Network Topology

KayakNet uses a decentralized peer-to-peer topology with no central servers.

Network Structure

                    ┌──────────┐
                    │Bootstrap │
                    │  Node    │
                    └────┬─────┘
                         │
         ┌───────────────┼───────────────┐
         │               │               │
    ┌────▼────┐     ┌────▼────┐     ┌────▼────┐
    │  Node A │◄───►│  Node B │◄───►│  Node C │
    └────┬────┘     └────┬────┘     └────┬────┘
         │               │               │
         │    ┌──────────┘               │
         │    │                          │
    ┌────▼────▼──┐              ┌────────▼───┐
    │   Node D   │◄────────────►│   Node E   │
    └────────────┘              └────────────┘

Node Types

Bootstrap Nodes

• Well-known entry points

• Help new nodes join

• Provide initial peer lists

• Always available

Regular Nodes

• Run by users

• Equal participants

• Route traffic for others

• Come and go freely

Relay Nodes (Optional)

• High-bandwidth volunteers

• Prioritized for routing

• No special privileges

Peer Discovery

Initial Connection

1. New node contacts bootstrap

2. Solves Proof-of-Work challenge

3. Receives initial peer list

4. Connects to peers

DHT-Based Discovery

Once connected:

1. Node joins Kademlia DHT

2. Announces its presence

3. Discovers peers via DHT queries

4. Maintains routing table

Peer Selection

Criteria for selecting peers:

• Diversity - Different subnets/geographies

• Reliability - Low latency, high uptime

• Capacity - Bandwidth availability

• Reputation - Peer score

Connection Management

Maintaining Connections

┌─────────────┐
│   Target:   │
│  10-50 peers│
└──────┬──────┘
       │
       ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│ If peers < min:                 │
│   - Query DHT for more          │
│   - Try cached addresses        │
│ If peers > max:                 │
│   - Disconnect lowest scored    │
└─────────────────────────────────┘

Connection Limits

Parameter	Default	Description
Min Peers	5	Minimum connections
Max Peers	50	Maximum connections
Bootstrap Peers	3	Reserved for bootstrap

Peer Scoring

Peers are scored based on:

• Latency - Lower is better

• Uptime - Longer is better

• Behavior - No spam, valid messages

• Throughput - Bandwidth provided

Network Resilience

Node Failures

When a peer disconnects:

1. Mark as offline

2. Try reconnection (3 attempts)

3. Remove from active list

4. Keep in cache for later

5. Find replacement peer

Partition Healing

If network splits:

1. Both partitions continue independently

2. Bootstrap nodes bridge partitions

3. DHT eventually merges

4. Data reconciles

Attack Resistance

Attack	Mitigation
Sybil	PoW, peer scoring
Eclipse	Diverse selection
DDoS	Rate limiting
Partition	Bootstrap bridges

Data Propagation

Message Routing

Messages propagate via:

1. Direct - To connected peers

2. Gossip - Random peer selection

3. DHT - Store and forward

4. PubSub - Topic subscription

Latency

Typical message latency:

• Direct peer: 50-100ms

• 2-hop: 100-200ms

• 3-hop (onion): 150-300ms

• DHT lookup: 200-500ms

Geographic Distribution

Nodes are globally distributed:

• No geographic restrictions

• Automatic peer diversity

• Regional clustering avoided

Americas        Europe          Asia-Pacific
   ●              ●●               ●
  ●●●            ●●●●             ●●●
   ●●             ●●               ●●

Bootstrap Infrastructure

Current Bootstrap Nodes

Address	Location	Status
203.161.33.237:4242	Primary	Active

Running Your Own Bootstrap

./kayakd \
  --listen 0.0.0.0:4242 \
  --public-api \
  --name my-bootstrap \
  --data-dir /var/lib/kayaknet

Contact us to be added to default list.

Monitoring

Network Health

Check your node's connectivity:

curl http://127.0.0.1:8080/api/network/peers

Key metrics:

• Peer count (should be 5-50)

• Latency (should be <500ms)

• Message throughput

Debug Logging

./kayakd --log-level debug