and Async Support
01:10:36 More about the Component Model
01:22:39 The Role of the Bytecode Alliance
01:26:57 Akamai's Interest in WebAssembly
01:31:29 Exploring WebAssembly Use Cases
01:37:27 Future of WasmTime Development
01:40:24 Understanding WasmTime's Architecture
01:44:34 Getting Started with WasmTime
01:51:19 Security and Testing in WasmTime
01:56:11 Outro

Netstack.FM

More information: https://netstack.fm/#episode-24
Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/29EetaSYCD
Reach out to us: [email protected]

Music for this episode was composed by Dj Mailbox. Listen to his music at https://on.soundcloud.com/4MRyPSNj8FZoVGpytj

episode 23 — Protocol Shorts: HTTP as an Application Bus.

This is the debut of our "Protocol Shorts" series: fast-paced, high-density conversations with one or more expert guests centered around a common theme. In the "HTTP as an application bus" episode, we’re breaking down the tunneling renaissance—specifically the clever 'protocol-within-a-protocol' hacks that are changing the game.

From hijacking H2 CONNECT to run full-duplex WebSockets, to the subtle ways we’re now nesting modern traffic inside older transports, we’re looking at how the network layer is being rewritten from the inside out.

Learn more:

https://grpc.io — Official gRPC website.
https://grpc.io/docs/platforms/web/ — Overview of gRPC Web
https://github.com/hyperium/tonic — Tonic, the most popular gRPC implementation in Rust
https://developers.google.com/protocol-buffers — Protocol Buffers documentation explaining the IDL, encoding, and ecosystem behind gRPC.
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7540 — HTTP/2 specification
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WebSockets_API — WebSockets API overview, including framing, duplex communication, and browser support.
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6455 — WebSocket protocol specification describing frames, ping pong, and connection upgrade.

Rama

If you like this podcast you might also like our modular network framework in Rust: https://ramaproxy.org

Chapters

00:00 Welcome Lucio, 1st guest of this protocol shorts episode
01:52 Understanding HTTP/2 and Metadata Frames
05:32 Limitations of gRPC Web and Client Streaming
08:28 Encoding Formats: Protobuf vs JSON
11:18 gRPC in Browser Contexts
14:16 The Future of gRPC with HTTP/3 and QUIC
18:03 Introduction to Brecht, 2nd guest of this episode
20:00 Understanding HTTP/2: Features and Use Cases
26:34 Custom Protocols Over HTTP/2
31:52 Exploring WebSockets: Basics and Applications
37:05 WebSockets: Advanced Use Cases and Multiplexing
41:40 Outro

Netstack.FM

More information: https://netstack.fm/#episode-23
Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/29EetaSYCD
Reach out to us: [email protected]
Music for this episode was composed by Dj Mailbox. Listen to his music at https://on.soundcloud.com/4MRyPSNj8FZoVGpytj

episode 22 — Rust URL with Simon Sapin.

In this episode of Netstack.fm, Simon Sapin discusses building the rust-url crate based on the WHATWG URL specification. He also highlights that IDNA support was integrated to handle internationalized domain names, which includes critical security checks to prevent phishing from "confusable" characters that look identical to users.

Learn more:

https://docs.rs/url — rust-url is an implementation of the URL Standard for the Rust programming language
https://docs.rs/idna — IDNA (Internationalizing Domain Names in Applications) and Punycode
https://docs.rs/idna_adapter — unicode back end for the idna crate
https://docs.rs/form_urlencoded — Parser and serializer for the application/x-www-form-urlencoded syntax, as used by HTML forms
https://docs.rs/percent-encoding — Percent encoding and decoding
https://servo.org/ — official servo website
https://url.spec.whatwg.org/ — WHATWG URL Specificaton
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5890 — Internationalized Domain Names for Applications (IDNA) (RFC)
https://exyr.org/ — official website of Simon Sapin

Rama

If you like this podcast you might also like our modular network framework in Rust: https://ramaproxy.org

Chapters

00:00 Intro
00:50 Get to know Simon Sapin
05:35 Origin of rust-url
07:19 Implementing Specifications in Rust
10:05 Understanding IDNA and Its Importance
11:17 Origins of form-url / percent encoding crates
12:36 The Role of Percent Encoding in URLs
13:21 IDNA Crate Origin
15:41 Challenges with IDNA and Usability
30:13 unpacking the rust-url crate
39:25 Understanding URL Specifications and Compatibility
45:10 Url Crate Parser
52:41 Surprising Insights into URL Implementation
01:01:41 Final words
01:14:07 Outro

Netstack.FM

More information: https://netstack.fm/#episode-22
Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/29EetaSYCD
Reach out to us: [email protected]

Music for this episode was composed by Dj Mailbox. Listen to his music at https://on.soundcloud.com/4MRyPSNj8FZoVGpytj

episode 21 — GraphQL and Rust with Tom Houlé.

In this episode of Netstack.fm, Glen and Tom Houlé discuss GraphQL's transition from a high-hype mobile data solution at Facebook to a mature enterprise technology. They explore technical challenges like the N+1 problem and persisted queries, as well as the rise of GraphQL Federation for unifying microservices in Rust-based gateways. Tom also highlights GraphQL’s future potential as a self-documenting interface for LLMs and its healthy, community-driven development.

Learn more:

https://www.tomhoule.com — Personal website of Tom Houlé
https://graphql.org/learn/ — Learn GraphQL
https://www.jovidecroock.com/blog/graphql-myths/ — GraphQL Myths (about trusted documents — Jovi De Croock)
https://benjie.dev/graphql/trusted-documents — Another great blog post about trusted documents, by Benjie
https://www.apollographql.com/docs/graphos/schema-design/federated-schemas/federation — Introduction to GraphQL Federation (Apollo)
https://github.com/graphql/composite-schemas-spec/ — The Composite Schemas specification, the vendor neutral next iteration of federation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_RETbpPogw — Transforming Capital One’s Data Marketplace with Embedded Governance and a Product Mindset (enterprise adoption)
https://relay.dev/docs/ — Relay docs
Rust Crates:https://github.com/async-graphql/async-graphql — async-graphql, the server framework
https://github.com/graphql-rust/graphql-client/ — graphql-client
https://github.com/obmarg/cynic — cynic

https://www.youtube.com/@GraphQLFoundation — @GraphQLFoundation on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@graphqltv — @GraphQL TV on YouTube
https://grafbase.com/blog/seamless-grpc-subgraphs-with-extensions-and-composite-schemas — Seamless gRPC subgraphs with extensions and composite schemas

Rama

If you like this podcast you might also like our modular network framework in Rust: https://ramaproxy.org

Chapters

00:00 Intro
00:39 Meet Tom Houlé
03:24 Origins of GraphQL
10:05 The Shift to Persistent Queries in GraphQL
18:09 GraphQL's Role in Frontend and Backend Development
21:11 Challenges and Criticisms of GraphQL
24:07 Optimizing GraphQL for Performance
35:06 Schema first vs Code first
40:44 Optimizing GraphQL Server Query Implementations
44:39 GraphQL Federation: A Unified Approach
51:08 Authentication in GraphQL: Challenges and Solutions
01:05:23 The Future of GraphQL: Trends and Innovations
01:16:03 Outro

Netstack.FM

More information: https://netstack.fm/#episode-21
Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/29EetaSYCD
Reach out to us: [email protected]

Music for this episode was composed by Dj Mailbox. Listen to his music at https://on.soundcloud.com/4MRyPSNj8FZoVGpytj

episode 20 — Netstack.FM New Year Special, 2025 Wrap-Up.

This New Year special reflects on the first nineteen episodes of netstack.fm, highlighting key lessons about networking, Rust, open source, and the people behind the protocols and systems that power the internet. It also looks at the evolution of the Rama framework and sets the stage for continued learning, collaboration, and new conversations in the year ahead.

Learn more:

https://github.com/plabayo/rama — rama repository
https://github.com/plabayo/rama/discussions/782 — rama-0.3.0-alpha.4 release
https://ramaproxy.org/ — rama official website
https://ikorason.dev/posts/from-frontend-to-low-level-networking-my-journey-to-contributing-to-open-source — irfan's blog article

Chapters

00:00 Intro
00:54 Introduction and Year In Review
03:28 Insights from Guests and the 2025 episodes
22:21 Rama Testimonials
27:28 Rama in 2026
31:07 Closing Message
32:07 Outro

Netstack.FM

More information: https://netstack.fm/#episode-20
Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/29EetaSYCD
Reach out to us: [email protected]

Music for this episode was composed by Dj Mailbox. Listen to his music at https://on.soundcloud.com/4MRyPSNj8FZoVGpytj