Handling Network Issues
Dealing with NAT traversal and firewall challenges in P2P connections.
Challenge
P2P connections often fail due to NAT (Network Address Translation) and firewall restrictions, especially in corporate or mobile networks.
What I Tried
- Multiple STUN Servers: Configured fallback STUN servers
- Connection Diagnostics: Added logging to identify failure points
- User Feedback: Clear error messages when connection fails
What Worked
- Using Google's public STUN servers as primary with fallbacks
- Detecting connection failure early and showing helpful error messages
- Providing alternative methods (like manual IP entry) for advanced users
What Didn't Work
- Trying to automatically retry failed connections - just annoyed users
- Complex network diagnostics in the UI - too technical for most users
Conclusion
Not all network environments support P2P. It's better to fail gracefully with clear messaging than to keep retrying silently.
If I Were to Do It Again
Would implement a TURN server for relay as a last resort, even though it goes against the "no server storage" principle. The relay would only pass encrypted data without storing it.