Subject: Summer of Code: zeroconf!
To: None <jschauma@netbsd.org, tech-net@netbsd.org>
From: David Young <dyoung@pobox.com>
List: tech-net
Date: 06/05/2005 15:50:54
NetBSD needs a daemon that automatically assigns IPv4 link-level
addresses.  NetBSD also needs an Multicast DNS responder.  A student
could program both of these for Summer of Code.

Apple has an mDNS responder in open source under the Apple license,
but "all your mods are belong to us."  A BSD-licensed alternative would
be nice.

A BSD-licensed Multicast DNS library is also desirable.  There is some
prior art---Howl, for example.  Howl does not support IPv6, and it
does not fit with our name service switch, however, Howl's API uses
callbacks; IMO, callbacks are a lot less lame than NetBSD's blocking
name-service API.

A few requirements:

        IPv4 address auto-configuration ought to cooperate with dhclient.
        This may be a simple matter of adding "glue" to dhclient-script.

        Support IPv4/IPv6 equally well.

        The issue of source-address selection needs to be considered;
        kernel mods will be necessary.  There is actually a meta-consensus
        between J. Thorpe, W. Studenmund, J. Stone, and I about how this
        should work.

Dave

-- 
David Young             OJC Technologies
dyoung@ojctech.com      Urbana, IL * (217) 278-3933