OPTIMUMP2P: Fast and Reliable Gossiping in P2P Networks

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: floodsup and gossibsup. 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.