Rendezvous For Apache

sapporo writes "Eric Christopher Seidel has released mod_rendezvous. The DSO lets the Apache that comes with Mac OS X advertise its services on the local network via Rendezvous, so it will show up in Safari's Rendezvous Bookmarks section. This lets you browse all web servers on the local network very conveniently. Nice one!" I wonder, could it work on Linux too? I would think so ...

Comments

Re:Very nice idea

[pudge]

I really hope that rendez-vous technologies get ported to other Unixes soon.

You mean like mDNSResponder?

cd Rendezvous/mDNSPosix
make os=linux

w00p, indeed.

Re:Very nice idea

[chmouel]

At MandrakeSoft we currently working on it.

Yes, really open sourced!

[Twirlip of the Mists]

the code has not been made available (although the author claims he will send it to you if you send him an email)

You know that the GPL itself requires nothing more, right? A program does not have to have its source code up on a server for it to be open source. Under the GPL, it merely has to come with a written offer to provide the source at no charge or a nominal charge. Eric's following the letter of that rule, even though he's not using the GPL. Good for him, I say.

Why don't you send him an email and see what you get back?

Re:Rendezvous info

[Twirlip of the Mists]

Is there any technical info on Rendezvous?

There is tons of technical info on Rendezvous. Google for it, or look at the canonical source. (You can also download source from there.)

Does it not broadcast across subnets?

This is a FAQ:

Q: Does Rendezvous work across routers (between multiple subnets)?

A: No. The first release of DNS Service Discovery (DNS-SD) for Mac OS X concentrates on Multicast DNS (mDNS) for single-link networks because this is the environment worst served by current IP software. Future versions will add Dynamic Update and unicast query support.

Multicast DNS is intended for use on small networks with no infrastructure support, and intentionally uses link-local multicast. If a network has two links then it needs a bridge or router to connect those links, so by definition you now have a box that is (or should be) capable of providing some level of infrastructure support.

It is important to understand that DNS-SD is orthogonal to mDNS. You can use one without the other. In the example given above, the router that is connecting the two links should also include a DHCP server to assign addresses, and a little mini-DNS server which handles both standard DNS queries and Dynamic DNS Updates [RFC 3007]. The devices offering services on that network then advertise their services by using Dynamic Update to register their service records with the mini-DNS server in the router, and clients looking for services use normal unicast DNS queries addressed to that server to retrieve those service records.

Re:Very nice idea

[Twirlip of the Mists]

Thou shalt get thee to Apple's Rendezvous developer page immediately and readeth up on it, for thou doest knoweth not of why thou speaketh.

Re:Great - For Safari...

[marmoset]

Chimera nightlies support browsing to Rendezvous sites. I can't remember whether or not it's turned on by default, though.