Nirvana Comet Communication Protocols

Nirvana supports Comet and WebSocket over two Comet Communication Protocols.

Streaming Comet, Long Polling or WebSocket

The Nirvana Comet API supports several both streaming and long polling Comet or WebSocket communications. A developer can select which method to use when starting a session with the JavaScript API.

Communication Protocols

HTTPS Protocol (https)

The Nirvana Comet HTTPS (SSL-encrypted HTTP) Protocol is a lightweight web-based protocol, optimized for communication over web infrastructure such as client or server-side firewalls and proxy servers.

This protocol simplifies communication between Nirvana Clients and Realms running behind single or multiple firewall layers or on private address range (NAT) networks. There is no requirement for an additional web server, proxy, servlet engine or port redirector on your firewall to take advantage of the flexibility that the Nirvana HTTPS Protocol offers.

The protocol is fully SSL-encrypted and also supports the use of HTTP proxy servers, with or without proxy user authentication.


HTTPS Protocol (https)

HTTP Protocol (http)

The Nirvana Comet HTTP Protocol is a lightweight web-based protocol, supporting communication through proxies and firewalls at the client or server end of the network.

This protocol provides the same functionality as the Nirvana Comet HTTPS protocol, but without SSL encrypted communications.


HTTP Protocol (http)

Recommendation

We generally recommend the HTTPS Protocol (https) for Nirvana Comet clients, as this is both securely encrypted and easy to use.

RNAMEs

The RNAME used by a Nirvana Comet Client to connect to a Nirvana Realm server will automatically default to the same protocol/host/port as the web server from which an applicaiton is served, unless overriden by the developer when starting a session.

Note that a Nirvana realm can have multiple network interfaces, each supporting any combination of Native and Comet communication protocols.