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P2P Tests

Overview​

Peer-to-peer networking tests validate the networking layer functionality, including connection establishment, message routing, and network resilience.

Running P2P Tests​

Basic P2P Testing​

# Run P2P tests
make test-p2p

# Run with cargo-nextest
make nextest-p2p

P2P Testing Scenarios​

Connection establishment​

Low-level networking testing covers:

  • Basic peer connections: Establishing peer-to-peer connections
  • Handshake protocol: Connection initialization and authentication
  • Transport layer: Both libp2p and WebRTC transport validation
  • Peer discovery: Finding and connecting to network peers

Message routing​

Message handling and propagation:

  • Message delivery: Proper message routing between peers
  • Gossip protocols: Message propagation through the network
  • Request/response: Direct peer-to-peer communication
  • Message prioritization: Handling different message types

Network resilience​

Testing network fault tolerance:

  • Network partitions: Handling network splits and merges
  • Connection recovery: Reconnection after temporary failures
  • Peer churn: Handling peers joining and leaving the network
  • Load testing: Performance under high message volume

Dual Transport Architecture​

The Mina Rust node supports dual transport layers:

libp2p transport​

Traditional blockchain networking:

  • TCP/IP based: Standard internet protocols
  • DHT integration: Distributed hash table for peer discovery
  • NAT traversal: Connection through firewalls and NATs
  • Protocol multiplexing: Multiple protocols over single connection

WebRTC transport​

Browser-compatible networking:

  • UDP based: Lower latency communication
  • Browser compatibility: Direct browser-to-node connections
  • ICE protocol: Interactive Connectivity Establishment
  • STUN/TURN: NAT traversal support

P2P testing components​

Connection management​

  • Peer pool: Managing active connections
  • Connection limits: Respecting maximum connection counts
  • Bandwidth management: Controlling data flow rates
  • Connection quality: Monitoring connection health

Message types​

Different message categories tested:

  • Block messages: New block announcements and requests
  • Transaction messages: Transaction propagation
  • Consensus messages: Consensus-related communication
  • Peer messages: Peer discovery and management

Network debugger integration​

P2P tests integrate with the network debugger for:

  • Connection inspection: Real-time connection monitoring
  • Message tracing: Following messages through the network
  • Performance metrics: Bandwidth and latency measurements
  • Failure analysis: Debugging connection issues

Advanced P2P Features​

Custom channel abstractions​

The framework provides channel abstractions for different message types:

// Example: Message channel usage
let block_channel = p2p.get_channel::<BlockMessage>();
block_channel.broadcast(new_block).await;

let response = p2p.request::<TransactionRequest>(peer_id, request).await;

Peer discovery mechanisms​

Multiple discovery methods:

  • Bootstrap nodes: Initial connection points
  • DHT discovery: Distributed peer discovery
  • mDNS discovery: Local network discovery
  • Gossip discovery: Learning peers through existing connections

Network policies​

Configurable networking behavior:

  • Connection policies: Which peers to connect to
  • Message filtering: What messages to accept/forward
  • Rate limiting: Preventing spam and DoS attacks
  • Reputation systems: Peer quality scoring

WebRTC Specific Testing​

Signaling tests​

WebRTC requires signaling for connection establishment:

  • Offer/answer exchange: SDP negotiation
  • ICE candidate exchange: Connection path discovery
  • Signaling server: Central coordination point
  • Browser integration: Testing browser-based connections

NAT traversal​

WebRTC's NAT traversal capabilities:

  • STUN server: NAT type detection
  • TURN server: Relay connections when direct fails
  • ICE gathering: Finding connection paths
  • Connection fallback: Graceful degradation

Performance testing​

Throughput testing​

Measuring network performance:

  • Message throughput: Messages per second
  • Bandwidth usage: Data transfer rates
  • Latency measurement: Message delivery times
  • Connection scaling: Performance with many peers

Load testing​

Testing under stress:

  • High peer count: Many simultaneous connections
  • Message flooding: High message rates
  • Resource usage: Memory and CPU under load
  • Degradation patterns: How performance degrades

Best practices​

Test design​

  1. Network isolation: Use isolated test networks
  2. Deterministic tests: Control network timing where possible
  3. Error injection: Test failure scenarios
  4. Resource cleanup: Properly close connections

Debugging P2P issues​

  1. Network debugger: Use sidecar for connection inspection
  2. Connection logs: Monitor connection establishment
  3. Message tracing: Follow message paths
  4. Performance metrics: Monitor bandwidth and latency

Integration considerations​

  1. Scenario integration: P2P tests within broader scenarios
  2. Multi-transport: Test both libp2p and WebRTC
  3. Cross-implementation: Test with OCaml nodes
  4. Real network conditions: Test with actual internet conditions