Protocol Design Principles
When building networked systems, you often need custom protocols or must extend existing ones. This chapter covers principles for designing protocols that are robust, evolvable, and performant.
Design Considerations
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Protocol Design Questions │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Communication Pattern: │
│ Request-response? Streaming? Pub-sub? Full-duplex? │
│ │
│ Reliability Requirements: │
│ Every message must arrive? Some loss acceptable? │
│ │
│ Latency Requirements: │
│ Real-time? Best-effort? Batch acceptable? │
│ │
│ Message Size: │
│ Small fixed? Variable? Very large? │
│ │
│ Security: │
│ Authentication? Encryption? Integrity? │
│ │
│ Compatibility: │
│ Must work with existing systems? Future evolution? │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Key Topics
- Versioning Strategies: How to evolve protocols over time
- Backwards Compatibility: Supporting old and new clients
- Performance Considerations: Optimizing for speed and efficiency