
zeroconf
--------

Zeroconf is a program that you can use to claim IPv4 link-local (LL)
addresses.  IPv4 LL addresses are useful if you wish to setup ad-hoc
networking between devices without the involvement of a either a DHCP
server or your (very busy) network administrator.

These addresses are allocated from the 169.254.0.0/16 address range
and are normally attached to each Ethernet device in your computer.
Addresses are assigned randomly by each host and, in case of
collision, both hosts (are supposed to) renumber.

IPv4 LL networking, coupled with DNS Service Discovery (DNS-SD),
allows you to connect printers, cameras and, of course, other
computers together and things will "Just Work".  All without a
centralised DHCP or DNS server.

That means making it possible to take two laptop computers, and
connect them with a crossover Ethernet cable, and have them
communicate usefully using IP, without needing a man in a white lab
coat to set it all up for you. (from www.zeroconf.org)

Zeroconf was written to have minimal dependancies, be very small and
be reasonably portable.  Additionally it should be very simple to drop
into place for any Linux distribution.

Standards
---------

Zeroconf aims to implement, and to the best of my knowledge does,
RFC3927 "Dynamic Configuration of IPv4 Link-Local Addresses".  It has
not been tested for interoperability with any other IPv4LL clients --
any reports (good or bad) would be welcome.

Homepage
--------

Further information about this zeroconf program is available from
<URL: http://www.progsoc.org/~wildfire/zeroconf/>

Licence
-------

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as
published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2.1 of the
License, or (at your option) any later version.

This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
Lesser General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307
USA or alternatively see <http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/lesser.html>


Acknowledgements
----------------

Without the initial code written by Arthur van Hoff this would not
have been possible.

Contact
-------

If you have any further queries about zeroconf, please contact:
Anand Kumria <akumria@acm.org>
