((("bitcoin network", "Bitcoin Relay Networks")))((("relay networks")))While the bitcoin P2P network serves the general needs of a broad variety of node types, it exhibits too high network latency for the specialized needs of bitcoin mining nodes.
Bitcoin miners are engaged in a time-sensitive competition to solve the Proof-of-Work problem and extend the blockchain (see <<mining>>). While participating in this competition, bitcoin miners must minimize the time between the propagation of a winning block and the beginning of the next round of competition. In mining, network latency is directly related to profit margins.
((("propagation", "relay networks and")))Bitcoin miners are engaged in a time-sensitive competition to solve the Proof-of-Work problem and extend the blockchain (see <<mining>>). While participating in this competition, bitcoin miners must minimize the time between the propagation of a winning block and the beginning of the next round of competition. In mining, network latency is directly related to profit margins.
((("Corallo, Matt")))A _Bitcoin Relay Network_ is a network that attempts minimize the latency in the transmission of blocks between miners. The original http://www.bitcoinrelaynetwork.org[Bitcoin Relay Network] was created by core developer Matt Corallo in 2015 to enable fast synchronization of blocks between miners with very low latency. The network consisted of several specialized nodes hosted on Amazon Web Services infrastructure around the world and served to connect the majority of miners and mining pools.
@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ Alternatively, a bootstrapping node that knows nothing of the network must be gi
.The initial handshake between peers
image::images/mbc2_0804.png["NetworkHandshake"]
Once one or more connections are established, the new node will send an +addr+ message containing its own IP address to its neighbors. The neighbors will, in turn, forward the +addr+ message to their neighbors, ensuring that the newly connected node becomes well known and better connected. Additionally, the newly connected node can send +getaddr+ to the neighbors, asking them to return a list of IP addresses of other peers. That way, a node can find peers to connect to and advertise its existence on the network for other nodes to find it. <<address_propagation>> shows the address discovery protocol.
Once one or more connections are established, the new node will send an +addr+ message containing its own IP address to its neighbors. The neighbors will, in turn, forward the +addr+ message to their neighbors, ensuring that the newly connected node becomes well known and better connected. Additionally, the newly connected node can send +getaddr+ to the neighbors, asking them to return a list of IP addresses of other peers. That way, a node can find peers to connect to and advertise its existence on the network for other nodes to find it. <<address_propagation>> ((("propagation", "address propagation and discovery")))shows the address discovery protocol.
judymcconville@roadrunner.com
7 years ago