nomos-node/nodes/nomos-node/README.md

Nomos Node

Nomos blockchain node

Network service

Nomos node can be configured with one of the following network backends:

• libp2p
• Waku

Mixclient integration

The mixclient is currently integrated as a part of the libp2p network backend. To run a Nomos node with the libp2p network backend, the mixnet_client and mixnet_delay fields in the config.yaml must be specified, so the Nomos node can send/receive packets to/from mixnodes.

For more detials about the mixnode/mixclient architecture, see the mixnet documentation.

flowchart LR

    subgraph mixnet
        direction LR

        subgraph layer-1
            direction TB
            mixnode-1-1
            mixnode-1-2
        end
        subgraph layer-2
            direction TB
            mixnode-2-1
            mixnode-2-2
        end
        subgraph layer-3
            direction TB
            mixnode-3-1
            mixnode-3-2
        end

        mixnode-1-1 --> mixnode-2-1
        mixnode-1-1 --> mixnode-2-2
        mixnode-1-2 --> mixnode-2-1
        mixnode-1-2 --> mixnode-2-2
        mixnode-2-1 --> mixnode-3-1
        mixnode-2-1 --> mixnode-3-2
        mixnode-2-2 --> mixnode-3-1
        mixnode-2-2 --> mixnode-3-2
    end

    subgraph nomos-network
        direction TB

        subgraph nomos-node-1
            libp2p-1[libp2p] --> mixclient-sender-1[mixclient-sender]
        end
        subgraph nomos-node-2
            libp2p-2[libp2p] --> mixclient-sender-2[mixclient-sender]
        end
        subgraph nomos-node-3
            libp2p-3[libp2p] <--> mixclient-senderreceiver
        end
    end
    
    mixclient-sender-1 --> mixnode-1-1
    mixclient-sender-1 --> mixnode-1-2
    mixclient-sender-2 --> mixnode-1-1
    mixclient-sender-2 --> mixnode-1-2
    mixclient-senderreceiver --> mixnode-1-1
    mixclient-senderreceiver --> mixnode-1-2
    mixnode-3-2 --> mixclient-senderreceiver

Sender mode

If you are a node operator who wants to run only a Nomos node (not a mixnode), you can configure the mixclient as the Sender mode (like nomos-node-1 or nomos-node-2 above). Then, the Nomos node sends messages to the mixnet instead of broadcasting them directly through libp2p gossipsub.

The mixclient in the Sender mode will splits a message into multiple Sphinx packets by constructing mix routes based on the mixnet topology configured, and sends packets to the mixnode.

SenderReceiver mode

If you are a node operator who runs both a Nomos node and a mixnode, you can configure the mixclient as the SenderReceiver mode by specifying the client listen address of your mixnode (like nomos-node-3 and mixnode-3-2 above).

The Nomos node with the mixclient in the SenderRecevier mode will behave essentially the same as the one in the Sender mode. In addition, the node will receive packets from the connected mixnode, reconstruct a message, and broadcast it through libp2p gossipsub, if the connected mixnode is part of the last mixnet layer. In other words, at least one Nomos node in the entire network must have a mixclient in the SenderReceiver mode, so that reconstructed messages can be broadcasted to all other Nomos nodes.