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Maybe something simpler like a stun/turn server would be enough. Or something with no infrastructure (or recurring fees) at all, only working in my local networ
by cwalv 6y ago
Maybe something simpler like a stun/turn server would be enough. Or something with no infrastructure (or recurring fees) at all, only working in my local network (like my printer).
- chrisseaton 6y agoI can understand that's attractive to a techie, but approximately nobody else wants to manage that kind of setup.
- avianlyric 6y agoWhat is there to manage? Plenty of devices work just fine on local networks without the need of a mothership to act as a bridge. Just look at almost any Apple P2P service, such as AirDrop, Wifi Password sharing, Handoff, AirPlay etc Zero management need by the customer.
- chrisseaton 6y agoI'm not sure you understand the use-case here - Apple P2P services are about working on a local network. But that doesn't apply here, does it? My car and my phone obviously aren't on a local network, are they? How do you propose to establish a local network remotely? Some kind of VPN? You'd need to establish a connection via some kind of centralised server... run by a vendor.
- avianlyric 6y agoAs the previous poster mentioned, that can be achieved with much simpler STUN/TURN servers provided by the vendor, that don’t take active part in sending commands etc, they just provide a basic pipe to route traffic through. Frequently they can even provide that pipe by just providing some help to link two devices so they can do direct P2P. In this environment the vendors doesn’t get to watch and inspect the content of what’s transmitted, their devices don’t phone home, and the service is trivial to restore because they’re pretty much stateless.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- chrisseaton 6y agoSounds like you've accepted the vendors do really need to run a service, and it can't be local, and now you're just debating how big that service needs to be.
- theamk 6y agoThere is a mothership -- it is just built into an Apple device, and Apple spent a lot of effort getting this all to work, and they can only get it to work because they control all sides. Try setting up a generic wlan-compatible printer and a macOS laptop on a local network. I have such setup, and it is just fails every once in a while for no reason. I would not recommend this to anyone over well-run centralized server.