On 28 Oct 2000, Bennett Todd <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I think you've got a plan that will not weaken rsync, and that will
> add some valuable security in some settings. It's nicely
> complementary to rsync-over-ssh. Those of us who use rsync-over-ssh
> haven't even figured out what the daemon mode is interesting for:-);
> you're answering the question. Actually, I do realize it's sexy for
> publishing access to file repositories, just hadn't had occasion to
> do that.
I'm not an expert in crypto, but I hope I know enough to know my
limitations. So I certainly am not claiming to design something as
secure as SSH, but rather something small and predictable.
The comments have been very helpful in checking the design and
deciding whether it's a good idea.
In the end, if rsync gains this feature:
X number of people will be able to use rsync when previously the work
to get integration with SSH was more than they cared to spend. (See
the other messages in this thread.)
Y number of people will now use encryption when previously (for
performance or simplicity reasons) they used unencrypted daemon mode.
Many other mirroring solutions aside from rsync don't use ssh-level
security: http mirroring, ftp, CVSup...
Z number of people will use stream cyphers when they really should be
using ssh, because there are active attackers on the network and the
data is security-critical. This despite that the documentation will
still recommend using SSH as a first choice.
So X+Y are better off, and Z are in trouble. If Z was a large number,
it'd be bad for the internet and bad for rsync's reputation. But on
the other hand Z are people who didn't read the documentation or
didn't think clearly about their requirements, and there is a limit to
how much programs can guard against pilot error.
Finally, as I said before this should be a rather small patch.
Redesigning the process structure of rsync could well be a good idea,
but it's a much more ambitious project.
--
Martin Pool, Linuxcare, Inc.
+61 2 6262 8990
[EMAIL PROTECTED], http://www.linuxcare.com/
Linuxcare. Support for the revolution.
PGP signature
