Understanding Key Parameters in OptimumP2P

OptimumP2P nodes can operate in two distinct protocol modes, configured via:

NODE_MODE=optimum    # RLNC-enhanced gossip
NODE_MODE=gossipsub  # Standard libp2p gossip

Each mode has its own parameter set, with some shared configurations.

We support two protocol modes to let developers and researchers compare performance, reliability, and bandwidth trade-offs in real-world scenarios — without changing the rest of their infrastructure.

OptimumP2P (RLNC) Mode — NODE_MODE=optimum

OptimumP2P extends the gossip protocol with Random Linear Network Coding:

• Messages are split into shards
• Shards can be forwarded early once a threshold is reached
• Improves delivery resilience in lossy or high-latency environments

Example Docker service:

p2pnode-1:
  image: 'getoptimum/p2pnode:latest'
  environment:
    - NODE_MODE=optimum
    - LOG_LEVEL=debug
    - CLUSTER_ID=p2pnode-1
    - OPTIMUM_PORT=7070
    - OPTIMUM_MAX_MSG_SIZE=1048576
    - OPTIMUM_MESH_TARGET=6
    - OPTIMUM_MESH_MIN=3
    - OPTIMUM_MESH_MAX=12
    - OPTIMUM_SHARD_FACTOR=4
    - OPTIMUM_SHARD_MULT=1.5
    - OPTIMUM_THRESHOLD=0.75
    - BOOTSTRAP_PEERS=/ip4/172.28.0.12/tcp/7070/p2p/${BOOTSTRAP_PEER_ID}

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Purpose
OPTIMUM_PORT	7070	TCP port used for RLNC gossip.
OPTIMUM_MAX_MSG_SIZE	1048576 (1MB)	Max allowed message size (full payload).
OPTIMUM_MESH_TARGET	6	Desired peers in mesh.
OPTIMUM_MESH_MIN	3	Minimum peers before adding more.
OPTIMUM_MESH_MAX	12	Max peers before pruning.
OPTIMUM_SHARD_FACTOR	4	Number of shards per message.
OPTIMUM_SHARD_MULT	1.5	Redundancy multiplier (extra shards).
OPTIMUM_THRESHOLD	0.75	Fraction of shards required to forward/decode.
BOOTSTRAP_PEERS	(none)	List of peer multiaddrs to connect at startup.

GossipSub Mode — NODE_MODE=gossipsub

GossipSub is the standard libp2p pub/sub protocol:

• Maintains topic-specific peer meshes
• Exchanges message availability metadata with non-mesh peers
• Widely used for blockchain gossip

Example Docker service:

p2pnode-1:
  image: 'getoptimum/p2pnode:latest'
  environment:
    - NODE_MODE=gossipsub
    - LOG_LEVEL=debug
    - CLUSTER_ID=p2pnode-1
    - GOSSIPSUB_PORT=6060
    - GOSSIPSUB_MAX_MSG_SIZE=1048576
    - GOSSIPSUB_MESH_TARGET=6
    - GOSSIPSUB_MESH_MIN=4
    - GOSSIPSUB_MESH_MAX=12
    - BOOTSTRAP_PEERS=/ip4/172.28.0.12/tcp/6060/p2p/${BOOTSTRAP_PEER_ID}

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Purpose
GOSSIPSUB_PORT	6060	TCP port for gossip pub/sub.
GOSSIPSUB_MAX_MSG_SIZE	1048576 (1MB)	Max allowed message size.
GOSSIPSUB_MESH_TARGET	6	Desired peers in mesh.
GOSSIPSUB_MESH_MIN	4	Minimum peers before adding more.
GOSSIPSUB_MESH_MAX	12	Max peers before pruning.
BOOTSTRAP_PEERS	(none)	List of peer multiaddrs to connect at startup.

You can refer to the GossipSub parameter specification for a detailed explanation of the standard pub/sub settings.

Shared Parameters (Both optimum and gossipsub mode)

Parameter	Default	Purpose
LOG_LEVEL	debug	Log verbosity (debug, info, warn, error).
CLUSTER_ID	(none)	Logical group name for metrics and identification.
SIDECAR_PORT	33212	gRPC sidecar port for proxy ↔ P2P communication.
API_PORT	9090	HTTP API port for node management.
IDENTITY_DIR	/identity	Directory containing node’s private key.

OptimumProxy Configuration Parameters

When using Proxy + P2P deployment, the proxy service connects clients to P2P nodes and optionally enforces authentication.

Example Docker service:

proxy-1:
  image: 'getoptimum/proxy:latest'
  environment:
    - PROXY_HTTP_PORT=:8080
    - PROXY_GRPC_PORT=:50051
    - CLUSTER_ID=proxy-1
    - ENABLE_AUTH=false
    - LOG_LEVEL=debug
    - P2P_NODES=p2pnode-1:33212,p2pnode-2:33212

Parameter	Default	Purpose
PROXY_HTTP_PORT	:8080	HTTP API port for clients.
PROXY_GRPC_PORT	:50051	gRPC API port for clients.
ENABLE_AUTH	false	Enable Auth0 authentication.
AUTH0_DOMAIN / AUTH0_AUDIENCE	(none)	Auth0 settings (required if ENABLE_AUTH=true).
P2P_NODES	(none)	Comma-separated list of host:port for sidecar connections.
SUBSCRIBER_THRESHOLD	0.1	% of connected subscribers needed to forward a message.

Recommended Default Configuration

The following table shows the production defaults, which are optimized for typical deployment scenarios:

For Quick Start (Copy-Paste Ready)

OptimumP2P Mode (NODE_MODE=optimum):

environment:
  - NODE_MODE=optimum
  - LOG_LEVEL=production
  - CLUSTER_ID=my-cluster
  - SIDECAR_PORT=33212
  - API_PORT=8081
  - IDENTITY_DIR=/identity
  - OPTIMUM_PORT=7070
  - OPTIMUM_MAX_MSG_SIZE=1048576
  - OPTIMUM_RANDOM_MSG_SIZE=512
  - OPTIMUM_MESH_TARGET=6
  - OPTIMUM_MESH_MIN=4
  - OPTIMUM_MESH_MAX=12
  - OPTIMUM_SHARD_FACTOR=4
  - OPTIMUM_SHARD_MULT=1.5
  - OPTIMUM_THRESHOLD=0.75
  - BOOTSTRAP_PEERS=""

GossipSub Mode (NODE_MODE=gossipsub):

environment:
  - NODE_MODE=gossipsub
  - LOG_LEVEL=production
  - CLUSTER_ID=my-cluster
  - SIDECAR_PORT=33212
  - API_PORT=8081
  - IDENTITY_DIR=/identity
  - GOSSIPSUB_PORT=6060
  - GOSSIPSUB_MAX_MSG_SIZE=1048576
  - GOSSIPSUB_MESH_TARGET=6
  - GOSSIPSUB_MESH_MIN=4
  - GOSSIPSUB_MESH_MAX=12
  - BOOTSTRAP_PEERS=""

Complete Defaults Reference

Parameter	Default Value	Used In Mode	Description
LOG_LEVEL	production	Both	Log verbosity (production/debug/info/warn/error)
CLUSTER_ID	""	Both	Logical group name for metrics
NODE_MODE	""	Both	Protocol mode (optimum/gossipsub)
SIDECAR_PORT	33212	Both	gRPC sidecar port
API_PORT	8081	Both	HTTP API port
IDENTITY_DIR	/tmp	Both	Directory for node private key
OPTIMUM_PORT	7070	optimum	TCP port for RLNC gossip
OPTIMUM_MAX_MSG_SIZE	1048576	optimum	Max message size (1MB)
OPTIMUM_RANDOM_MSG_SIZE	512	optimum	Random message size for testing
OPTIMUM_MESH_TARGET	6	optimum	Desired peers in mesh
OPTIMUM_MESH_MIN	4	optimum	Minimum peers before adding more
OPTIMUM_MESH_MAX	12	optimum	Max peers before pruning
OPTIMUM_SHARD_FACTOR	4	optimum	Number of shards per message
OPTIMUM_SHARD_MULT	1.5	optimum	Redundancy multiplier (extra shards)
OPTIMUM_THRESHOLD	0.75	optimum	Forward/decode threshold (75%)
GOSSIPSUB_PORT	6060	gossipsub	TCP port for standard gossip
GOSSIPSUB_MAX_MSG_SIZE	1048576	gossipsub	Max message size (1MB)
GOSSIPSUB_MESH_TARGET	6	gossipsub	Desired peers in mesh
GOSSIPSUB_MESH_MIN	4	gossipsub	Minimum peers before adding more
GOSSIPSUB_MESH_MAX	12	gossipsub	Max peers before pruning
BOOTSTRAP_PEERS	[]	Both	List of peer multiaddrs for bootstrap

Note: These are the production defaults used by OptimumP2P nodes. For experimental tuning, see Common Experiments.