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WebRTC Connection Setup

How to establish reliable P2P connections using WebRTC.

Challenge​

Setting up WebRTC connections between browsers requires handling signaling, ICE candidates, and connection negotiation.

What I Tried​

  1. Simple WebSocket Signaling: Used a lightweight signaling server to exchange connection info
  2. STUN Server Configuration: Configured public STUN servers for NAT traversal
  3. Connection State Management: Implemented proper state handling for connection lifecycle

What Worked​

  • Using multiple STUN servers improved connection success rate
  • Implementing connection timeout and retry logic made it more reliable
  • QR code for signaling info exchange simplified the pairing process

What Didn't Work​

  • Initially tried without STUN servers - failed on different networks
  • Complex UI for manual connection info exchange - too cumbersome

Conclusion​

WebRTC setup is straightforward once you understand the signaling flow. The key is having a simple signaling mechanism and proper STUN/TURN server configuration.

If I Were to Do It Again​

Would implement TURN server fallback for corporate networks with strict firewall rules.