[Standards-JIG] An XMPP Race Condition most Vexing

[Matthias Wimmer]

Hi Chris!

Chris Mullins schrieb:
> In the XMPP world, we already see this sometimes:
> - Two users exchange presence subscriptions over an s2s link. 
> - during that exchange, server2 goes down, but server 1 has already sent the message. 
> - Server 1 will never resend the message. Server 2 will never process the message.
> - How often do we see goofed up Roster Items as a result of this? Pretty often, if my jabber.org roster is any indication.

If you see this that often, you may be using the wrong software on the
server. ;)
In jabberd14 these problems are solved and subscription states are
syncronized automatically without the need of the other server to have
support for that.

I think I described how this works about a year ago. (Short: if you
receive a presence probe, but the probing sender is not subscribed, then
send unsubscribed; if you receive a presence stanza you are not
interested in, then send unsubscribe.)

(BTW: When implementing this algorithm do not only check against the
user's roster, but also against the directed presences a user has sent,
else you get problems with conferencing. - Also take care that you
handle non-existant users the same as users without a subscription, else
you get vulnerable to a dictionary attack.)


Tot kijk
    Matthias

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