CloudServices/Notifications

Project

• Engineers
  • Alex Amariutei
  • Shane da Silva
  • Toby Elliot
  • Philipp von Weitershausen
• Meeting Notes

Goals

• Push notifications from the cloud to the browser and other 3rd party clients (e.g. phones)
  • receive notification of new email, eBay auction ending, new FB message, etc. without the need to have the tab open
  • possibly client-to-client in the future, e.g. open this tab on my mobile phone, pull-sync, etc.
• Messages are encrypted so that the service provider (Mozilla) does not get to read them (like Sync)
• People should be able to run their own service (like Sync)
• Must be super easy for web apps to implement (adoption!)

Milestones

First prototype and research phase (End of Jan 2011)

• First prototype
  • Server: simple Python app
  • Client: use HTTP long polling
  • No encryption
  • Server code at XXX
  • Client code at XXX
• Research messaging protocols (XMPP and AMQP)
• Decide on protocol + technology
  • protocol: AMQP
  • RabbitMQ broker + REST agents in Python

Second prototype using AMQP (End of Feb 2011)

• Develop system specification
  • Notifications client API (AMQP + REST)
  • Web app facing REST API
• Second prototype
  • Client: (partially) implement AMQP client protocol for Firefox
  • Server: Set up RabbitMQ broker, implement client + web app facing agents
  • Assume users have Sync accounts
  • Encryption: TBD
  • Client code at XXX
  • Server code at XXX

Proof of concept (End of Apr 2011)

• Incorporate input from
  • Brian Smith (crypto)
  • UX team
  • Ragavan (PM)
• Provide experimental add-on
• Basis for integration into Firefox