5 ms·

I like that "untrusted peers" are defined in the protocol, but unfortunately it's only an optional addendum [1]. To me, untrusted peering is the most important

by maho 13y ago

I like that "untrusted peers" are defined in the protocol, but unfortunately it's only an optional addendum [1]. To me, untrusted peering is the most important feature and I hope that not being defined in the main protocol does not mean it will be step-mothered in the implementation. BitTorrent Sync only supports untrusted peers via API [2], and the only other open-source BitTorrent Sync alternative that I am aware of [3] left it out completely. [1] https://github.com/jewel/clearskies/blob/master/protocol/untrusted.md https://github.com/jewel/clearskies/blob/master/protocol/unt... [2] http://www.bittorrent.com/intl/de/sync/developers/api http://www.bittorrent.com/intl/de/sync/developers/api [3] https://github.com/calmh/syncthing/wiki https://github.com/calmh/syncthing/wiki

atmosx 13y ago
What exactly is the function of untrusted peers? Speed up the sync?
- nacs 13y ago
  Likely also for data redundancy if you only have 1 computer (or if all your computers/peers are in one building the untrusted peers could be your 'offsite backup' of sorts).
- jffry 13y ago
  To use a friend's machine as an off-site secondary backup. They can store encrypted data, but cannot view or push changes to the data. I'm guessing.
  - toomuchtodo 13y ago
    If its untrusted, how can it be a canonical reference?
    - scott_karana 13y ago
      Cryptographic hashes and signatures, I presume?
- maho 13y ago
  Internet connections can be quite asymmetrical. I have a 32 MBit/s downlink, but only 1 MBit/s up. That makes updating data on my tablet with data from home painfully slow unless I am at home. For me, a fast peer that I don't need to trust is pretty helpful. But apart from speed and redundancy, I also hope for economy of scale. If there were a small market where several hosters offer peered hosts with X GB for $Y/month, it could drive costs down for everyone. Dropbox is asking for $0.10/GB/mon, which is about twice as high as it could be if the market were efficient.
- jewel 13y ago
  My original intent was that you could have it running on a linode or other virtual machine where you don't trust the hardware.
jewel 13y ago
At one point I had it as a required part of the protocol, but later decided that it added a lot of complexity so moved it to an extension. I'm currently working on a minor reorganization of the protocol in the protocol_cleanup branch. I'll see if I can fold untrusted mode back into the core protocol.

by maho 13y ago

atmosx 13y ago

What exactly is the function of untrusted peers? Speed up the sync?

nacs 13y ago
Likely also for data redundancy if you only have 1 computer (or if all your computers/peers are in one building the untrusted peers could be your 'offsite backup' of sorts).
jffry 13y ago
To use a friend's machine as an off-site secondary backup. They can store encrypted data, but cannot view or push changes to the data. I'm guessing.
- toomuchtodo 13y ago
  If its untrusted, how can it be a canonical reference?
  - scott_karana 13y ago
    Cryptographic hashes and signatures, I presume?
maho 13y ago
Internet connections can be quite asymmetrical. I have a 32 MBit/s downlink, but only 1 MBit/s up. That makes updating data on my tablet with data from home painfully slow unless I am at home. For me, a fast peer that I don't need to trust is pretty helpful. But apart from speed and redundancy, I also hope for economy of scale. If there were a small market where several hosters offer peered hosts with X GB for $Y/month, it could drive costs down for everyone. Dropbox is asking for $0.10/GB/mon, which is about twice as high as it could be if the market were efficient.
jewel 13y ago
My original intent was that you could have it running on a linode or other virtual machine where you don't trust the hardware.

jewel 13y ago

At one point I had it as a required part of the protocol, but later decided that it added a lot of complexity so moved it to an extension. I'm currently working on a minor reorganization of the protocol in the protocol_cleanup branch. I'll see if I can fold untrusted mode back into the core protocol.