𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺
You need a chat system for browsers and mobile. It must stay live on flaky networks.
Use this architecture:
- WebRTC data channels for low latency.
- WebSocket relays for fallback.
- Signaling servers to negotiate connections.
The process:
- Peer A and Peer B connect to a signaling server.
- They try a direct WebRTC connection.
- If firewalls block them, the system switches to a WebSocket relay.
Make it resilient:
- Give each message a unique ID.
- Use idempotent processing. This stops duplicates.
- Add retry logic with exponential backoff.
- Track latency and message loss.
Security steps:
- Use JWT for authentication.
- Use TLS for all connections.
- Rate limit signaling endpoints.
Testing tips:
- Simulate packet loss.
- Drop ICE candidates to force the relay.
- Use Playwright for browser tests.