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Networking

Kakitu uses two distinct sub-networks: the live network for real-time block and vote propagation, and the bootstrap network for bulk ledger synchronization.

Live Network

The live network is the primary communication channel for:

  • Broadcasting new blocks to the network
  • Propagating representative votes
  • Exchanging keepalive messages with peers

Transport

TCP on port 7075 (main network).

Network Live Port
Main 7075
Test 17075
Beta 54000

Message Types

Message Purpose
keepalive Peer discovery and connectivity check
publish Broadcast a new block
confirm_req Request confirmation votes for a block
confirm_ack Send a vote for a block
bulk_pull Request multiple blocks (bootstrap)
telemetry_req / telemetry_ack Node health metrics exchange

Block Propagation

  1. Account creates a signed block with valid PoW
  2. Block is submitted to any node via the process RPC
  3. Node validates the block (signature, PoW, chain linkage)
  4. Valid block is broadcast to connected peers via publish messages
  5. Peers rebroadcast to their peers (gossip protocol)
  6. Representatives vote via confirm_ack messages

Bootstrap Network

The bootstrap network is used by new or recovering nodes to download the full ledger history. It is optimized for bulk data transfer rather than real-time propagation.

Transport

TCP on the same port as the live network. Bootstrap and live traffic are differentiated by message type.

Bootstrapping Process

  1. New node connects to preconfigured seed peers (peering.kakitu.org)
  2. Requests the genesis block hash to identify the network
  3. Downloads account frontiers (the latest block hash for each account)
  4. Pulls missing blocks for accounts whose local state is behind
  5. Verifies each block's signature and PoW
  6. Once within 1% of network block count, node is considered synced

Bootstrap Modes

Mode Description
Legacy bootstrap Pull frontiers for all accounts, then fill in missing blocks
Lazy bootstrap Request missing blocks by hash as needed
Wallet bootstrap Prioritize blocks for accounts in the local wallet

Peer Discovery

Preconfigured Peers

The node ships with a list of well-known peers in config-node.toml:

[node]
preconfigured_peers = [
  "peering.kakitu.org"
]

Keepalive Messages

Nodes exchange keepalive messages with known peers. Each keepalive includes a list of other known peers, allowing organic peer discovery across the network.

UPnP

By default, the node attempts to use UPnP to open port 7075 on your router. This can be disabled:

[node]
upnp_enabled = false

Network Identity

The Kakitu network is identified by the genesis block hash — the hash of the very first block. Nodes that do not share the same genesis block hash are on different networks and will not communicate.

This means running --network=test and --network=live nodes are completely isolated, even if they run on the same machine.

Bandwidth

Node bandwidth usage depends on:

  • Number of connected peers
  • Network transaction volume
  • Whether the node is a Principal Representative (PR votes are rebroadcast)

Approximate bandwidth for a PR node on a busy network: 50–200 Mbps.

Limit bandwidth in config-node.toml:

[node]
bandwidth_limit = 10485760      # 10 MB/s
bandwidth_limit_burst_ratio = 3.0
bootstrap_bandwidth_limit = 5242880  # 5 MB/s

Telemetry

Nodes exchange telemetry metrics with peers. Retrieve your peers' telemetry:

curl -s -d '{"action":"telemetry","raw":"true"}' http://localhost:7076

This returns block counts, uptime, version, and bandwidth data for all connected peers, which helps you assess network health and your sync status.