documentation/specification/protocols.txt

i-scream Protocols
==================

Contents
--------
 - Conventions

 - Host Connection Protocol
 - Host Heartbeat Protocol
 - Host Data Protocol

 - Client Control Protocol
 - Client Data Protocol


Conventions
-----------
All protocols in this document assume a valid connection of
the appropriate type has been made, and that data streams
are already available.  All strings should, and will be,
terminated with a \n (newline character) to indicate the end
of the message.  All messages are sent as ASCII Strings.

Fixed protocol messages will appear in [] brackets, if there
is a variety of options they will be separated with the |
character.  For example:

    [OK|ERROR]
   
Indicates that the message "OK" OR the message "ERROR" will
be sent depending on the result of the last action.

Data messages will appear in {} brackets, where the name in
the brackets indicates the type (as in kind, not data type)
of data that will be returned.  For example:

    {lastmodified}

Indicates that data for use as 'last modified' will be 
returned.   

If [ERROR] is sent back at any time, this indicates that all 
communication is over. EXCEPT where otherwise specified!


Host Connection Protocol
------------------------
The initial connection of a host to the i-scream server is
through the FilterManager.  A Host gets its configuration
and then gets assigned a Filter to connect to and start
sending data.

The port number of the FilterManager is fully configurable,
however the default at this time is 4567.

Host         (direction) Server         Comment
------------------------------------------------------------
[STARTCONFIG]---------->                Requests to start
                                        receiving config
                                        information
            
             <---------- [OK|ERROR]     If the server ok's
                                        the request or not

[LASTMODIFIED]---------->               Asks when the config
                                        was last modified
                                        (used when checking
                                        if the config has
                                        changed)
            
             <---------- [{lastmodified}Returns a long int
                         |ERROR]        time since epoch
                                        eg, 123456789

[FILELIST]   ---------->                Asks the server for
                                        the list of files
                                        that were used to
                                        build the config
                                        (used when checking
                                        if the config has
                                        changed)
       
             <---------- [{filelist}    Returns a semi-colon
                         |ERROR]        separated list of
                                        filenames
                                        eg,
                                        a.conf;b.conf;c.conf

             ********** LOOP START **********
             This loop reads configuration
             properties from the config

[{property}] ---------->                Sends the name of a
                                        property to be
                                        retrieved from the
                                        config file
                                        eg, UDPUpdateTime
            
             <---------- [{value}|ERROR]Returns the value of
                                        the requested config
                                        property
                                        eg, 120
                                        If it is unable to
                                        find the requested
                                        property it returns
                                        ERROR to indicate
                                        that fact, but 
                                        communication still 
                                        proceeds
                                       
             ********** LOOP UNTIL **********
             The loop continues until the host
             sends the following message
            
[ENDCONFIG]  ---------->                Indicates that the
                                        host requires no
                                        more config
            
             ********** LOOP  END **********
             Communication continues
            
             <---------- [OK]           Indicates that the
                                        server is ready to
                                        proceed
                                       
[FILTER]     ---------->                Asks the server to
                                        send it the host
                                        information of a
                                        filter that it
                                        should connect to
                                       
             <---------- {filter}       Returns a semi-colon
                                        separated list of
                                        FQDN hostname, UDP
                                        port number and TCP
                                        port number that a
                                        configured Filter is
                                        running on and
                                        assigned to the
                                        calling host
                                        eg,
                                        raptor.ukc.ac.uk;
                                        1234;5678

[END]        ---------->                Indicates to the
                                        server that the host
                                        has finished an will
                                        disconnect
            
             <---------- [OK|ERROR]     Indicates that the
                                        server is either ok
                                        or that it thought
                                        there was an error
<<<<<<< protocols.txt
------------------------------------------------------------

=======
       
>>>>>>> 1.2
Host Heartbeat Protocol
-----------------------
When a host is configured after it has connected it should
obtain a property TCPUpdateTime.  This indicates how often
a host should send a "Heart Beat", which is a pro-active
connection to the server by the host to indicate that it is
still alive.  This "Heart Beat" also allows a host to see
its configuration has changed and act accordingly.  In a
well written host this should just be a case of dropping out
of a loop and heading back to the start (connecting to the
filter manager).

Host            (direction) Server      Comment
------------------------------------------------------------
[HEARTBEAT]     ---------->             Starts the
                                        heartbeat protocol
                                        off
                                       
                <---------- [OK|ERROR]  Indicates that the
                                        server is ok or not

[CONFIG]        ---------->             Indicates that the
                                        host wants to check
                                        its config

                <---------- [OK|ERROR]  Indicates that the
                                        server is ok or not

[{filelist}]    ---------->             Send a semi-colon
                                        separated list of
                                        filenames
                                        eg,
                                        a.conf;b.conf;c.conf
                                        This should be
                                        identical to the one
                                        received in the
                                        connection protocol

                <---------- [OK]        Indicates that the
                                        server is ok

[{lastmodified}]---------->             Returns a long int
                                        time since epoch
                                        eg, 123456789
                                        This should be
                                        identical to the one
                                        received in the
                                        connection protocol

                <---------- [OK|ERROR]  The server then
                                        checks all the files
                                        in the file list to
                                        see if they have
                                        been modified more
                                        recently than the
                                        lastmodified value.
                                        If they HAVE that
                                        indicates that the
                                        configuration has
                                        changed and the host
                                        should re-configure,
                                        thus it sends ERROR.
                                        If the files remain
                                        unchanged the server
                                        will return OK to
                                        indicate the host
                                        should continue as
                                        before

[ENDHEARTBEAT]  ---------->             Indicates to the
                                        server that the host
                                        has finished an will
                                        disconnect
               
                <---------- [OK|ERROR]  Indicates that the
                                        server is either ok
                                        or that it thought
                                        there was an error
------------------------------------------------------------

Host Data Protocol
------------------
The UDP data packets that are sent by the host contain
simply XML data.  For information on the format of this
data see the XML via UDP specification document at:

http://www.i-scream.org.uk/cgi-bin/docs.cgi?doc=specification/xml_via_udp.txt

Client Control Protocol
-----------------------

The client control protocol channel is opened by the client
and allows a variety of actions to be carried out by the
client at anytime.  Unlike previous protocols, this is NOT
sequential, all of the requests can be carried out in 
any order.

All client protocols are backwards compatible, and the
version is shown by the protocol identifier.

There are three sections to this protocol.

1) Initialise (sent only at start)
2) Send command(s) - unlimited number in any order
3) Disconnect (sent only at end)

If at anytime the client sends something the server does
not understand, an [ERROR] will be sent

All are indicated with <> brackets.

v1.0 - Protocol identifier: "PROTOCOL 1.0" (without quotes)
       Supported commands:
            STARTCONFIG
            STARTDATA
            STOPDATA

Host         (direction) Server         Comment
------------------------------------------------------------
<initialise>
[CONNECT]    ---------->                Starts off the 
                                        client protocol
             
             <---------- [{protocol}]   The server sends the
                                        protocol identifier
                                        
[{name}]     ---------->                The client sends its
                                        "name".  This name
                                        is used to identify
                                        the type of client
                                        to the system and
                                        obtain its config
                                        eg, Conient
             
             <---------- [OK]           Indicates the server
                                        is ok to proceed
                        

<command #1> (allows client to obtain its configuration)
[STARTCONFIG]---------->                Tell the server we
                                        want to start this
                                        command
             
             <---------- [OK]           Indicates the server
                                        is ok to proceed
             
             ********** LOOP START **********
             This loop reads configuration
             properties from the config

[{property}] ---------->                Sends the name of a
                                        property to be
                                        retrieved from the
                                        config file
                                        Clients can obtain
                                        host information
                                        eg, 
                                        Host.UDPUpdateTime
                                        Otherwise it must
                                        prefix requests
                                        with "Client."
                                        All other requests
                                        will be ignored as
                                        if it was unable to
                                        retieve the property
                                        
             <---------- [{value}|ERROR]Returns the value of
                                        the requested config
                                        property
                                        eg, 120
                                        If it is unable to
                                        find the requested 
                                        property it returns
                                        ERROR to indicate
                                        that fact
                                        
             ********** LOOP UNTIL **********
             The loop continues until the client
             sends the following message
             
[ENDCONFIG]  ---------->                Indicates that the 
                                        client requires no
                                        more config
             
             ********** LOOP  END **********
             Communication continues
             
             <---------- [OK]           Indicates that the
                                        server is ready to
                                        proceed

<command #2> (tells the server to start the data link)
[STARTDATA]  ---------->                Tell the server we
                                        want to start this
                                        command
            
             <---------- [{portnumber}  The server then sets
                         |ERROR]        itself listening for
                                        a connection on its
                                        data link socket for
                                        this client.  It
                                        returns the port no.
                                        that it is listening
                                        on eg, 12367
                                        If the data link is
                                        yet to be started
                                        the server will
                                        return ERROR
             
             <---------- [OK]           Indicates the server
                                        is ok to proceed and
                                        the client can 
                                        then connect its
                                        data link

<command #3> (tells the server to stop the data link)
[STOPDATA]   ---------->                Tell the server we
                                        want to start this
                                        command
                                        The server then
                                        shuts down the 
                                        data link to the
                                        client

             <---------- [OK|ERROR]     Returns OK is the
                                        server is ready to
                                        proceed, or ERROR
                                        if the data link
                                        was not open in the
                                        first place

<disconnect>
[DISCONNECT] ---------->                Tells the server the
                                        client wants to
                                        close the control
                                        link
                                        
             <---------- [OK]           The last word from
                                        the server, it will
                                        disappear after this
------------------------------------------------------------

v1.1 - Protocol identifier: "PROTOCOL 1.1" (without quotes)
       Supported commands:
            SETHOSTLIST

Host         (direction) Server         Comment
------------------------------------------------------------
<command #4> (indicates to the server which hosts the client
              wants data from)
[SETHOSTLIST]---------->                Tell the server we
                                        want to start this
                                        command
             
             <---------- [OK|ERROR]     The server will
                                        return an ERROR if
                                        the data link is
                                        open, as a host list
                                        must ONLY be set 
                                        if the data link is
                                        closed
                                        If the server is
                                        ok to proceed with
                                        the command it says
                                        [OK]

[{hostlist}] ---------->                This is a semi-colon
                                        seperated list of
                                        FQDN hostnames that
                                        the client wishes to
                                        recieve data from
                                        eg,
        raptor.ukc.ac.uk;killigrew.ukc.ac.uk;chalk.ukc.ac.uk
                                        
                                        If the list is sent
                                        blank (or if no list
                                        is set at all) then
                                        data from ALL hosts
                                        will be sent to the
                                        client
                                        
             <---------- [OK]           Indicates the server
                                        is ok to proceed and
                                        the host list has 
                                        been accepted
------------------------------------------------------------

Client Data Protocol
--------------------
Once the data link has been opened by the control link, the
server will send XML formated data packets seperated by the 
\n (newline) character.  For information on the format of 
this data see the XML via UDP specification document at:

http://www.i-scream.org.uk/cgi-bin/docs.cgi?doc=specification/xml_via_udp.txt

About
-----
This document was written by AJ Moore [ajm4@ukc.ac.uk] for
use by the team working on a 3rd year Computer Science
project called "i-scream". More details can be found on the
project website;

http://www.i-scream.org.uk
Revision:	1.4
Committed:	Sun Jan 28 20:16:19 2001 UTC (23 years, 3 months ago) by ajm
Content type:	text/plain
Branch:	MAIN
Changes since 1.3:	+2 -4 lines
Log Message:	changed links as they didn't work
#	Content
1	i-scream Protocols
2	==================
3
4	Contents
5	--------
6	- Conventions
7
8	- Host Connection Protocol
9	- Host Heartbeat Protocol
10	- Host Data Protocol
11
12	- Client Control Protocol
13	- Client Data Protocol
14
15
16	Conventions
17	-----------
18	All protocols in this document assume a valid connection of
19	the appropriate type has been made, and that data streams
20	are already available. All strings should, and will be,
21	terminated with a \n (newline character) to indicate the end
22	of the message. All messages are sent as ASCII Strings.
23
24	Fixed protocol messages will appear in [] brackets, if there
25	is a variety of options they will be separated with the \|
26	character. For example:
27
28	[OK\|ERROR]
29
30	Indicates that the message "OK" OR the message "ERROR" will
31	be sent depending on the result of the last action.
32
33	Data messages will appear in {} brackets, where the name in
34	the brackets indicates the type (as in kind, not data type)
35	of data that will be returned. For example:
36
37	{lastmodified}
38
39	Indicates that data for use as 'last modified' will be
40	returned.
41
42	If [ERROR] is sent back at any time, this indicates that all
43	communication is over. EXCEPT where otherwise specified!
44
45
46	Host Connection Protocol
47	------------------------
48	The initial connection of a host to the i-scream server is
49	through the FilterManager. A Host gets its configuration
50	and then gets assigned a Filter to connect to and start
51	sending data.
52
53	The port number of the FilterManager is fully configurable,
54	however the default at this time is 4567.
55
56	Host (direction) Server Comment
57	------------------------------------------------------------
58	[STARTCONFIG]----------> Requests to start
59	receiving config
60	information
61
62	<---------- [OK\|ERROR] If the server ok's
63	the request or not
64
65	[LASTMODIFIED]----------> Asks when the config
66	was last modified
67	(used when checking
68	if the config has
69	changed)
70
71	<---------- [{lastmodified}Returns a long int
72	\|ERROR] time since epoch
73	eg, 123456789
74
75	[FILELIST] ----------> Asks the server for
76	the list of files
77	that were used to
78	build the config
79	(used when checking
80	if the config has
81	changed)
82
83	<---------- [{filelist} Returns a semi-colon
84	\|ERROR] separated list of
85	filenames
86	eg,
87	a.conf;b.conf;c.conf
88
89	******** LOOP START ********
90	This loop reads configuration
91	properties from the config
92
93	[{property}] ----------> Sends the name of a
94	property to be
95	retrieved from the
96	config file
97	eg, UDPUpdateTime
98
99	<---------- [{value}\|ERROR]Returns the value of
100	the requested config
101	property
102	eg, 120
103	If it is unable to
104	find the requested
105	property it returns
106	ERROR to indicate
107	that fact, but
108	communication still
109	proceeds
110
111	******** LOOP UNTIL ********
112	The loop continues until the host
113	sends the following message
114
115	[ENDCONFIG] ----------> Indicates that the
116	host requires no
117	more config
118
119	******** LOOP END ********
120	Communication continues
121
122	<---------- [OK] Indicates that the
123	server is ready to
124	proceed
125
126	[FILTER] ----------> Asks the server to
127	send it the host
128	information of a
129	filter that it
130	should connect to
131
132	<---------- {filter} Returns a semi-colon
133	separated list of
134	FQDN hostname, UDP
135	port number and TCP
136	port number that a
137	configured Filter is
138	running on and
139	assigned to the
140	calling host
141	eg,
142	raptor.ukc.ac.uk;
143	1234;5678
144
145	[END] ----------> Indicates to the
146	server that the host
147	has finished an will
148	disconnect
149
150	<---------- [OK\|ERROR] Indicates that the
151	server is either ok
152	or that it thought
153	there was an error
154	<<<<<<< protocols.txt
155	------------------------------------------------------------
156
157	=======
158
159	>>>>>>> 1.2
160	Host Heartbeat Protocol
161	-----------------------
162	When a host is configured after it has connected it should
163	obtain a property TCPUpdateTime. This indicates how often
164	a host should send a "Heart Beat", which is a pro-active
165	connection to the server by the host to indicate that it is
166	still alive. This "Heart Beat" also allows a host to see
167	its configuration has changed and act accordingly. In a
168	well written host this should just be a case of dropping out
169	of a loop and heading back to the start (connecting to the
170	filter manager).
171
172	Host (direction) Server Comment
173	------------------------------------------------------------
174	[HEARTBEAT] ----------> Starts the
175	heartbeat protocol
176	off
177
178	<---------- [OK\|ERROR] Indicates that the
179	server is ok or not
180
181	[CONFIG] ----------> Indicates that the
182	host wants to check
183	its config
184
185	<---------- [OK\|ERROR] Indicates that the
186	server is ok or not
187
188	[{filelist}] ----------> Send a semi-colon
189	separated list of
190	filenames
191	eg,
192	a.conf;b.conf;c.conf
193	This should be
194	identical to the one
195	received in the
196	connection protocol
197
198	<---------- [OK] Indicates that the
199	server is ok
200
201	[{lastmodified}]----------> Returns a long int
202	time since epoch
203	eg, 123456789
204	This should be
205	identical to the one
206	received in the
207	connection protocol
208
209	<---------- [OK\|ERROR] The server then
210	checks all the files
211	in the file list to
212	see if they have
213	been modified more
214	recently than the
215	lastmodified value.
216	If they HAVE that
217	indicates that the
218	configuration has
219	changed and the host
220	should re-configure,
221	thus it sends ERROR.
222	If the files remain
223	unchanged the server
224	will return OK to
225	indicate the host
226	should continue as
227	before
228
229	[ENDHEARTBEAT] ----------> Indicates to the
230	server that the host
231	has finished an will
232	disconnect
233
234	<---------- [OK\|ERROR] Indicates that the
235	server is either ok
236	or that it thought
237	there was an error
238	------------------------------------------------------------
239
240	Host Data Protocol
241	------------------
242	The UDP data packets that are sent by the host contain
243	simply XML data. For information on the format of this
244	data see the XML via UDP specification document at:
245
246	http://www.i-scream.org.uk/cgi-bin/docs.cgi?doc=specification/xml_via_udp.txt
247
248	Client Control Protocol
249	-----------------------
250
251	The client control protocol channel is opened by the client
252	and allows a variety of actions to be carried out by the
253	client at anytime. Unlike previous protocols, this is NOT
254	sequential, all of the requests can be carried out in
255	any order.
256
257	All client protocols are backwards compatible, and the
258	version is shown by the protocol identifier.
259
260	There are three sections to this protocol.
261
262	1) Initialise (sent only at start)
263	2) Send command(s) - unlimited number in any order
264	3) Disconnect (sent only at end)
265
266	If at anytime the client sends something the server does
267	not understand, an [ERROR] will be sent
268
269	All are indicated with <> brackets.
270
271	v1.0 - Protocol identifier: "PROTOCOL 1.0" (without quotes)
272	Supported commands:
273	STARTCONFIG
274	STARTDATA
275	STOPDATA
276
277	Host (direction) Server Comment
278	------------------------------------------------------------
279	<initialise>
280	[CONNECT] ----------> Starts off the
281	client protocol
282
283	<---------- [{protocol}] The server sends the
284	protocol identifier
285
286	[{name}] ----------> The client sends its
287	"name". This name
288	is used to identify
289	the type of client
290	to the system and
291	obtain its config
292	eg, Conient
293
294	<---------- [OK] Indicates the server
295	is ok to proceed
296
297
298	<command #1> (allows client to obtain its configuration)
299	[STARTCONFIG]----------> Tell the server we
300	want to start this
301	command
302
303	<---------- [OK] Indicates the server
304	is ok to proceed
305
306	******** LOOP START ********
307	This loop reads configuration
308	properties from the config
309
310	[{property}] ----------> Sends the name of a
311	property to be
312	retrieved from the
313	config file
314	Clients can obtain
315	host information
316	eg,
317	Host.UDPUpdateTime
318	Otherwise it must
319	prefix requests
320	with "Client."
321	All other requests
322	will be ignored as
323	if it was unable to
324	retieve the property
325
326	<---------- [{value}\|ERROR]Returns the value of
327	the requested config
328	property
329	eg, 120
330	If it is unable to
331	find the requested
332	property it returns
333	ERROR to indicate
334	that fact
335
336	******** LOOP UNTIL ********
337	The loop continues until the client
338	sends the following message
339
340	[ENDCONFIG] ----------> Indicates that the
341	client requires no
342	more config
343
344	******** LOOP END ********
345	Communication continues
346
347	<---------- [OK] Indicates that the
348	server is ready to
349	proceed
350
351	<command #2> (tells the server to start the data link)
352	[STARTDATA] ----------> Tell the server we
353	want to start this
354	command
355
356	<---------- [{portnumber} The server then sets
357	\|ERROR] itself listening for
358	a connection on its
359	data link socket for
360	this client. It
361	returns the port no.
362	that it is listening
363	on eg, 12367
364	If the data link is
365	yet to be started
366	the server will
367	return ERROR
368
369	<---------- [OK] Indicates the server
370	is ok to proceed and
371	the client can
372	then connect its
373	data link
374
375	<command #3> (tells the server to stop the data link)
376	[STOPDATA] ----------> Tell the server we
377	want to start this
378	command
379	The server then
380	shuts down the
381	data link to the
382	client
383
384	<---------- [OK\|ERROR] Returns OK is the
385	server is ready to
386	proceed, or ERROR
387	if the data link
388	was not open in the
389	first place
390
391	<disconnect>
392	[DISCONNECT] ----------> Tells the server the
393	client wants to
394	close the control
395	link
396
397	<---------- [OK] The last word from
398	the server, it will
399	disappear after this
400	------------------------------------------------------------
401
402	v1.1 - Protocol identifier: "PROTOCOL 1.1" (without quotes)
403	Supported commands:
404	SETHOSTLIST
405
406	Host (direction) Server Comment
407	------------------------------------------------------------
408	<command #4> (indicates to the server which hosts the client
409	wants data from)
410	[SETHOSTLIST]----------> Tell the server we
411	want to start this
412	command
413
414	<---------- [OK\|ERROR] The server will
415	return an ERROR if
416	the data link is
417	open, as a host list
418	must ONLY be set
419	if the data link is
420	closed
421	If the server is
422	ok to proceed with
423	the command it says
424	[OK]
425
426	[{hostlist}] ----------> This is a semi-colon
427	seperated list of
428	FQDN hostnames that
429	the client wishes to
430	recieve data from
431	eg,
432	raptor.ukc.ac.uk;killigrew.ukc.ac.uk;chalk.ukc.ac.uk
433
434	If the list is sent
435	blank (or if no list
436	is set at all) then
437	data from ALL hosts
438	will be sent to the
439	client
440
441	<---------- [OK] Indicates the server
442	is ok to proceed and
443	the host list has
444	been accepted
445	------------------------------------------------------------
446
447	Client Data Protocol
448	--------------------
449	Once the data link has been opened by the control link, the
450	server will send XML formated data packets seperated by the
451	\n (newline) character. For information on the format of
452	this data see the XML via UDP specification document at:
453
454	http://www.i-scream.org.uk/cgi-bin/docs.cgi?doc=specification/xml_via_udp.txt
455
456	About
457	-----
458	This document was written by AJ Moore [ajm4@ukc.ac.uk] for
459	use by the team working on a 3rd year Computer Science
460	project called "i-scream". More details can be found on the
461	project website;
462
463	http://www.i-scream.org.uk