OPTIMUMP2P: Fast and Reliable Gossiping in P2P Networks

TL;DR

OPTIMUMP2P is a new gossip algorithm for P2P networks that uses RLNC to improve speed and reliability of information dissemination, even with malicious actors, outperforming existing protocols.

Contribution

This work introduces OPTIMUMP2P, a novel RLNC-based gossip algorithm that enhances performance and robustness in libp2p-based P2P networks.

Findings

Significant reduction in block propagation time.

Improved reliability in message delivery.

Robustness against malicious data corruption.

Abstract

Gossip algorithms are pivotal in the dissemination of information within decentralized systems. Consequently, numerous gossip libraries have been developed and widely utilized especially in blockchain protocols for the propagation of blocks and transactions. A well-established library is libp2p, which provides two gossip algorithms: floodsub and gossipsub. These algorithms enable the delivery of published messages to a set of peers. In this work we aim to enhance the performance and reliability of libp2p by introducing OPTIMUMP2P, a novel gossip algorithm that leverages the capabilities of Random Linear Network Coding (RLNC) to expedite the dissemination of information in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network while ensuring reliable delivery, even in the presence of malicious actors capable of corrupting the transmitted data. Preliminary research from the Ethereum Foundation has demonstrated the use of RLNC in the significant improvement in the block propagation time [14]. Here we present extensive evaluation results both in simulation and real-world environments that demonstrate the performance gains of OPTIMUMP2P over the Gossipsub protocol.