diff --git a/server/README.md b/server/README.md
index 0a3ae73..216fda3 100644
--- a/server/README.md
+++ b/server/README.md
@@ -7,6 +7,44 @@ schedule), UDP data plane (ECHO with observation block, TIMESYNC, HMAC gate, ant
 anti-amplification — wire format covered by tests). Not yet: TCP/TLS echo, STUN, canary DNS,
 actions, observations API, admin UI beyond token minting.
 
+## Deployment requirements
+
+**No reverse proxy, no 80/443 — by design.** Traefik/nginx on the same host are fine; this
+server never touches their ports, and putting it *behind* them would break two protocol
+properties:
+
+- Clients trust the control plane **only** via the SPKI pin from enrollment (self-signed is
+  first-class). A proxy terminates TLS with its own rotating ACME cert → pins break. The pin
+  model exists so no real certificate is ever needed.
+- On the data plane, **the observed source address/port/TTL/DSCP *is* the measurement**. Any
+  proxy or NAT layer (including Docker's) substitutes its own — hence host networking.
+
+What a target host actually needs:
+
+| Port | Proto | Purpose | Notes |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| 8443 | tcp | control plane (pinned HTTPS) | any port — it travels in the enrollment QR + profile |
+| 8442 | udp | UDP probe data plane | any port, profile-driven |
+| 8441 | tcp | TCP/TLS echo | any port (not yet implemented) |
+| 3478 | udp | STUN | keep standard: vanilla RFC 5389 for tool interop; rarely contended |
+| 8444 | tcp | admin | loopback-only by design — reach via SSH tunnel |
+
+All configurable via `ECHOLOT_*_LISTEN`. Plus:
+
+1. **A public IP on the host** (v4, ideally also v6 — v6 topology issues are half of what
+   clients want to measure). Behind NAT, plain port-forwards work.
+2. **Second IP (optional):** full RFC 5780 NAT-behavior discovery (`stun-5780`) needs an
+   alternate reply address; without it the profile advertises `stun-basic` and clients degrade
+   gracefully.
+3. **Delegated DNS subzone (optional, later):** the `canary-dns` capability needs port 53 on
+   some IP + an NS delegation (mind systemd-resolved on 127.0.0.53). Absent → capability simply
+   not advertised.
+4. **Outbound freedom** for connect-back / delayed-echo actions — no extra inbound ports;
+   generated traffic goes only to the session's observed source.
+
+Deliberately out of scope here: an echo listener on 443 (to detect port-based egress filtering)
+— that genuinely needs 443 and belongs on a dedicated IP, not on a host running a reverse proxy.
+
 ## Run in Docker (config via env)
 
 ```sh