


                  Gnutella Generic Extension Protocol (GGEP)

                        Document Revision Version 0.51
                             Protocol Version 0.5
                               February 4, 2002
                     Jason Thomas (jason@jasonthomas.com)
                                        

Change History

 _____________________________________________________________________________
|Document_Revision|Protocol_Version|Date______|Changes________________________|
|                 |                |          |                               |
|                 |                |          |* This GGEP document has a     |
|                 |                |          |  revision number, the protocol|
|                 |                |          |  has a version number.  Both  |
|                 |                |          |  are listed in this table, and|
|                 |                |          |  the document header.  This   |
|                 |                |          |  distinction will permit      |
|0.51             |0.5             |02/4/2002 |  future cleanup of the        |
|                 |                |          |  document after the protocol  |
|                 |                |          |  has been approved.           |
|                 |                |          |* Minor documentation cleanup  |
|                 |                |          |* The section about using (not |
|                 |                |          |  the ability to use) GUIDs as |
|                 |                |          |  extension IDs removed.       |
|_________________|________________|__________|_______________________________|
|                 |                |          |                               |
|                 |                |          |* Flags completely redone      |
|                 |                |          |* IDs can only be between 1-15 |
|0.5              |0.5             |01/27/2002|  bytes                        |
|                 |                |          |* Connection Handshake Headers |
|                 |                |          |* Ping and Pong messages may   |
|                 |                |          |  now include GGEP blocks      |
|_________________|________________|__________|_______________________________|
|                 |                |          |                               |
|                 |                |          |* The fixed 2 byte length      |
|                 |                |          |  munging scheme has been      |
|                 |                |          |  replaced with a variable     |
|                 |                |          |  length scheme                |
|                 |                |          |* 1 byte extension IDs         |
|                 |                |          |  (approved ones), no longer   |
|                 |                |          |  use the extension ID length  |
|                 |                |          |  field, the field is omitted  |
|                 |                |          |  and this fact is communicated|
|                 |                |          |  in the extension flags       |
|                 |                |          |* Extensions with no payload no|
|0.4              |N/A             |01/15/2002|  longer need a data length    |
|                 |                |          |  field.  This state is        |
|                 |                |          |  indicated in the extension   |
|                 |                |          |  flags.                       |
|                 |                |          |* The extension prefix no      |
|                 |                |          |  longer contains the length of|
|                 |                |          |  the GGEP block.  Instead, a  |
|                 |                |          |  bit in the extension prefix  |
|                 |                |          |  indicates the prefix is the  |
|                 |                |          |  last one in the block.       |
|                 |                |          |* Push messages may now include|
|                 |                |          |  GGEP blocks                  |
|_________________|________________|__________|_______________________________|
|                 |                |          |                               |
|                 |                |          |* Changed the GEM field        |
|0.31             |N/A             |01/08/2002|  separator from 0xfc to 0x1c  |
|                 |                |          |  in the Peaceful Co-Existence |
|                 |                |          |  section                      |
|_________________|________________|__________|_______________________________|
|                 |                |          |                               |
|                 |                |          |* Length field in the extension|
|                 |                |          |  prefix is defined to be the  |
|                 |                |          |  total length of each         |
|                 |                |          |  subsequent extension.        |
|0.3              |N/A             |01/03/2002|* Length field in the extension|
|                 |                |          |  is defined to be the length  |
|                 |                |          |  of the raw extension data.   |
|                 |                |          |* Better guidance on the       |
|                 |                |          |  creation of Extension IDs    |
|                 |                |          |* Peaceful Co-Existence        |
|_________________|________________|__________|_______________________________|
|                 |                |          |                               |
|                 |                |          |* Length field munging is done |
|                 |                |          |  w/o use of bit fields.       |
|                 |                |          |* The extension ID is prefixed |
|                 |                |          |  with a 1 byte length         |
|                 |                |          |  identifier rather than       |
|                 |                |          |  a postfix of a specified     |
|                 |                |          |  byte.                        |
|0.2              |N/A             |12/20/2001|* The number of extension field|
|                 |                |          |  in the extension prefix has  |
|                 |                |          |  been replaced by a field     |
|                 |                |          |  listing the total length of  |
|                 |                |          |  the extensions.              |
|                 |                |          |* Encoding and compression bits|
|                 |                |          |  within the extension flags   |
|                 |                |          |  have been changed to fields  |
|                 |                |          |  of those types.              |
|_________________|________________|__________|_______________________________|
|                 |                |          |                               |
|                 |                |          |* The extension prefix is      |
|                 |                |          |  shortened (flags and version |
|                 |                |          |  were eliminated)             |
|                 |                |          |* Base64 was dropped in favor  |
|0.11             |N/A             |12/17/2001|  of COBS                      |
|                 |                |          |* ExtensionIDs are now variable|
|                 |                |          |  length.  This changed the    |
|                 |                |          |  extension prefix.            |
|                 |                |          |* Some Extension Flags have    |
|                 |                |          |  been renamed.                |
|_________________|________________|__________|_______________________________|
|                 |                |          |                               |
|0.1              |N/A             |12/13/2001|* The first draft of the       |
|                 |                |          |  proposal                     |
|_________________|________________|__________|_______________________________|


Background

The Gnutella 0.4 Protocol is a bare bones protocol for sharing files. Over
time, servent implementers have targeted different sections of the protocol for
extensions. An example of this is the Bear Share Trailer that was added to the
Query Hit.
Today, proposals exist to pack yet more data into the existing protocol.
Unfortunately, many of these were designed for a single purpose and will close
off future extensions.
This document describes a standardized format for the creation of arbitrary new
extensions. This new standard allows for :

* The inclusion of either text or binary data.
* Servent vendors to create extensions at will.
* Multiple extensions to be output within responses
* Unambiguous parsing


Connection Handshake Headers

Servents that have support the forwarding of all packets that contain GGEP
extensions (whether or not they can process them), must include a new header in
the Gnutella 0.6 connection handshake indicating this support.  This will allow
other servents to know what types of packets this servent can accept.  The
format of this header is
GGEP : majorversion'.'minorversion

Format


Length Encoding

The length field uses an encoding technique that ensures that 0x0 is never the
value of any byte.  Steps were also taken to ensure that the encoding is
compact. In this technique, a length field is the concatenation of length
chunks.  The format of each length chunk (which contains 6 bits of length info)
is described in bit level below:

Format


  76543210			
  MLxxxxxx
  			

M = 1 if there is another length chunk in the sequence, else 0
L = 1 if this is the last length chunk in the sequence, else 0
xxxxxx = 6 bits of data.
01aaaaaa ==> aaaaaa (2^6 values = 0-63)
10bbbbbb 01aaaaaa ==> bbbbbbaaaaaa (2^12 values = 0-4095)
10ccccccc 10bbbbbb 01aaaaaa ==> ccccccbbbbbbaaaaaa (2^18 values = 0-262143)

Boundary Cases


* 0 = 01 000000b = 0x40
* 63 = 01 111111b = 0x7f
* 64 = 10 000001  01 000000b = 0x8140
* 4095 = 10 111111  01 111111b = 0xbf7f
* 4096 = 10 000001  10 000000  01 000000b = 0x818040
* 262143 = 10 111111  10 111111  01 111111b = 0xbfbf7f

As you see, when the bits are concatenated, the number is in big endian format.

Non-Error Checking Parsing Pseudo Code


  int length = 0;
  byte b;
  do
  {
     b = *extensionbuf++;
     length = (length << 6) | (b&0x3f);
  } while (0x40 != b & 0x40);		
  		


GGEP Block

 _______________________
|GGEP_Extension_Prefix__|
|GGEP_Extension_Header_0|
|GGEP_Extension_Data_0__|
|.______________________|
|.______________________|
|.______________________|
|GGEP_Extension_Header_N|
|GGEP_Extension_Data_N__|


Extension Block

Extension blocks may contain an arbitrary number of GGEP blocks packed one
against another.  Although this behavior is allowed, developers are encouraged
to merge multiple GGEP blocks into a single GGEP block.  If a newer extension
format is created (either a new version of GGEP or another format altogether),
they will appear AFTER the last GGEP block of an earlier version.
 ____________
|GGEP_Block_0|
|.___________|
|.___________|
|.___________|
|GGEP_Block_N|


GGEP Extension Prefix


 _____________________________________________________________________________
|Byte_Positions|Name_|Comments________________________________________________|
|              |     |This is a magic number is used to help distinguish GGEP |
|0             |Magic|extensions from legacy data which may exist.  It must be|
|______________|_____|set_to_the_value_0xC3.__________________________________|

GGEP Extension Header

 ____________________________________________________________________________
|Field_Order|Bytes_Required|Name_______|Comments_____________________________|
|           |              |           |These are options which describe the |
|0          |1             |Flags      |encoding of the extension header and |
|___________|______________|___________|data.________________________________|
|           |              |           |The raw binary data in this field is |
|           |              |           |the extension ID.  See Appendix A on |
|1          |1-15          |ID         |suggestions for creating extension   |
|           |              |           |IDs.  No byte in the extension header|
|___________|______________|___________|my_be_0x0.___________________________|
|           |              |           |This is the length of the raw        |
|2          |1-3           |Data Length|extension data.  This field is       |
|           |              |           |persisted according to the length    |
|___________|______________|___________|encoding_rules_listed_above._________|


GGEP Extension Header Flags

 _____________________________________________________________________________
|Bit_Positions|Name__________|Comments________________________________________|
|7            |Last Extension|When set, this is the last extension in the GGEP|
|_____________|______________|block.__________________________________________|
|             |              |The value contained in this field dictates the  |
|6            |Encoding      |type of encoding which should be applied to the |
|_____________|______________|extension_data_(after_possible_compression).____|
|             |              |The value contained in this field dictates the  |
|5            |Compression   |type of compression that should be applied to   |
|_____________|______________|the_extension_data._____________________________|
|4            |Reserved      |This field is currently reserved for future     |
|_____________|______________|use.__It_must_be_set_to_0.______________________|
|             |              |Value 1-15 can be stored here.  Since this will |
|3-0          |ID Len        |not be zero, it ensures this byte will not be   |
|_____________|______________|0x0.____________________________________________|


Encoding Types

 _________________________________________________
|Values|Types_____________________________________|
|0_____|There_is_no_encoding_on_the_data._________|
|1_____|The_data_is_encoded_using_the_COBS_scheme.|


Compression Types

 __________________________________________________________________
|Values|Types______________________________________________________|
|0_____|The_extension_data_has_not_been_compressed.________________|
|1     |The extension data should be decompressed using the deflate|
|______|algorithm._________________________________________________|


Usage


Ping Message

The Clip2 document states that ping messages have no payloads.  Given this
definition, existing servent vendors drop connections that issue pings
containing payloads.  As such, developers are suggested to allow
widespread distribution of GGEP enabled servents before releasing extensions
for the ping message.  Similarly, they should only forward ping messages
containing GGEP extensions to other servents who have indicated their support
of GGEP via the handshake header. 
Servents are instructed to forward all ping messages containing GGEP blocks
they do not understand regardless of ping/pong reduction schemes.
The payload of the ping message is now defined to be:
 _______________
|Extension_Block|


Pong Message

Being that there are not currently extensions to the pong message and the last
field has a fixed length, it is easy to extend this message to include GGEP. 
That said, since the current pong message currently has a fixed length,
existing servents may drop connections if they receive pongs containing
extensions.  To this end, developers are suggested to only include GGEP blocks
in response to ping messages containing GGEP blocks, as that will guarantee
that the pathway is GGEP enabled.
The payload of the pong message is now defined to be:
 _________________
|Port_____________|
|IP_Address_______|
|Num_Files_Shared_|
|Num_KBytes_Shared|
|Extension_Block__|


Query Message

The Query message is redefined in a way as not to break Gnutella 0.4 compatible
servents.
 _______________
|MinSpeed_______|
|Criteria_______|
|0x0____________|
|Extension_Block|


QHD Private Data

Until now, servent vendors have been left to define the format of this opaque
field.  Ones that are able to write to this field, only read from it if they
recognize their vendor code.  To this end, we must first indicate to all
clients that the private data section contains a GGEP block, so they know to
crack open the field.  To do this, we use an open data bit 5 of the Flags and
Flag2 fields (the format of this field is defined in the Clip2 document). 
Remember that the ability to crack the GGEP block does not mean that one is
able to understand the extensions contained within.
For compatibility with a couple of existing servents that already use this
field, it is necessary to search for the GGEP block by looking for the first
occurance of the GGEP magic byte. 
Private Data Format for servents that already use the private area and are
trying to retain compatibility with older versions of their code  This will be
phased out over time:
 _____________________________________________________________________________
|Servent Specific Private Data Backwards Data that are|0-XXX bytes (usually 1)|
|guaranteed_not_to_contain_the_GGEP_magic_byte________|_______________________|
|GGEP_Block___________________________________________|YYY_bytes______________|
|More Servent Specific Private Data for backwards     |0-ZZZ bytes            |
|compatibility_section_that_can_completely_be_ignored.|_______________________|

Private Data Format for new servents:
 _______________
|Extension_Block|

Note that the code necessary to find the GGEP block in both formats is
identical.

Query Hit Result

Servent vendors must be careful to ensure that 0x0 does not appear in any
extension data placed embedded into the Query Hit Result.  One does this by
using any of the available encoding options.
 _______________
|File_Index_____|
|File_Size______|
|File_Name______|
|0x0____________|
|Extension_Block|


Push Message

Being that there are not currently extensions to the push message and the last
field has a fixed length, it is easy to extend this message to include GGEP. 
That said, since the current push message currently has a fixed length, it is
possible that old servents will validate against that length, and throw out
push messages that include GGEP extensions.  To this end, servents should only
send push messages containing extension blocks to other servents that have
indicated GGEP support via the connection handshake.
The payload of the push message is now defined to be:
 _______________
|Servent_ID_____|
|File_Index_____|
|IP_Address_____|
|Port___________|
|Extension_Block|


Notes/Issues


Existing Standards


* The HUGE 0.93 specification should be modified to transmit data inside a GGEP
  extension.
* Bearshare sends encrypted data in the QHD private data field.  It is possible
  that this data could start with bytes that would pass for a valid Extension
  Prefix and an Extension Header.  Given the wide distribution of the Bearshare
  client and its usage of the field, changes to that servent may take a while
  to distribute to the masses.  Servent vendors implementing GGEP should ensure
  they gracefully handle this case.


Implementation Notes.


* Extension implementers are urged to publish the ID, format, and expected data
  size for their extensions in the GDF database called "GGEP Extensions."
* When encoding an extension, be sure the apply the encoding AFTER the optional
  compression step.  Likewise, when decoding the extension, do so BEFORE
  decompressing the data.
* One should only compress data if doing so will make a material difference in
  the resulting packet size.
* Extensions within a block should be processed in the order in which they
  appear.
* Please note that most gnutella clients will drop messages, and possibly
  connections if the message size is larger than a certain threshold (which
  varies according to message type).  Please pay attention to these limits when
  creating and bundling new extensions.
* Details about the COBS encoding scheme may be found at http://www.acm.org/
  sigcomm/sigcomm97/papers/p062.pdf 
* Details about the Deflate compression scheme may be found at http://
  www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1951.html and http://www.gzip.org/zlib/


Appendix A - Creating Extension IDs

The Extension ID field in the GGEP header is a binary field consisting of
between 1 and 15 bytes.  It cannot contain the byte 0x0, and one must be able
to compare IDs with a simple binary comparison.  Asisde from those rules, GGEP
does not mandate any particular format, but does encourage the creation of
short IDs that are free from conflicts.  One should also note that Extension
IDs are meant to be consumed by machines.  To this end, the following
techniques are recommended.  If one has a strong need to create an alternative
format, be sure to avoid conflicts with the following schemes.

GDF Registered Extensions

Any Extension ID of less than 4 bytes must be stored in the appropriate GDF
database.  Any Extension ID of less than 3 bytes must be also be approved by
the GDF.  The format of the extension data must also be registered.

VendorID Extensions

This simple technique allows for the creation of ExtensionIDs based upon uses
the following format VendorID|'.'|BinaryData VendorID for a Gnutella servent is
a 4 byte value that has been registered in the GDF Peer Codes database.  In the
QueryHit Descriptor, this case is case insensitive.  With ExtensionIDs, the
case matters, as one must be able to perform a binary comparison on the ID. 
This means an ExtensionID of "SWAP.1" and "swap.1" are different, but both
"belong" the vendor who ones the code "SWAP."

Appendix B - Peaceful Co-Existence

It is unfortunately the case that GGEP extensions will co-exist with legacy
extensions for quite some time.  In some cases, both may exist in the same
space allocated for extensions.  The below algorithm for interpreting extension
fields will help sort out such this co-existence.

  1. Peek 1 byte, if is GGEP magic goto 2, else goto 6
  2. Read GGEP magic byte
  3. Read and process a single GGEP extension (extension headers, extension
     data)
  4. If the extension flag do not have the Last_Extension bit set, goto 3
  5. Goto 7
  6. Read until end of extension field, or 0x1c, whichever comes first.  It
     will be up to you to determine which legacy extension exists in this
     space.
  7. If no bytes left, quit
  8. Peek 1 byte, if 0x1c or 0x0, advance 1 byte
  9. Goto 1

