“Zero Configuration Networking (Zeroconf) is a standard method
of establishing communications between computers and allowing them
to advertise and access each others’ resources. It is designed to
ease some of the complexities involved in computer networking–in
fact, it is designed to remove them altogether, by requiring no
user configuration at all. Zeroconf is generally intended for use
with small ad-hoc networks such as those typically found in a home
environment. With Zeroconf, users should be able to plug two
computers together with a crossover cable and instantly be able to
access services hosted by one computer on the other, and vice
versa…”