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ADC protocol: the modern Direct Connect

ADC (Advanced Direct Connect) is the modern successor to NMDC. The idea is the same, the hub coordinates and clients transfer, but the design is cleaner: a clear message structure, real client identities (CID and SID), feature negotiation, and proper TLS support (ADCS). Setting something up fresh today? ADC is the saner pick.

Documentation

HBRI

HBRI is an unofficial ADC extension for hybrid hubs that are reachable over both IPv4 and IPv6. It lets the hub verify the address a client did not connect with: the client opens a short second login connection over the other IP version and proves it with a token, so the hub can publish both addresses and keep client-to-client connections and NAT traversal working across both protocols.

It is implemented in AirDC++, ADCH++, and Luadch-ng but is not part of the official ADC specification. For the original proposal, the implementation notes, and an example login, see the discussion on our forum:

For the older protocol, see NMDC.