Leader-based
Last updated
Last updated
The cluster members are divided into two categories: leaders and followers. Followers are responsible for routing data to and from the leader and users, as well as synchronizing the state. Meanwhile, the leader takes on more complex tasks such as sequencing transactions into blocks, providing order commitments, signing transactions, and interacting with rollups. This method offers several advantages.
Simplicity: With a single leader responsible for sequencing, the system simplifies the decision-making process. This centralized approach reduces the complexity and overhead associated with achieving consensus among multiple nodes.
Efficiency: Leader-based systems can implement more efficient ordering and syncing related decisions since the leader node acts as the authoritative source for sequencing. This streamlines the process of agreeing on the state of the system, as there's no need for multiple nodes to negotiate each sequence.
Reduced Latency: By centralizing the sequencing tasks, leader-based systems can often reduce communication latency. Messages do not need to traverse multiple nodes to reach a consensus, as the leader directly sequences and processes requests. However, note that the leader manages all processing, meaning its performance directly influences the overall network's functionality.
Optimized Throughput: The leader can optimize sequencing and resource allocation based on the current system load and priorities, potentially improving the overall throughput of the system.
To avoid confusion, the details regarding the leader-follower interaction were not included in the previous sections. This was done to simplify the concept, allowing readers to view the cluster as a singular entity. However, below is an overview of how leader-follower interactions are handled:
For every RPC request made to any of the followers, the request and its associated data are redirected to the leaders. This redirection mechanism is evident in the tx_ orderer's RPC methods:
The leader distributes the data to the followers to maintain a synchronized and updated state across the entire cluster. Generally, synchronization in the sequencing process involves every piece of data being propagated among the follower nodes. Syncing encrypted transactions, time-lock puzzles, order commitments are carried out.
The sequence diagram illustrates the actions that are managed by the leader, eliminating the need for consensus:
Verification of zk-proof: The leader verifies the zk-proof.
Ordering of Encrypted Transactions: The leader arranges the encrypted transactions for the upcoming block.
Generating an Order Commitment: The leader creates order commitments with PRE Merkle proofs for the encrypted transactions.
Signing the Order Commitment: The leader signs the order commitments.
Forwarding the Order Commitments: The leader forwards the order commitments, encrypted transactions and other relevant data to the followers
Receiving RPC call for providing the block the rollup operator: Upon receiving the call for providing the block to the rollup operator, leader broadcasts this message to all the peers and starts the process of block building.
Transaction Decryption: The leader decrypts the transactions using the key obtained from the DKG.
SKDE allows decryption of all transactions using a single key obtained from solving a single time-lock puzzle.
Interacting with Rollup Operator for Block Provision: The leader responds to the rollup operator by providing the blocks.
Creating task on ValidationServiceManager contract: Upon completion and submission of the block, the leader generates the block commitment and submits it to the ValidationServiceManager contract as initialization of the block validation process.
Although currently in the development stage leader also generates POST Merkle proofs, which users can use together with the PRE Merkle Proof to verify the order and inclusion of their transactions.
