From ce298bf825f5c065338f62aa0f9c6c37573f6efd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Oskar Thoren Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2019 15:50:29 +0800 Subject: [PATCH] Early draft: Waku mode spec --- waku-wacky-whisper-spec.md | 49 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 49 insertions(+) create mode 100644 waku-wacky-whisper-spec.md diff --git a/waku-wacky-whisper-spec.md b/waku-wacky-whisper-spec.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fa10332 --- /dev/null +++ b/waku-wacky-whisper-spec.md @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ +# Waku Wacky Whisper Specification + +> Version: 0.1 (Draft) + +> Authors: Infura "The Devil" Osaka + +Basically Infura for chat. Addresses scalability issues of Whisper by sacrificing metadata protection. Specifically for resource restricted devices like mobilephones with limited data plan. + +インフラ (Infura) means infrastructure in Japanese, and 枠 (Waku) is a closely related word that means 'frame' or 'slide'. + +## Rationale + +Many users put a premium on bandwidth usage over metadata protection. Implementing Waku mode gives users a more performant experience, at the expense of metadata protection and requiring stronger connectivity. + +For more background, please see Whisper theoretical model [report](https://htmlpreview.github.io/?https://github.com/vacp2p/research/blob/master/whisper_scalability/report.html) with associated [source code](https://github.com/vacp2p/research/tree/master/whisper_scalability). + +## Roles and definitions + +1. Waku-chan +2. Waku-san (aka Waku node) + +A client is said to implement waku mode if it connects to a Waku node and acts as a Waku-chan. The Waku node connects to the rest of the Whisper network. + +## Amendments to Whisper + +Waku mode is compatible with [EIP-627](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-627) +and simplify extends its capabilities. It does this through a new packet code, +as well as some client specific recommendations. Two specific protocol changes +are done: + +1. Modify EIP627 by adding a new packet code, e..g `Topic List [101, bytes]` where bytes is a list of N topics. + +Format TBD. + +2. Provide way to identify oneself as a Waku node. + +Method TBD. + +## Recommendations for clients + +1. Avoid duplicate envelopes + +To avoid duplicate envelopes, only connect to one Waku node. Benign duplicate +envelopes is an intrinsic property of Whisper which often leads to a N factor +increase in traffic, where N is the number of peers you are connected to. + +2. Topic specific recommendations + +TBD.