EmiratesMac - View Single Post

Magnus · 17th May 2007, 08:28

What is Bonjour?
by Magnus

Bonjour is Apple’s name for something called Zeroconf, short for Zero Configuration. It’s what’s referred to as a service discovery protocol and it’s widely used in Mac OS X and applications running in Mac OS X. Zeroconf technoloy is used by devices and software to enable them to automatically discover one another on a local network. This enables users to set up and configure networks and services without having to first set up servers.

Among the most common uses is for computers and printers to find one another and for computers to establish file sharing between one another. It is also used by common applications like iTunes to shared music, iPhoto to shared photos, iChat to chat, and more. Also, Safari uses Bonjour to see if there are any web servers on the local network. If we put it in simple terms, Bonjour makes it possible for computers and other devices connected to a network, to be automatically configured for that network, “see” each other, and connect and communicate. With traditional networking technology, a knowledgeable user had to configure the connection, set up special servers, like DHCP and DNS, or set up each computer’s network settings by hand, which is a tedious task. With Bonjour that’s not necessary because it automatically create a usable IP network without configuration or special servers. This allows non-expert users to connect computers, networked printers, and other items together and they should work automatically. This is a very Apple-like technology, making something complicated totally transparent to users. And really all Bonjour does is announce to the local network what devices and services are available, it doesn’t add any new services to your Mac, for example. Whatever networking services that are already enabled are with Bonjour more easily found by other devices and users. Something Bonjour doesn’t do is announce your Mac to the internet. Bonjour’s original nameback in 2002 was “Rendezvous”. In 2003 a company sued Apple for trademark infringement which led to a settlement in 2004 and in 2005 the new name was announcement. Another thing that’s really good is that Bonjour works on other operating systems than Mac OS X. Apple made the source code of the core components of Bonjour available as open source. From that users can build the required software to “speak” Bonjour for a wide range of platforms, including Mac OS 9, Linux, BSD, and Windows. In fact, Apple provides a user-installable set of services called Bonjour for Windows. You can read more about Bonjour on Apple’s web site (Apple - Mac OS X - Bonjour) where you can also download the Bonjour client for Windows (http://www.apple.com/support/downloa...rwindows.html).

17th May 2007, 08:28	#5 (permalink)
Magnus Administrator Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Dubai Posts: 8,328	What is Bonjour? What is Bonjour? by Magnus Bonjour is Apple’s name for something called Zeroconf, short for Zero Configuration. It’s what’s referred to as a service discovery protocol and it’s widely used in Mac OS X and applications running in Mac OS X. Zeroconf technoloy is used by devices and software to enable them to automatically discover one another on a local network. This enables users to set up and configure networks and services without having to first set up servers. Among the most common uses is for computers and printers to find one another and for computers to establish file sharing between one another. It is also used by common applications like iTunes to shared music, iPhoto to shared photos, iChat to chat, and more. Also, Safari uses Bonjour to see if there are any web servers on the local network. If we put it in simple terms, Bonjour makes it possible for computers and other devices connected to a network, to be automatically configured for that network, “see” each other, and connect and communicate. With traditional networking technology, a knowledgeable user had to configure the connection, set up special servers, like DHCP and DNS, or set up each computer’s network settings by hand, which is a tedious task. With Bonjour that’s not necessary because it automatically create a usable IP network without configuration or special servers. This allows non-expert users to connect computers, networked printers, and other items together and they should work automatically. This is a very Apple-like technology, making something complicated totally transparent to users. And really all Bonjour does is announce to the local network what devices and services are available, it doesn’t add any new services to your Mac, for example. Whatever networking services that are already enabled are with Bonjour more easily found by other devices and users. Something Bonjour doesn’t do is announce your Mac to the internet. Bonjour’s original nameback in 2002 was “Rendezvous”. In 2003 a company sued Apple for trademark infringement which led to a settlement in 2004 and in 2005 the new name was announcement. Another thing that’s really good is that Bonjour works on other operating systems than Mac OS X. Apple made the source code of the core components of Bonjour available as open source. From that users can build the required software to “speak” Bonjour for a wide range of platforms, including Mac OS 9, Linux, BSD, and Windows. In fact, Apple provides a user-installable set of services called Bonjour for Windows. You can read more about Bonjour on Apple’s web site (Apple - Mac OS X - Bonjour) where you can also download the Bonjour client for Windows (http://www.apple.com/support/downloa...rwindows.html).