Merge pull request #6940 from matrix-org/babolivier/federate.md
Clean up and update federation docspull/6952/head
Brendan Abolivier
GitHub
commit
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Clean up and update docs on setting up federation.
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# Delegation
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By default, other homeservers will expect to be able to reach yours via
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your `server_name`, on port 8448. For example, if you set your `server_name`
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to `example.com` (so that your user names look like `@user:example.com`),
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other servers will try to connect to yours at `https://example.com:8448/`.
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Delegation is a Matrix feature allowing a homeserver admin to retain a
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`server_name` of `example.com` so that user IDs, room aliases, etc continue
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to look like `*:example.com`, whilst having federation traffic routed
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to a different server and/or port (e.g. `synapse.example.com:443`).
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## .well-known delegation
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To use this method, you need to be able to alter the
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`server_name` 's https server to serve the `/.well-known/matrix/server`
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URL. Having an active server (with a valid TLS certificate) serving your
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`server_name` domain is out of the scope of this documentation.
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The URL `https://<server_name>/.well-known/matrix/server` should
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return a JSON structure containing the key `m.server` like so:
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```json
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{
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"m.server": "<synapse.server.name>[:<yourport>]"
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}
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```
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In our example, this would mean that URL `https://example.com/.well-known/matrix/server`
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should return:
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```json
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{
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"m.server": "synapse.example.com:443"
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}
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```
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Note, specifying a port is optional. If no port is specified, then it defaults
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to 8448.
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With .well-known delegation, federating servers will check for a valid TLS
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certificate for the delegated hostname (in our example: `synapse.example.com`).
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## SRV DNS record delegation
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It is also possible to do delegation using a SRV DNS record. However, that is
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considered an advanced topic since it's a bit complex to set up, and `.well-known`
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delegation is already enough in most cases.
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However, if you really need it, you can find some documentation on how such a
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record should look like and how Synapse will use it in [the Matrix
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specification](https://matrix.org/docs/spec/server_server/latest#resolving-server-names).
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## Delegation FAQ
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### When do I need delegation?
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If your homeserver's APIs are accessible on the default federation port (8448)
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and the domain your `server_name` points to, you do not need any delegation.
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For instance, if you registered `example.com` and pointed its DNS A record at a
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fresh server, you could install Synapse on that host, giving it a `server_name`
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of `example.com`, and once a reverse proxy has been set up to proxy all requests
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sent to the port `8448` and serve TLS certificates for `example.com`, you
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wouldn't need any delegation set up.
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**However**, if your homeserver's APIs aren't accessible on port 8448 and on the
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domain `server_name` points to, you will need to let other servers know how to
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find it using delegation.
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### Do you still recommend against using a reverse proxy on the federation port?
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We no longer actively recommend against using a reverse proxy. Many admins will
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find it easier to direct federation traffic to a reverse proxy and manage their
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own TLS certificates, and this is a supported configuration.
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See [reverse_proxy.md](reverse_proxy.md) for information on setting up a
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reverse proxy.
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### Do I still need to give my TLS certificates to Synapse if I am using a reverse proxy?
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This is no longer necessary. If you are using a reverse proxy for all of your
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TLS traffic, then you can set `no_tls: True` in the Synapse config.
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In that case, the only reason Synapse needs the certificate is to populate a legacy
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`tls_fingerprints` field in the federation API. This is ignored by Synapse 0.99.0
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and later, and the only time pre-0.99 Synapses will check it is when attempting to
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fetch the server keys - and generally this is delegated via `matrix.org`, which
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is running a modern version of Synapse.
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### Do I need the same certificate for the client and federation port?
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No. There is nothing stopping you from using different certificates,
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particularly if you are using a reverse proxy.
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178
docs/federate.md
178
docs/federate.md
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@ -1,163 +1,41 @@
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Setting up Federation
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Setting up federation
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=====================
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Federation is the process by which users on different servers can participate
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in the same room. For this to work, those other servers must be able to contact
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yours to send messages.
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The ``server_name`` configured in the Synapse configuration file (often
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``homeserver.yaml``) defines how resources (users, rooms, etc.) will be
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identified (eg: ``@user:example.com``, ``#room:example.com``). By
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default, it is also the domain that other servers will use to
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try to reach your server (via port 8448). This is easy to set
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up and will work provided you set the ``server_name`` to match your
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machine's public DNS hostname, and provide Synapse with a TLS certificate
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which is valid for your ``server_name``.
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The `server_name` configured in the Synapse configuration file (often
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`homeserver.yaml`) defines how resources (users, rooms, etc.) will be
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identified (eg: `@user:example.com`, `#room:example.com`). By default,
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it is also the domain that other servers will use to try to reach your
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server (via port 8448). This is easy to set up and will work provided
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you set the `server_name` to match your machine's public DNS hostname.
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For this default configuration to work, you will need to listen for TLS
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connections on port 8448. The preferred way to do that is by using a
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reverse proxy: see [reverse_proxy.md](<reverse_proxy.md>) for instructions
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on how to correctly set one up.
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In some cases you might not want to run Synapse on the machine that has
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the `server_name` as its public DNS hostname, or you might want federation
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traffic to use a different port than 8448. For example, you might want to
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have your user names look like `@user:example.com`, but you want to run
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Synapse on `synapse.example.com` on port 443. This can be done using
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delegation, which allows an admin to control where federation traffic should
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be sent. See [delegate.md](delegate.md) for instructions on how to set this up.
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Once federation has been configured, you should be able to join a room over
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federation. A good place to start is ``#synapse:matrix.org`` - a room for
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federation. A good place to start is `#synapse:matrix.org` - a room for
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Synapse admins.
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## Delegation
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For a more flexible configuration, you can have ``server_name``
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resources (eg: ``@user:example.com``) served by a different host and
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port (eg: ``synapse.example.com:443``). There are two ways to do this:
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- adding a ``/.well-known/matrix/server`` URL served on ``https://example.com``.
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- adding a DNS ``SRV`` record in the DNS zone of domain
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``example.com``.
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Without configuring delegation, the matrix federation will
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expect to find your server via ``example.com:8448``. The following methods
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allow you retain a `server_name` of `example.com` so that your user IDs, room
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aliases, etc continue to look like `*:example.com`, whilst having your
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federation traffic routed to a different server.
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### .well-known delegation
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To use this method, you need to be able to alter the
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``server_name`` 's https server to serve the ``/.well-known/matrix/server``
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URL. Having an active server (with a valid TLS certificate) serving your
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``server_name`` domain is out of the scope of this documentation.
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The URL ``https://<server_name>/.well-known/matrix/server`` should
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return a JSON structure containing the key ``m.server`` like so:
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{
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"m.server": "<synapse.server.name>[:<yourport>]"
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}
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In our example, this would mean that URL ``https://example.com/.well-known/matrix/server``
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should return:
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{
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"m.server": "synapse.example.com:443"
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}
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Note, specifying a port is optional. If a port is not specified an SRV lookup
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is performed, as described below. If the target of the
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delegation does not have an SRV record, then the port defaults to 8448.
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Most installations will not need to configure .well-known. However, it can be
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useful in cases where the admin is hosting on behalf of someone else and
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therefore cannot gain access to the necessary certificate. With .well-known,
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federation servers will check for a valid TLS certificate for the delegated
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hostname (in our example: ``synapse.example.com``).
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### DNS SRV delegation
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To use this delegation method, you need to have write access to your
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``server_name`` 's domain zone DNS records (in our example it would be
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``example.com`` DNS zone).
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This method requires the target server to provide a
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valid TLS certificate for the original ``server_name``.
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You need to add a SRV record in your ``server_name`` 's DNS zone with
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this format:
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_matrix._tcp.<yourdomain.com> <ttl> IN SRV <priority> <weight> <port> <synapse.server.name>
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In our example, we would need to add this SRV record in the
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``example.com`` DNS zone:
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_matrix._tcp.example.com. 3600 IN SRV 10 5 443 synapse.example.com.
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Once done and set up, you can check the DNS record with ``dig -t srv
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_matrix._tcp.<server_name>``. In our example, we would expect this:
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$ dig -t srv _matrix._tcp.example.com
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_matrix._tcp.example.com. 3600 IN SRV 10 0 443 synapse.example.com.
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Note that the target of a SRV record cannot be an alias (CNAME record): it has to point
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directly to the server hosting the synapse instance.
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### Delegation FAQ
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#### When do I need a SRV record or .well-known URI?
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If your homeserver listens on the default federation port (8448), and your
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`server_name` points to the host that your homeserver runs on, you do not need an SRV
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record or `.well-known/matrix/server` URI.
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For instance, if you registered `example.com` and pointed its DNS A record at a
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fresh server, you could install Synapse on that host,
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giving it a `server_name` of `example.com`, and once [ACME](acme.md) support is enabled,
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it would automatically generate a valid TLS certificate for you via Let's Encrypt
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and no SRV record or .well-known URI would be needed.
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**However**, if your server does not listen on port 8448, or if your `server_name`
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does not point to the host that your homeserver runs on, you will need to let
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other servers know how to find it. The way to do this is via .well-known or an
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SRV record.
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#### I have created a .well-known URI. Do I also need an SRV record?
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No. You can use either `.well-known` delegation or use an SRV record for delegation. You
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do not need to use both to delegate to the same location.
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#### Can I manage my own certificates rather than having Synapse renew certificates itself?
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Yes, you are welcome to manage your certificates yourself. Synapse will only
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attempt to obtain certificates from Let's Encrypt if you configure it to do
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so.The only requirement is that there is a valid TLS cert present for
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federation end points.
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#### Do you still recommend against using a reverse proxy on the federation port?
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We no longer actively recommend against using a reverse proxy. Many admins will
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find it easier to direct federation traffic to a reverse proxy and manage their
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own TLS certificates, and this is a supported configuration.
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See [reverse_proxy.md](reverse_proxy.md) for information on setting up a
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reverse proxy.
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#### Do I still need to give my TLS certificates to Synapse if I am using a reverse proxy?
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Practically speaking, this is no longer necessary.
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If you are using a reverse proxy for all of your TLS traffic, then you can set
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`no_tls: True` in the Synapse config. In that case, the only reason Synapse
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needs the certificate is to populate a legacy `tls_fingerprints` field in the
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federation API. This is ignored by Synapse 0.99.0 and later, and the only time
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pre-0.99 Synapses will check it is when attempting to fetch the server keys -
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and generally this is delegated via `matrix.org`, which will be running a modern
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version of Synapse.
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#### Do I need the same certificate for the client and federation port?
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No. There is nothing stopping you from using different certificates,
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particularly if you are using a reverse proxy. However, Synapse will use the
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same certificate on any ports where TLS is configured.
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## Troubleshooting
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You can use the [federation tester](
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<https://matrix.org/federationtester>) to check if your homeserver is
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configured correctly. Alternatively try the [JSON API used by the federation tester](https://matrix.org/federationtester/api/report?server_name=DOMAIN).
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Note that you'll have to modify this URL to replace ``DOMAIN`` with your
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``server_name``. Hitting the API directly provides extra detail.
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You can use the [federation tester](https://matrix.org/federationtester)
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to check if your homeserver is configured correctly. Alternatively try the
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[JSON API used by the federation tester](https://matrix.org/federationtester/api/report?server_name=DOMAIN).
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Note that you'll have to modify this URL to replace `DOMAIN` with your
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`server_name`. Hitting the API directly provides extra detail.
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The typical failure mode for federation is that when the server tries to join
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a room, it is rejected with "401: Unauthorized". Generally this means that other
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@ -169,8 +47,8 @@ you invite them to. This can be caused by an incorrectly-configured reverse
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proxy: see [reverse_proxy.md](<reverse_proxy.md>) for instructions on how to correctly
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configure a reverse proxy.
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## Running a Demo Federation of Synapses
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## Running a demo federation of Synapses
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If you want to get up and running quickly with a trio of homeservers in a
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private federation, there is a script in the ``demo`` directory. This is mainly
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private federation, there is a script in the `demo` directory. This is mainly
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useful just for development purposes. See [demo/README](<../demo/README>).
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@ -18,9 +18,10 @@ When setting up a reverse proxy, remember that Matrix clients and other
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Matrix servers do not necessarily need to connect to your server via the
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same server name or port. Indeed, clients will use port 443 by default,
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whereas servers default to port 8448. Where these are different, we
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refer to the 'client port' and the \'federation port\'. See [Setting
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up federation](federate.md) for more details of the algorithm used for
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federation connections.
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refer to the 'client port' and the \'federation port\'. See [the Matrix
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specification](https://matrix.org/docs/spec/server_server/latest#resolving-server-names)
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for more details of the algorithm used for federation connections, and
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[delegate.md](<delegate.md>) for instructions on setting up delegation.
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Let's assume that we expect clients to connect to our server at
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`https://matrix.example.com`, and other servers to connect at
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