libp2p / libp2p/notes

Peers should cache provider information to spread it around the network.

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Description

After finding new providers for a piece of content, peers should store those providers locally. This:

  1. Speeds up future (initial) find provider queries for the same thing.
  2. Distributes frequently requested provider records around the network.

However, I'm a bit concerned about provider record expiration given a FindProviders call won't actually return when the provider record was initially submitted. This means that popular provider records would live forever.

One solution is to do this (record that some peer provides some content/service) inside the end service itself. For example, when we get a block from a peer, we could locally record a provider record for the peer from which we got the block. This would, incidentally, help us resume downloading a file if we restart.

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  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
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Research direction

Start by tracing the FindProviders flow and the point where peers discover providers for content. Compare caching records after discovery with recording the source peer in the end service when a block is received, then define how provider expiration is preserved. Done means popular provider records are distributed without living forever and downloads can resume after restart.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
distributed-systems, networking
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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