libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server blog post #18

ddimaria · 2022-12-20T22:36:19Z

Creates a blog post detailing the WebRTC transport in libp2p.

todo:

Blog header https://www.notion.so/crcle/libp2p-WebRTC-blog-header-5664042c6d4c4d7ca71863588235b4a6
Updated design and diagrams https://www.notion.so/crcle/WebRTC-Blog-Post-Diagrams-465610a5d0b644889e6ca3edebe89bcd

marten-seemann

Some high-level comments:

General theme: The WebRTC handshake does a lot of things. We actually don’t need 90% of these things in libp2p, we only do them so we can use WebRTC (because it’s implemented in browsers). My wish is that this would be the theme of this blog post: “WebRTC forces us to do X, we get around this by doing Y”.
Comparison with other transports: I think we should keep that section shorter. For example, for WebSocket it should suffice to say that getting the CA-signed certs is a problem, and link to the WebTransport article.
WebTransport: I feel like the comparison is incomplete.
- While Chrome is currently the only browser implementation of the protocol, there’s commitment from both Mozilla and Apple to implement the protocol, judging from their involvement in the standardization process in the IETF WebTransport working group.
- It’s not unreasonable to assume that by some point in 2023, we’ll see implementations of the protocol in Firefox and Safari as well (depending on how fast the work at the IETF progresses).
- Really, there’s no reason whatsoever to prefer dialing a WebRTC over dialing a WebTransport connection. I assume that nodes will aggressively prefer WebTransport over WebRTC when connecting to a node that supports both transports.
- I realize that this makes the WebRTC browser to server work look less rosy, but we should help people gain an accurate understanding of the situation we’re in: it fills the gap until the RFC is out, and other browsers have caught up with Chrome and until rust-libp2p has caught up with go-libp2p with their respective WebTransport implementations.
WebRTC resource requirements: Chinmay mentioned that at least the Pion implementation is quite resource hungry (not sure about the Rust implementation). Would it make sense to provide some numbers on that, or at least mention that in the limitations?
WebRTC stream framing: We had to bend over backwards to get stream resets working, introducing our own Protobuf-based stream data framing. Can we mention that (and why) we did that?
Diagrams:
- Am I right to assume that the plan is to put in a design request with Crcle, once we’ve agreed on what exactly should be in the diagrams?
- We’ve started putting the client on the left side, we should keep it consistent.

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md

p-shahi

A first pass review, added some thoughts will come back to this again.

I'll also submit a request to the Crcle design team to get started on the blog header and diagrams. The timeline will probably be sometime in January.

A diagram for WebRTC in libp2p is a must have but I'm on the fence about the general WebRTC one (whether we should include it at all...it is a good contrast to have but is it really necessary?)

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md

Co-authored-by: Prithvi Shahi <[email protected]>

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md

salmad3

Nice blog @ddimaria! Added comments.

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md

Co-authored-by: Danny Salman <[email protected]>

mxinden

Thanks for the many improvements @ddimaria!

And thanks to the many reviewers here.

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md

Co-authored-by: Danny Salman <[email protected]> Co-authored-by: Max Inden <[email protected]>

…/blog into libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server

Co-authored-by: Danny Salman <[email protected]>

ddimaria · 2022-12-22T18:08:51Z

A diagram for WebRTC in libp2p is a must have but I'm on the fence about the general WebRTC one (whether we should include it at all...it is a good contrast to have but is it really necessary?)

@p-shahi that diagram has been removed.

ddimaria · 2023-01-20T00:47:44Z

@p-shahi @mxinden @marten-seemann @DannyS03 Would you like any additional changes in this PR?

thomaseizinger

A few more minor comments. I kicked CI so we have a preview here now: https://bafybeif4ufb36f7df54maoqxp3s6xuskjju7oqv7d62kfqua7bp5kyhmx4.on.fleek.co/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server/

It is not something we can fix in this PR but overall, I find the layout of the blog hard to read. Especially the different levels of headings (## vs ### vs ####) are visually too similar in my opinion. Look at https://bafybeif4ufb36f7df54maoqxp3s6xuskjju7oqv7d62kfqua7bp5kyhmx4.on.fleek.co/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server/#benefits for example. The spacing between the headings and paragraphs, as well as the font-sizes of the headings make each paragraph look the same when really, each paragraph should be visually closer to its heading and the spacing between two headings of different levels¹ should also be smaller.

Really, that case shouldn't exist because headings should always have a content other than further headings but that is getting a bit too academic now 🙃 ↩

thomaseizinger · 2023-01-20T01:01:41Z

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md

+- webrtc
+title: WebRTC in libp2p
+description:
+date:


@ddimaria This is still missing.

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md

@thomaseizinger

Suggestion from @thomaseizinger Co-authored-by: Thomas Eizinger <[email protected]>

BigLep

Thanks for writing - good stuff!

A few things:

We're still getting the weird rendering behavior of all newlines translating to a newline in the rendered view. I saw this looking at https://bafybeicsnvslzcjo6u6l4rbmrlmpunmnezuu53ksmt7v766tlavz3hqd3m.on.fleek.co/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server/
It wasn't clear to me from reading whether WebRTC suffers from double encryption. Lets make a clear statement here.
I left some comments on this, but please give thought on how to be clear that we're talking about "public server" in this post.
I likely won't be able to engage more on this post the week of 2023-01-23. I'm hoping @p-shahi can champion answering any open questions and ensuring the feedback was incorporated/resolved.

Thanks again!

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md

BigLep · 2023-01-21T16:32:04Z

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md

+```
+
+The only difference from other transports is initializing with `webRTC()`.  That's all you need to do to implement WebRTC in the browser.  Easy, right?
+## Alternative transports


I would consider removing this seciton. I think it makes more sense in the connectivity website or the docs. Basically keep the post focused on WebRTC and leave education about other transports to other places.

Maybe we have a post at the end of the connectivity series that gives a textual overview of the pros and cons of the transports.

I can see the benefits of keeping it as well as removing it. It really depends if a blog post reader use case includes reading the post in isolation (not reading other blog posts and/or not relying on external links). The additional information doesn't overwhelm the reader in this case, but offers an immediate compare/contrast experience. I'll let others weigh in on this.

Co-authored-by: Steve Loeppky <[email protected]>

thomaseizinger · 2023-01-21T22:40:09Z

We're still getting the weird rendering behavior of all newlines translating to a newline in the rendered view. I saw this looking at https://bafybeicsnvslzcjo6u6l4rbmrlmpunmnezuu53ksmt7v766tlavz3hqd3m.on.fleek.co/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server/

This should be fixed by merging latest master into this branch. See #40.

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md

jxs · 2023-01-23T21:39:58Z

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md

+
+In most cases, peers directly connect to other peers, improving privacy and requiring fewer hops than on a relay. Peers connect via an [RTCPeerConnection](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/RTCPeerConnection) interface. Once connected, [RTCDataChannels](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/RTCDataChannel) can be added to the connection to send and receive binary data.
+
+To connect to each other, peers need to learn their public IP address and any router restrictions along the path that would prohibit peer-to-peer communication. WebRTC specifies the [STUN](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3489) protocol for that. In the case of a restriction, [TURN](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc8656) servers relay data between peers using a Signaling Channel. In libp2p, we don't use these protocols.


Agreed. Also technically it's not correct, a browser uses a STUN binding request to get its public ip (server reflexive candidate) from the server node using ICE Lite.
Wdyt of expanding on the wording used on the spec?

Given that B is publicly reachable, B acts as a ICE Lite agent. It binds to a UDP port waiting for incoming STUN and SCTP packets and multiplexes based on source IP and source port.

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md

Co-authored-by: Danny Salman <[email protected]> Co-authored-by: João Oliveira <[email protected]>

mxinden

Two more comments on the diagram. Sorry for missing this earlier.

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md

mxinden

I left comments on each conversation. Most of them should be actionable now. Can you do the follow-ups @ddimaria?

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md

Co-authored-by: Max Inden <[email protected]>

mxinden · 2023-02-08T12:20:07Z

Great to see this merged. Thanks for all the work everyone.

Small typo here (DTLS vs DLTS), not sure whether fixing it is worth the effort.

p-shahi · 2023-02-08T18:06:13Z

@mxinden Thanks for the catch: fixed via #48

mxinden · 2023-02-09T11:21:28Z

That was fast. Thanks @p-shahi!

ddimaria added 2 commits December 20, 2022 15:35

libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server blog post

2286498

libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server blog post

514db39

p-shahi linked an issue Dec 20, 2022 that may be closed by this pull request

WebRTC Browser-to-Server Blog Post #7

Closed

p-shahi requested review from marten-seemann, mxinden and salmad3 December 20, 2022 22:50

marten-seemann reviewed Dec 21, 2022

View reviewed changes

p-shahi reviewed Dec 21, 2022

View reviewed changes

ddimaria and others added 10 commits December 21, 2022 08:41

Update src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md as per Prithvi

a627e96

Co-authored-by: Prithvi Shahi <[email protected]>

Update src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md as per Prithvi

31b1550

Co-authored-by: Prithvi Shahi <[email protected]>

Update src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md as per Prithvi

eac587c

Co-authored-by: Prithvi Shahi <[email protected]>

Update src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md as per Prithvi

fccf8b9

Co-authored-by: Prithvi Shahi <[email protected]>

Update src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md as per Prithvi

3da034a

Co-authored-by: Prithvi Shahi <[email protected]>

Update src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md as per Prithvi

ef35faf

Co-authored-by: Prithvi Shahi <[email protected]>

Update src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md as per Prithvi

e9b7253

Co-authored-by: Prithvi Shahi <[email protected]>

Update src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md as per Prithvi

23d6b5b

Co-authored-by: Prithvi Shahi <[email protected]>

Update src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md as per Prithvi

90d2674

Co-authored-by: Prithvi Shahi <[email protected]>

reorder paragraphs

9dac046

salmad3 requested changes Dec 21, 2022

View reviewed changes

p-shahi and others added 2 commits December 21, 2022 15:09

Apply suggestions from code review

047bae8

Co-authored-by: Danny Salman <[email protected]>

Apply suggestions from code review by Danny

a51f0c9

Co-authored-by: Danny Salman <[email protected]>

mxinden reviewed Dec 22, 2022

View reviewed changes

ddimaria and others added 4 commits December 22, 2022 10:44

Apply suggestions from code review

56093d2

Co-authored-by: Danny Salman <[email protected]> Co-authored-by: Max Inden <[email protected]>

Incorporate feedback from Max, Marten, and Danny

09f8d98

Merge branch 'libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server' of github.com:ddimaria…

b82bbdd

…/blog into libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server

Update src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md as per Danny

e990ab8

Co-authored-by: Danny Salman <[email protected]>

Update based on Danny's suggestions

e824967

p-shahi added this to the WebRTC browser-to-server milestone Jan 19, 2023

remove .gitignore

fc28c41

thomaseizinger reviewed Jan 20, 2023

View reviewed changes

ddimaria and others added 2 commits January 20, 2023 08:20

Update src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md

afa75de

Suggestion from @thomaseizinger Co-authored-by: Thomas Eizinger <[email protected]>

Fix spelling issue in DiMaria

b5f855c

BigLep reviewed Jan 21, 2023

View reviewed changes

Apply suggestions from code review by steve

fcfc991

Co-authored-by: Steve Loeppky <[email protected]>

salmad3 reviewed Jan 23, 2023

View reviewed changes

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

jxs reviewed Jan 23, 2023

View reviewed changes

ddimaria and others added 2 commits January 23, 2023 19:13

Apply suggestions from code review

67482d2

Co-authored-by: Danny Salman <[email protected]> Co-authored-by: João Oliveira <[email protected]>

Update Acknowledgements from review feedback

7459fae

mxinden reviewed Jan 24, 2023

View reviewed changes

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md Show resolved Hide resolved

mxinden reviewed Jan 26, 2023

View reviewed changes

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

src/_blog/libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server.md Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

ddimaria and others added 8 commits January 26, 2023 07:32

Apply suggestions from mxinden

60aa500

Co-authored-by: Max Inden <[email protected]>

Add server STUN binding response to the sequence diagram

35eee32

Reverse DTLS handshake flows

f639c08

Update Setup and configuration section to elaborate on server setup

82631a6

Add more info about the DTLS roundtrips in the box in the diagram

527ba38

Update go link to issue instead of PR

8e997f9

add diagram

b3f188e

edits

058bf88

p-shahi approved these changes Feb 7, 2023

View reviewed changes

p-shahi added 2 commits February 7, 2023 11:30

update diagram

2a1f04b

update

733fe9d

p-shahi merged commit bd80913 into libp2p:main Feb 8, 2023

Provide feedback

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly

libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server blog post #18

libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server blog post #18

ddimaria commented Dec 20, 2022 •

edited by p-shahi

Loading

marten-seemann left a comment

p-shahi left a comment

salmad3 left a comment

mxinden left a comment

ddimaria commented Dec 22, 2022

ddimaria commented Jan 20, 2023

thomaseizinger left a comment

thomaseizinger Jan 20, 2023

BigLep left a comment

BigLep Jan 21, 2023

ddimaria Jan 21, 2023

thomaseizinger commented Jan 21, 2023

jxs Jan 23, 2023 •

edited

Loading

mxinden left a comment

mxinden left a comment

mxinden commented Feb 8, 2023

p-shahi commented Feb 8, 2023

mxinden commented Feb 9, 2023


		In most cases, peers directly connect to other peers, improving privacy and requiring fewer hops than on a relay. Peers connect via an [RTCPeerConnection](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/RTCPeerConnection) interface. Once connected, [RTCDataChannels](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/RTCDataChannel) can be added to the connection to send and receive binary data.

		To connect to each other, peers need to learn their public IP address and any router restrictions along the path that would prohibit peer-to-peer communication. WebRTC specifies the [STUN](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3489) protocol for that. In the case of a restriction, [TURN](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc8656) servers relay data between peers using a Signaling Channel. In libp2p, we don't use these protocols.

libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server blog post #18

libp2p-webrtc-browser-to-server blog post #18

Conversation

ddimaria commented Dec 20, 2022 • edited by p-shahi Loading

marten-seemann left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

p-shahi left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

salmad3 left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

mxinden left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

ddimaria commented Dec 22, 2022

ddimaria commented Jan 20, 2023

thomaseizinger left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Footnotes

thomaseizinger Jan 20, 2023

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

BigLep left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

BigLep Jan 21, 2023

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

ddimaria Jan 21, 2023

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

thomaseizinger commented Jan 21, 2023

jxs Jan 23, 2023 • edited Loading

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

mxinden left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

mxinden left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

mxinden commented Feb 8, 2023

p-shahi commented Feb 8, 2023

mxinden commented Feb 9, 2023

ddimaria commented Dec 20, 2022 •

edited by p-shahi

Loading

jxs Jan 23, 2023 •

edited

Loading