With Bonjour, you can easily share files, media, printers, and other devices. It simplifies traditional network-based activities like file sharing and printing by providing dynamic discoverability of file servers and Bonjour-enabled network printers.
Bonjour begins by simplifying the otherwise complex process of configuring devices for a network. To communicate with other devices using IP, a device needs special information such as an IP address, a subnet mask, DNS addresses, a DNS name, and preconfigured search paths. Understanding these cryptic details and performing the subsequent configuration can be daunting for the average user.
When a new computer or device, such as a DHCP server, is added to a network by means of autoconfiguration, Bonjour configures the device using a technique called link-local addressing. (If a DHCP server is available, Bonjour uses the assigned IP address.)
With link-local addressing, the computer randomly selects an IP address from a defined range of addresses set aside by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for link-local addressing and assigns that address to itself. Addresses are in the range 169.254.xxx.xxx.
The device then sends a message over the network to determine whether another device is using the address. If the address is in use, the device randomly selects addresses until it finds one that’s available. When the device has assigned itself an IP address, it can send and receive IP traffic on the network.
Wide-Area Bonjour browsing that allows computers and devices that support Bonjour to communicate across LANs, subnets, and the Internet.