netstack.fm Protocol Shorts: HTTP as an Application Bus
episode 23 — Protocol Shorts: HTTP as an Application Bus.
This is the debut of our "Protocol Shorts" series: fast-paced, high-density conversations with one or more expert guests centered around a common theme. In the "HTTP as an application bus" episode, we’re breaking down the tunneling renaissance—specifically the clever 'protocol-within-a-protocol' hacks that are changing the game.
From hijacking H2 CONNECT to run full-duplex WebSockets, to the subtle ways we’re now nesting modern traffic inside older transports, we’re looking at how the network layer is being rewritten from the inside out.
Learn more:
- https://grpc.io — Official gRPC website.
- https://grpc.io/docs/platforms/web/ — Overview of gRPC Web
- https://github.com/hyperium/tonic — Tonic, the most popular gRPC implementation in Rust
- https://developers.google.com/protocol-buffers — Protocol Buffers documentation explaining the IDL, encoding, and ecosystem behind gRPC.
- https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7540 — HTTP/2 specification
- https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WebSockets_API — WebSockets API overview, including framing, duplex communication, and browser support.
- https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6455 — WebSocket protocol specification describing frames, ping pong, and connection upgrade.
Rama
If you like this podcast you might also like our modular network framework in Rust: https://ramaproxy.org
Chapters
- 00:00 Welcome Lucio, 1st guest of this protocol shorts episode
- 01:52 Understanding HTTP/2 and Metadata Frames
- 05:32 Limitations of gRPC Web and Client Streaming
- 08:28 Encoding Formats: Protobuf vs JSON
- 11:18 gRPC in Browser Contexts
- 14:16 The Future of gRPC with HTTP/3 and QUIC
- 18:03 Introduction to Brecht, 2nd guest of this episode
- 20:00 Understanding HTTP/2: Features and Use Cases
- 26:34 Custom Protocols Over HTTP/2
- 31:52 Exploring WebSockets: Basics and Applications
- 37:05 WebSockets: Advanced Use Cases and Multiplexing
- 41:40 Outro
More information: https://netstack.fm/#episode-23
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Music for this episode was composed by Dj Mailbox. Listen to his music at https://on.soundcloud.com/4MRyPSNj8FZoVGpytj