Say “howdy” to Bonjour

The release of tiger provides apple with an excellent opportunity to promote two new features of its Bonjour Zeroconf (zero-configuration) networking technology: a new moniker and Windows support.

Bonjour got off to a rough start when someone who probably doesn’t work for Apple anymore picked the name “Rendezvous.” The problem was that Tibco had been using that name since 1994. Despite that less-than-auspicious beginning, major printing vendors — including Epson, HP, Lexmark, and Xerox — have all embraced Bonjour, as have some manufacturers of personal media devices.

At first glance, the Windows support isn’t much. The Bonjour for Windows package consists of a printer-discovery utility for networks built on AirPort wireless APs, and an IE plug-in that allows a Web browser to function in a Zeroconf environment for easier management of networked resources.

Why should IT care? After all, much of the push behind Zeroconf technologies has been made with home users in mind, with the goal of making device networking truly plug-and-play.

But Zeroconf networking has beneficial implications for business computing as well. If service architectures are to achieve their potential, service discovery has to be simple and transparent. Apple’s product line is easy to manage because an IT team can discover and manage devices (and some services, including Xgrid and Xsan) without having to maintain a DNS infrastructure on a dedicated management network. NetBIOS across IP performs similar functions today, but it’s a chattier and less secure protocol.

Apple’s extension of Bonjour to Windows — including the mDNS (Multicast DNS) and DNS-SD (DNS Service Discovery) protocols Bonjour implements — underscores the fact that Microsoft’s attempt to control Zeroconf networking is foundering.

Microsoft’s Zeroconf uses a heavyweight approach, defining services in the specification to the last jot and tittle. Though LLMNR (Link-Local Multicast Name Resolution) and UPnP (Universal Plug-and-Play) might have better support in the standards bodies, the protocols are more complicated to implement and troubleshoot in the real world.

Of course, UPnP will always have traction based on the sheer size of Microsoft’s developer community. But it’s hard to compete with the simplicity of Bonjour. After all, dynamic, service-advertising DNS is what makes Active Directory work. Apple’s decision to float Bonjour under the radar and focus on embedded personal services may well give its Zeroconf scheme the staying power necessary to survive.