🕸️ Network Topology: The Web of Nodes
Learn how nodes connect in a peer-to-peer mesh network
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How nodes connect to each other determines the network's shape, resilience, and performance. Let's explore blockchain's peer-to-peer topology!
🎯 What is Network Topology?
Topology describes the structure of connections between nodes. In blockchain, we use a peer-to-peer (P2P) decentralized topology where every node is equal.
🎮 Interactive Network Visualizer
Adjust the number of nodes and watch the P2P network structure:
This is a simplified P2P network. In reality, Bitcoin nodes maintain 8-125 connections, creating a highly redundant mesh that's nearly impossible to partition.
📊 Topology Comparison
Compare blockchain's P2P architecture with traditional topologies:
Decentralized (P2P)
Blockchain's architecture - every node connects to multiple peers equally
🔍 Connection Strategy
How blockchain nodes decide which peers to connect to:
Connect to nodes in different geographic regions and on different networks (ISPs). Prevents network partitions and increases resilience.
Prioritize nodes with high uptime and good behavior history. Bad actors are automatically disconnected and blacklisted.
Keep 8+ outbound connections (you initiate) and allow inbound connections (others initiate). Balance ensures bidirectional information flow.
⚠️ Network Attacks
Attacker surrounds your node with their malicious nodes, isolating you from the honest network.
Internet splits (country-level firewall), dividing blockchain into separate networks temporarily.
💡 Key Insights
Multiple paths between nodes mean no single failure can disrupt the network. P2P topology provides natural redundancy.
P2P is slower than client-server but vastly more resilient. Blockchain prioritizes censorship resistance over speed.
Too few connections = vulnerable to attacks. Too many = wasted bandwidth. 8-125 is the sweet spot for most blockchains.