Continue Prototyping with the Second Implementable Draft of HTTP/2.0 from IETF Standards Community
In my previous update, I announced the first HTTP/2.0 implementable draft from the HTTPbis Working Group at the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
Today, I’m pleased to share that the second HTTP/2.0 implementable draft is now available. This draft is next in a series of experimental implementations of HTTP/2.0 and the basis for a future round of interoperability testing at the fourth interim face-to-face meeting currently planned for October, hosted by Microsoft Open Technologies (MS Open Tech) in Bellevue. We are busy updating our Katana server prototype and HTTP/2.0 endpoints in preparation for this meeting.
Such rapid progress is possible because the HTTPbis working group has continued to meet frequently to accelerate the development of HTTP/2.0. I recently attended HTTP/2.0 related meetings in Germany with representatives from Microsoft, Gabriel Montenegro and Rob Trace.
HTTP/2.0 at IETF 87 in Berlin
Gabriel Montenegro presented an updated proposal for Known Startup State for HTTPS TLS Negotiation intended to reduce the complexity of HTTP/2.0 implementations by ensuring that the protocol starts in a known state on both the client and server. Based on the active discussion, additional approaches are currently being explored.
The related IETF 87 materials are available here - audio is available here in Part 1 and Part 2.
Application Layer Protocol Negotiation (ALPN) at IETF 87
The status of Application Layer Protocol Negotiation (ALPN) was reviewed at the Transport Layer Security (TLS) working group and subsequently entered the IETF Last-Call period. Microsoft is one of the co-authors of the draft which is required to support HTTP/2.0 secure negotiation.
HTTP/2 Third Interim Meeting
Following the IETF 87 meetings in Berlin, working group members took the train to Hamburg for our third interim face-to-face meeting from 8/1-8/3 at the Adobe offices. The primary focus was to share implementation experiences and perform interoperability testing for the first HTTP/2.0 implementable draft.
Prior to the meetings, MS Open Tech published the first “complete” server prototype implementation as well as HTTP/2.0 endpoints as part of its contribution to the group effort. This contribution was well-received and MS Open Tech worked closely with client implementers to successfully demonstrate simple interoperability at the meeting.
By offering the first HTTP/2.0 public endpoints with support for both Upgrade and ALPN negotiation, our intention was to simplify the development of client prototypes for the implementable draft. MS Open Tech is very appreciative of the feedback from members of the working group and will continue to improve our server prototype and support future implementable drafts.
The complete set of known HTTP/2.0 implementations is tracked on the HTTP/2.0 wiki.
The related meeting materials are available here:
The Future
The working group is meeting on a frequent basis to make progress on HTTP/2.0:
- 4th interim HTTP/2.0 meeting, October 9 – October 11 hosted by Microsoft Open Technologies, Inc. (with participation from Microsoft product groups) in Bellevue, WA
- IETF 88, November 3 – November 8 in Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Proposed 5th interim, January 2014 in Zurich, Switzerland
- IETF 89, March 2 – March 7 2014 in London, England
Representatives from Microsoft Corporation and Microsoft Open Technologies, Inc. plan on participating in these meetings and encourage the community to also attend and become more involved in defining the next generation of HTTP at the IETF. And remember, you can either start or continue prototyping with the second implementable draft of HTTP/2.0 from the IETF standards community today. Bring your HTTP/2.0 prototype to Bellevue in October!