matrix-org / matrix-org/matrix-spec
Consider options for discovering homeservers on a local network
Nobody has claimed this yet.
- Dominant language
- HTML
- Stars
- 330
- Forks
- 150
- Avg merge
- 2h 21m
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 3
Description
There are some fairly limited use cases where this would apply, therefore whatever discovery mechanism that is chosen should be optional for the homeserver to implement and use.
Some use cases for this would be a common chat server at an event (LAN party, etc) where the server could be anywhere and the devices could be anywhere on the network. For ease of setup, it would be nice to have a way to "discover" homeserver(s) on the network so people can connect more easily. Other use cases include industrial control systems, IoT, etc where the devices may not be easily configured.
There's quite a few discovery mechanisms out there that could be used. One option could be a well-defined format for UDP broadcasts (a suggestion is [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1myqmISomGHuX0yISY8RbA1HNNm9Z_kraYcJxCHcDC2E/edit#)), however this may not be the best way. This issue to gauge interest in this functionality, and to come up with alternatives that may be a better fit.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start with the linked UDP-broadcast suggestion and compare it with other discovery mechanisms mentioned in the issue. Done is not defined: the issue currently asks for interest and alternatives rather than a scoped specification or implementation target.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Domain
- networking
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 5/5
- Estimated time
- Over a week
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Needs clarification
- Newbie friendliness
- 20/100