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A JSON Meta Application Protocol (JMAP) Subprotocol for WebSocket
draft-ietf-jmap-websocket-04

The information below is for an old version of the document.
Document Type
This is an older version of an Internet-Draft that was ultimately published as RFC 8887.
Author Kenneth Murchison
Last updated 2020-01-09 (Latest revision 2019-11-17)
Replaces draft-murchison-jmap-websocket
RFC stream Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
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Additional resources Mailing list discussion
Stream WG state Submitted to IESG for Publication
Document shepherd Jim Fenton
Shepherd write-up Show Last changed 2019-11-25
IESG IESG state Became RFC 8887 (Proposed Standard)
Consensus boilerplate Yes
Telechat date (None)
Needs a YES. Needs 8 more YES or NO OBJECTION positions to pass.
Responsible AD Alexey Melnikov
Send notices to Jim Fenton <fenton@bluepopcorn.net>
IANA IANA review state IANA OK - Actions Needed
draft-ietf-jmap-websocket-04
JMAP                                                        K. Murchison
Internet-Draft                                                  Fastmail
Intended status: Standards Track                       November 17, 2019
Expires: May 20, 2020

   A JSON Meta Application Protocol (JMAP) Subprotocol for WebSocket
                      draft-ietf-jmap-websocket-04

Abstract

   This document defines a binding for the JSON Meta Application
   Protocol (JMAP) over a WebSocket transport layer.  The WebSocket
   binding for JMAP provides higher performance than the current HTTP
   binding for JMAP.

Status of This Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF).  Note that other groups may also distribute
   working documents as Internet-Drafts.  The list of current Internet-
   Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on May 20, 2020.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2019 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
   (https://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
   to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must
   include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

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Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  Conventions Used in This Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   3.  Discovering Support for JMAP over WebSocket . . . . . . . . .   3
   4.  JMAP Subprotocol  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     4.1.  Handshake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     4.2.  WebSocket Messages  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
       4.2.1.  JMAP Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
       4.2.2.  JMAP Responses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
       4.2.3.  JMAP Request-level Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
       4.2.4.  JMAP Push Notifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     4.3.  Examples  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   5.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   6.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     6.1.  Registration of the WebSocket JMAP Subprotocol  . . . . .  11
   7.  Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   8.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     8.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     8.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
   Appendix A.  Change History (To be removed by RFC Editor before
                publication) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13

1.  Introduction

   JMAP [RFC8620] over HTTP [RFC7235] requires that every JMAP API
   request be authenticated.  Depending on the type of authentication
   used by the JMAP client and the configuration of the JMAP server,
   authentication could be an expensive operation both in time and
   resources.  In such circumstances, authenticating every JMAP API
   request may harm performance.

   The WebSocket [RFC6455] binding for JMAP eliminates this performance
   hit by authenticating just the WebSocket handshake request and having
   those credentials remain in effect for the duration of the WebSocket
   connection.  This binding supports JMAP API requests and responses,
   with optional support for push notifications.

   Furthermore, the WebSocket binding for JMAP can optionally compress
   [RFC7692] both JMAP API requests and responses.  Although compression
   of HTTP responses is ubiquitous, compression of HTTP requests has
   very low, if any deployment, and therefore isn't a viable option for
   JMAP API requests over HTTP.

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2.  Conventions Used in This Document

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
   "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in
   BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
   capitals, as shown here.

   The same terminology is used in this document as in the core JMAP
   specification.

3.  Discovering Support for JMAP over WebSocket

   The JMAP capabilities object is returned as part of the standard JMAP
   Session object (see Section 2 of [RFC8620]).  Servers supporting this
   specification MUST add a property named
   "urn:ietf:params:jmap:websocket" to the capabilities object.  The
   value of this property is an object which MUST contain the following
   information on server capabilities:

   o  webSocketUrl: "String"

      The URL to use for initiating a JMAP over WebSocket handshake.

   o  supportsWebSocketPush: "Boolean"

      This is true if the server supports push notifications over the
      WebSocket, as described in Section 4.2.4.

   Example:

   "urn:ietf:params:jmap:websocket": {
     "webSocketUrl": "https://server.example.com/jmap/ws/",
     "supportsWebSocketPush": true
   }

4.  JMAP Subprotocol

   The term WebSocket subprotocol refers to an application-level
   protocol layered on top of a WebSocket connection.  This document
   specifies the WebSocket JMAP subprotocol for carrying JMAP API
   requests, responses, and optional push notifications through a
   WebSocket connection.  Binary data MUST NOT be uploaded or downloaded
   through a WebSocket JMAP connection.  Binary data is handled per
   Section 6 of [RFC8620] via a separate HTTP connection or stream.

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4.1.  Handshake

   The JMAP WebSocket client and JMAP WebSocket server negotiate the use
   of the WebSocket JMAP subprotocol during the WebSocket handshake,
   either via a HTTP/1.1 Upgrade request (see Section 1.3 of [RFC6455])
   or a HTTP/2 Extended CONNECT request (see Section 5 of [RFC8441]).

   Regardless of the method used for the WebSocket handshake, the client
   MUST make an authenticated [RFC7235] HTTP request on the JMAP
   "webSocketUrl" (Section 3), and the client MUST include the value
   "jmap" in the list of protocols for the "Sec-WebSocket-Protocol"
   header field.  The reply from the server MUST also contain "jmap" in
   its corresponding "Sec-WebSocket-Protocol" header field in order for
   a JMAP subprotocol connection to be established.

   If a client receives a handshake response that does not include
   "jmap" in the "Sec-WebSocket-Protocol" header, then a JMAP
   subprotocol WebSocket connection was not established and the client
   MUST close the WebSocket connection.

   Once the handshake has successfully completed, the WebSocket
   connection is established and can be used for JMAP API requests,
   responses, and optional push notifications.  Other message types MUST
   NOT be transmitted over this connection.

   The credentials used for authenticating the HTTP request to initiate
   the handshake remain in effect for the duration of the WebSocket
   connection.

4.2.  WebSocket Messages

   Data frame messages in the JMAP subprotocol MUST be of the text type
   and contain UTF-8 encoded data.  The messages MUST be in the form of
   a single JMAP Request object (see Section 3.2 of [RFC8620]), JMAP
   WebSocketPushEnable object (see Section 4.2.4.2), or JMAP
   WebSocketPushDisable object (see Section 4.2.4.3) when sent from the
   client to the server, and in the form of a single JMAP Response
   object, JSON Problem Details object, or JMAP StateChange object (see
   Sections 3.3, 3.5.1, and 7.1 respectively of [RFC8620]) when sent
   from the server to the client.

4.2.1.  JMAP Requests

   This specification adds two extra arguments to the Request object:

   o  @type: "String"

      This MUST be the string "Request".

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   o  id: "String" (optional)

      A client-specified identifier for the request.

   JMAP over WebSocket allows the server to process requests out of
   order.  The client-specified identifier is used as a mechanism for
   the client to correlate requests and responses.

   Additionally, the "maxConcurrentRequests" field in the "capabilities"
   object (see Section 2 of [RFC8620]) limits the number of inflight
   requests over the WebSocket.

4.2.2.  JMAP Responses

   This specification adds two extra arguments to the Response object:

   o  @type: "String"

      This MUST be the string "Response".

   o  requestId: "String" (optional; MUST be returned if given in the
      request)

      The client-specified identifier in the corresponding request.

4.2.3.  JMAP Request-level Errors

   This specification adds two extra arguments to the Problem Details
   object:

   o  @type: "String"

      This MUST be the string "RequestError".

   o  requestId: "String" (optional; MUST be returned if given in the
      request)

      The client-specified identifier in the corresponding request.

4.2.4.  JMAP Push Notifications

   JMAP over WebSocket servers that support push notifications on the
   WebSocket will advertise a "supportsWebSocketPush" property with a
   value of true in the server capabilities object.

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4.2.4.1.  Notification Format

   All push notifications take the form of a standard StateChange object
   (see Section 7.1 of [RFC8620]).

   This specification adds one extra argument to the StateChange object:

   o  pushState: "String" (optional)

      A (preferably short) string representing the state on the server
      for ALL of the data types in the account (not just the objects
      returned in this call).

4.2.4.2.  Enabling Notifications

   A client enables push notifications from the server by sending a
   WebSocketPushEnable object to the server.  A WebSocketPushEnable
   object has the following properties:

   o  @type: "String" This MUST be the string "WebSocketPushEnable".

   o  dataTypes: "String[]|null"

      A list of data type names (e.g.  "Mailbox", "Email") that the
      client is interested in.  A StateChange notification will only be
      sent if the data for one of these types changes.  Other types are
      omitted from the TypeState object.  If null, changes will be
      pushed for all supported data types.

   o  pushState: "String" (optional)

      The last "pushState" token that the client received from the
      server.  Upon receipt of a "pushState" token, the server SHOULD
      immediately send all changes since that state token.

4.2.4.3.  Disabling Notifications

   A client disables push notifications from the server by sending a
   WebSocketPushDisable object to the server.  A WebSocketPushDisable
   object has the following property:

   o  @type: "String"

      This MUST be the string "WebSocketPushDisable".

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4.3.  Examples

   The following examples show WebSocket JMAP opening handshakes, a JMAP
   Core/echo request and response, and a subsequent closing handshake.
   The examples assume that the JMAP "webSocketUrl" has been advertised
   in the JMAP Session object as "/jmap/ws/".  Note that folding of
   header fields is for editorial purposes only.

   WebSocket JMAP connection via HTTP/1.1 with push notifications for
   mail [RFC8621] enabled:

   [[ From Client ]]                [[ From Server ]]

   GET /jmap/ws/ HTTP/1.1
   Host: server.example.com
   Upgrade: websocket
   Connection: Upgrade
   Authorization: Basic Zm9vOmJhcg==
   Sec-WebSocket-Key:
     dGhlIHNhbXBsZSBub25jZQ==
   Sec-WebSocket-Protocol: jmap
   Sec-WebSocket-Version: 13
   Origin: http://www.example.com

                                    HTTP/1.1 101 Switching Protocols
                                    Upgrade: websocket
                                    Connection: Upgrade
                                    Sec-WebSocket-Accept:
                                      s3pPLMBiTxaQ9kYGzzhZRbK+xOo=
                                    Sec-WebSocket-Protocol: jmap

   [WebSocket connection established]

   WS_DATA
   {
     "@type": "WebSocketPushEnable",
     "dataTypes": [ "Mailbox", "Email" ],
     "pushState": "aaa"
   }

                                    WS_DATA
                                    {
                                      "@type": "StateChange",
                                      "changed": {
                                        "a456": {
                                          "Email": "d35ecb040aab"
                                        }
                                      },

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                                      "pushState": "bbb"
                                    }

   WS_DATA
   {
     "@type": "Request",
     "id": "R1",
     "using": [ "urn:ietf:params:jmap:core" ],
     "methodCalls": [
       [
         "Core/echo", {
           "hello": true,
           "high": 5
         },
         "b3ff"
       ]
     ]
   }

                                    WS_DATA
                                    {
                                      "@type": "Response",
                                      "requestId": "R1",
                                      "methodResponses": [
                                        [
                                          "Core/echo", {
                                            "hello": true,
                                            "high": 5
                                          },
                                          "b3ff"
                                        ]
                                      ]
                                    }

   WS_DATA
   The quick brown fox jumps
    over the lazy dog.

                                    WS_DATA
                                    {
                                      "@type": "RequestError",
                                      "requestId": null,
                                      "type":
                                "urn:ietf:params:jmap:error:notJSON",
                                      "status": 400,
                                      "detail":
                                "The request did not parse as I-JSON."
                                    }

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                                    WS_DATA
                                    {
                                      "@type": "StateChange",
                                      "changed": {
                                        "a123": {
                                          "Mailbox": "0af7a512ce70"
                                        }
                                      }
                                      "pushState": "ccc"
                                    }

   WS_CLOSE

                                    WS_CLOSE

   [WebSocket connection closed]

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   WebSocket JMAP connection on a HTTP/2 stream which also negotiates
   compression [RFC7692]:

   [[ From Client ]]                [[ From Server ]]

                                    SETTINGS
                                    SETTINGS_ENABLE_CONNECT_PROTOCOL = 1

   HEADERS + END_HEADERS
   :method = CONNECT
   :protocol = websocket
   :scheme = https
   :path = /jmap/ws/
   :authority = server.example.com
   authorization = Basic Zm9vOmJhcg==
   sec-websocket-protocol = jmap
   sec-websocket-version = 13
   sec-websocket-extensions =
     permessage-deflate
   origin = http://www.example.com

                                    HEADERS + END_HEADERS
                                    :status = 200
                                    sec-websocket-protocol = jmap
                                    sec-websocket-extensions =
                                      permessage-deflate

   [WebSocket connection established]

   DATA
   WS_DATA
   [compressed text]

                                    DATA
                                    WS_DATA
                                    [compressed text]

   ...

   DATA + END_STREAM
   WS_CLOSE

                                    DATA + END_STREAM
                                    WS_CLOSE

   [WebSocket connection closed]
   [HTTP/2 stream closed]

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5.  Security Considerations

   The security considerations for both WebSocket (see Section 10 of
   [RFC6455]) and JMAP (see Section 8 of [RFC8620]) apply to the
   WebSocket JMAP subprotocol.

6.  IANA Considerations

6.1.  Registration of the WebSocket JMAP Subprotocol

   This specification requests IANA to register the WebSocket JMAP
   subprotocol under the "WebSocket Subprotocol Name" Registry with the
   following data:

   Subprotocol Identifier:  jmap

   Subprotocol Common Name:  WebSocket Transport for JMAP (JSON Meta
      Application Protocol)

   Subprotocol Definition:  RFCXXXX (this document)

7.  Acknowledgments

   The author would like to thank the following individuals for
   contributing their ideas and support for writing this specification:
   Neil Jenkins, Robert Mueller, and Chris Newman.

8.  References

8.1.  Normative References

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

   [RFC6455]  Fette, I. and A. Melnikov, "The WebSocket Protocol",
              RFC 6455, DOI 10.17487/RFC6455, December 2011,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6455>.

   [RFC7235]  Fielding, R., Ed. and J. Reschke, Ed., "Hypertext Transfer
              Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Authentication", RFC 7235,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC7235, June 2014,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7235>.

   [RFC8174]  Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
              2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
              May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8174>.

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   [RFC8441]  McManus, P., "Bootstrapping WebSockets with HTTP/2",
              RFC 8441, DOI 10.17487/RFC8441, September 2018,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8441>.

   [RFC8620]  Jenkins, N. and C. Newman, "The JSON Meta Application
              Protocol (JMAP)", RFC 8620, DOI 10.17487/RFC8620, July
              2019, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8620>.

8.2.  Informative References

   [RFC7692]  Yoshino, T., "Compression Extensions for WebSocket",
              RFC 7692, DOI 10.17487/RFC7692, December 2015,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7692>.

   [RFC8621]  Jenkins, N. and C. Newman, "The JSON Meta Application
              Protocol (JMAP) for Mail", RFC 8621, DOI 10.17487/RFC8621,
              August 2019, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8621>.

Appendix A.  Change History (To be removed by RFC Editor before
             publication)

   Changes since ietf-03:

   o  Updated JMAP Mail reference to RFC 8621.

   o  Specified that requestId MUST be present in a response if given in
      the request.

   Changes since ietf-02:

   o  Updated JMAP Core reference to RFC 8620.

   o  Added 'WebSocketPushDisable' object.

   o  Editorial and formatting changes.

   Changes since ietf-01:

   o  Changed 'wsURL' to 'webSocketUrl' and removed push query option.

   o  Added 'supportsWebSocketPush' capability.

   o  Added '@type' argument to Request object.

   o  Added 'WebSocketPushEnable' object.

   o  Added 'pushState' argument to StateChange object.

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   o  Updated example.

   o  Minor Editorial changes.

   Changes since ietf-00:

   o  Added text describing advertisement of and selection of optional
      push notifications.

   o  Minor Editorial changes.

   Changes since murchison-02:

   o  Renamed as a JMAP WG document.

   o  Allow out of order processing.

   o  Allow push notifications.

   o  Modified examples.

   o  Add Security Considerations text.

   o  Minor Editorial changes.

   Changes since murchison-01:

   o  Updated WebSocket over HTTP/2 reference to RFC8144.

   Changes since murchison-00:

   o  Fleshed out section on discovery of support for JMAP over
      WebSocket.

   o  Allow JSON Problem Details objects to be returned by the server
      for toplevel errors.

   o  Mentioned the ability to compress JMAP API requests.

   o  Minor Editorial changes.

Author's Address

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   Kenneth Murchison
   Fastmail US LLC
   1429 Walnut Street - Suite 1201
   Philadelphia, PA  19102
   USA

   Email: murch@fastmailteam.com
   URI:   http://www.fastmail.com/

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