[jdev] (Newbie question) Can Jabber act as a gateway for HTTPS-based WebDAV?

[Ajay Garg]

Waqas,

to add to your point of not using XMPP itself to transfer files; using
(tunnelled) HTTP would prevent re-inventing the wheel of the file-listing
and download-capability that comes in with WebDAV-in-a-browser-client.

Thanks again. I am looking for implementation mechanics, on lines of the
design suggested by you. :-)

Thanks and Regards
Ajay

On Wed, Mar 28, 2012 at 2:16 PM, Ajay Garg <ajaygargnsit at gmail.com> wrote:

> Thanks a ton Waqas.
>
> This is probably what I was looking for.
>
> Just some minor queries ::
>
> a)
> Once the proxies are setup (i.e. there is a link (Alice's WebDAV hosted in
> "httpd") <==> (Tom's server) <==> (Bob's browser), then the user-experience
> will be the same as though Alice and Bob are on the same network, right?
>
>
> b)
> What is your general opinion on this approach? Would the amount and
> complexity of the added code (proxy-setup) be worthwhile, than looking for
> a possible alternative like
> "upload-files-to-central-server-and-then-download-from-there"?
>
>
> Anyways, thanks a ton for the confidence :)
>
>
> Thanks and Regards,
> Ajay
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 28, 2012 at 2:00 PM, Waqas Hussain <waqas20 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On Wed, Mar 28, 2012 at 9:33 AM, Ajay Garg <ajaygargnsit at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> > Hi all.
>> >
>> > I have already posted the following query at "JAdmin" mailing list; but
>> I am
>> > not sure as to which mailing list is the appropriate one.
>> >
>> > Anyhow, since my query refers to a very conceptual doubt, I am posting
>> this
>> > here as well, to avoid any delay. I am sorry if I sound too desperate,
>> but
>> > the answer to the following query is indispensable; only then can I
>> decide
>> > on the go/no-go for the design.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> #######################################################################################################
>> > There are two users Bob and Alice. Each of Bob and Alice have setup a
>> WebDAV
>> > server on their local machines over SSL, and listen on port 443. In a
>> normal
>> > environment, Bob is able to access Alice's share by typing "https://
>> <Alice's
>> > IP Address>/webdav". Alice is able to the same.
>> >
>> > Next, both Alice and Bob log onto a Jabber server set up by their common
>> > friend Tom; and the only way they can communicate is via Jabber. They
>> still
>> > want to make their shares available to each other; and wish for the
>> simplest
>> > way to do it - via their browser. So, can Tom configure his Jabber
>> server in
>> > a manner, so as to allow Bob and Alice to access each other's WebDAV
>> shares'
>> > via their respective browsers?
>> >
>> #######################################################################################################
>> >
>> >
>> > Looking forward to a reply.
>> >
>> >
>> > Thanks and Regards,
>> > Ajay
>>
>> So your problem basically boils down to a reverse HTTP(S) proxy,
>> tunneling over XMPP. You are probably considering XMPP to avoid
>> worrying about IP addresses and firewalls, and trying to expose local
>> services to contacts.
>>
>> Possible? Sure. But note, at a minimum you'll need a custom client,
>> and a custom server (or server plugin), since nothing supports your
>> use-case out of the box.
>>
>> Here's how I might do this:
>>
>> I'm assuming Tom's server is public (not behind a firewall, can accept
>> connections). I'm assuming Alice's server is behind a NAT/firewall, so
>> can't accept direct connections. I'm also assuming you want large file
>> transfer support.
>>
>> Alice is running a local httpd. Alice's client will open a TCP stream
>> to Tom's server, and a TCP stream to the local httpd, and then will
>> act as a dumb proxy between these connections. This is fairly simple.
>> You can probably use some existing HTTP proxy codebase. The client
>> initiates the connections when it receives a signal over XMPP from the
>> server. There can be multiple connections at the same time.
>>
>> On the server end, it's a bit more complicated. Take an existing HTTP
>> proxy codebase. Then you need to modify its connection opening logic
>> to signal the appropriate client via the XMPP server, which opens a
>> reverse connection to the server proxy. Then that connection can be
>> used for proxying as normal.
>>
>> Here's how it would flow:
>>
>> 1. Bob requests http://tom.com/webdav/alice/ using his web browser
>> 2. Tom's server signals Alice's client
>> 3. Alice's client connects to Tom's server and local server
>> 4. Tom's server forwards request to Alice's server via Alice's client
>> 5. Bob gets response from Alice's server via the two proxies
>>
>> Why use XMPP for this? For signalling, authentication, persistent
>> connections, and other various features XMPP has standardized.
>>
>> Why not transfer data over XMPP itself? That would be much simpler,
>> but large file transfers would be highly inefficient, so we open
>> separate connections for the HTTP tunneling.
>>
>> --
>> Waqas Hussain
>> _______________________________________________
>> JDev mailing list
>> Info: http://mail.jabber.org/mailman/listinfo/jdev
>> Unsubscribe: JDev-unsubscribe at jabber.org
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://www.jabber.org/jdev/attachments/20120328/f2f07d13/attachment.html>