SINP is pull based — I give my SINP address to someone, and he will pull the information he wants from my SINP server.
Our competitor SXIP is push based. When I use my SXIP identity I push all information I want to provide to the service — there doesn’t even have to be a SXIP server (‘homesite’).
Push has got certain advantages over pull:
- Pull is complexer: you need more traffic and more complicated traffic. Push is simpler.
- You most likely need a seperate server for pull (you need one with SINP at least), this makes you rely on your SINP server. You don’t need a real one for push.
But pull too got advantages:
- You don’t need to actively give your information. When I’m offline someone can still pull information from my SINP identity.
- Pull doesn’t require the actual information to go via your computer. If someone requests my creditcard number and I allow it, it won’t be redirected through the computer I’m using, which is safer.