40 lines
1.6 KiB
Plaintext
40 lines
1.6 KiB
Plaintext
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Copper Protocol
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20kdc, 2017
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Copper is a simple to implement networking protocol based on names.
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This is it's sole purpose.
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It can be used in various contexts, though it is not suitable as a
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secure peer-to-peer networking protocol where all actors are untrusted.
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Rather, Copper is better for the situation of the current internet -
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hierarchial structures (operated by semi-trusted parties, with
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encryption used to hide information from them as appropriate),
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with arbitary network structure at the fully-trusted-network level.
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Copper addresses are names.
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In the context of a system not implementing a hierarchial gateway,
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this is as much about Copper addressing as matters.
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Copper base packets contain 3 fields.
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A name (as a length-minus-1-byte-prefixed-string),
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another name (in the same format),
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and the rest is data.
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Copper packets may be up to 4000 bytes long, including base.
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(It's assumed the additional 96 bytes will be useful for any additional
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framing, assuming a 4K packet limit.)
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Loop detection should performed by checking if a packet exactly the same has
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been seen recently - other rejection, alteration and routing measures
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are up to the implementer.
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Signalling is inadvisable - Copper is primarily meant to allow creating
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internally "partyline" OpenComputers in-game networks with named nodes
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and some semblance of routing or structure.
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Should a situation be dire enough,
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hierarchial networks (described in file 2, 'protocol.1'),
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and custom routing software in general,
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can be used to split networks however the system requires.
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Copper isn't very picky.
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