User provided turn server use case

Typically the JS app code would provide a pointer to the TURN server(s) to use. However,  TURN servers are also used like SOCKS proxies for enterprise firewall traversal. In this case, you need the browser to be configured with a TURN server that the enterprise provides. This gets added to the list of TURN servers that the JS provided and ICE selects one that works. 

This gets used at some enterprises for data going out of the enterprise, but it can also be used for data coming in. For example, lots of universities provide a SOCKS proxy that allows authenticated users outside the university access services inside the university as if they were on campus. This often allows access to certain publication databases where the university has negotiated side wide access to the publication database. Similar things can be done here were all the users of the university have access to certain audio / video services. 

Practically speaking, this does not complicate implementations very much, it is just one more place to get a TURN server from.

Received on Tuesday, 30 August 2011 18:33:50 UTC