WTransport

WebTransport protocol, pure-rust, async-friendly.

Introduction

WebTransport is a new protocol being developed to enable low-latency, bidirectional communication between clients and servers over the web. It aims to address the limitations of existing protocols like HTTP and WebSocket by offering a more efficient and flexible transport layer.

Benefits of WebTransport

• Low latency: WebTransport is designed to minimize latency, making it suitable for real-time applications such as gaming, video streaming, and collaborative editing.
• Bidirectional communication: WebTransport allows simultaneous data exchange between the client and server, enabling efficient back-and-forth communication without the need for multiple requests.
• Multiplexing: With WebTransport, multiple streams can be multiplexed over a single connection, reducing overhead and improving performance.
• Security: WebTransport benefits from the security features provided by the web platform, including transport encryption and same-origin policy.

Notes

Please be aware that WebTransport is still a draft and not yet standardized. The WTransport library, while functional, is not considered completely production-ready. It should be used with caution and may undergo changes as the WebTransport specification evolves.

Simple API

async fn server() -> Result<(), Error> {
    let config = ServerConfig::builder()
        .with_bind_address(SocketAddr::new(Ipv6Addr::LOCALHOST.into(), 4433))
        .with_certificate(Certificate::load("cert.pem", "key.pem")?);

    let server = Endpoint::server(config)?;

    println!("Waiting for incoming connections...");
    loop {    
        let connecting = server.accept().await?;
        
        tokio::spawn(async move {
           println!("New connection");
           let connection = connecting.await?;
           let stream = connection.accept_bi().await?
           // ...
        });
    }
}

Getting Started

0. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/BiagioFesta/wtransport.git

cd wtransport/

1. Generate TLS Certificate

cargo run --example gencert

This will generate cert.pem and key.pem in the current working directory.

Moreover, the program will also output the fingerprint of the certificate. Something like this:

Certificate generated
Fingerprint: OjyqTe//WoGnvBrgiO37tkOQJyuN1r7hhyBzwX0gotg=

Take note of the fingerprint: you will need it for making the client verify the certificate.

2. Run Example Server

cargo run --example server

3. Run Client on Browser

Latest versions of Google Chrome started supporting some implementations of the protocol.

Generated certificate is self-signed and it cannot be directly accepted via browser at the moment. In order to allow the local certificate you need to launch Google Chrome with two additional options.

google-chrome \
  --origin-to-force-quic-on=localhost:4433 \
  --ignore-certificate-errors-spki-list=FINGERPRINT

Where FINGERPRINT is the value obtained at step 1. For instance, OjyqTe//WoGnvBrgiO37tkOQJyuN1r7hhyBzwX0gotg=.

4. Connect to the Server

Open the website https://webtransport.day/ on Google Chrome instace. Use the URL: https://localhost:4433, and click on Connect.

Enjoy.