Documents the tradeoff between metadata privacy and route error feedback:
- Intermediate routers see src_addr/dest_addr (traffic analysis possible)
- Source address needed for CoordsRequired/PathBroken error messages
- Deliberate choice: explicit feedback over silent drops + app timeouts
- Partial mitigation: addresses are SHA-256(npub), not npubs themselves
- Notes onion routing as alternative with different tradeoffs
Add comprehensive wire format diagrams with byte offsets, field sizes,
and concrete examples to three protocol documents:
fips-wire-protocol.md (Appendix A):
- Encrypted frame (0x00) with plaintext structure breakdown
- Noise IK msg1/msg2 with payload breakdown
- Complete handshake flow diagram
fips-gossip-protocol.md (Appendix A):
- TreeAnnounce with ancestry entry structure and size table
- FilterAnnounce with bloom filter layout
- LookupRequest/LookupResponse with examples
- Message flow showing packet nesting
fips-session-protocol.md (§8):
- SessionSetup, SessionAck, DataPacket, CoordsRequired, PathBroken
- Full nested packet example showing link + session layers
fips-routing.md:
- Refactored Part 4 to "Route Cache Management"
- Moved wire format content to fips-session-protocol.md
Session protocol (fips-session-protocol.md):
- Clarified DNS entry point applies to IP-based apps; native FIPS uses npub
- Updated transport failover examples (UDP → WiFi, WiFi → LTE)
- Added roaming description to session independence section
- Expanded §5 with coords-on-demand mechanism for route cache recovery
- Added Noise IK vs XK privacy tradeoff note to §6
Routing (fips-routing.md):
- DataPacket now has optional coordinates (COORDS_PRESENT flag)
- Updated handle_data_packet to cache coords from packets
- Sender state machine: WARM/COLD based on CoordsRequired errors
- Updated packet type summary table
Architecture (fips-architecture.md):
- Fixed cross-references to session protocol sections
Design change: Session layer now uses Noise IK pattern (previously KK),
matching the link layer. Rationale: initiator knows destination npub,
responder learns initiator identity from handshake - same asymmetry as
link connections.
Document consistency fixes:
- Auth* events → Noise IK msg1/msg2 terminology in state machines
- PeerId → NodeId in routing code examples
- BloomUpdate → FilterAnnounce terminology
- Updated cross-references and tables
Wire format:
- Add HandshakeMessageType enum (NoiseIKMsg1=0x01, NoiseIKMsg2=0x02)
- Define unified TLV framing for handshake and post-handshake messages
- Update fips-design.md and fips-protocol-flow.md with wire format details
Initialization:
- Defer TUN setup until after peer connections initiated
- Order: packet channel → transports → peers → TUN
Logging cleanup:
- Consolidate node/TUN info logs into aligned multi-line format
- TUN shutdown: single start/stop message, remove intermediate noise
- Remove ip link show callout and redundant Starting node message
- Change UDP transport stopped to debug level
Align terminology and cross-references across all FIPS design documents
based on decisions made in fips-protocol-flow.md (Session 39).
Key changes:
- Distinguish "Routing Session" (hop-by-hop cache) from "Crypto Session"
(end-to-end Noise KK encryption) throughout all docs
- Add handshake_payload field to SessionSetup/SessionAck for combined
establishment of routing and crypto sessions
- Update fips-design.md encryption section to reference Noise KK
- Add SessionSetup (0x06), SessionAck (0x07), CoordsRequired (0x08)
message types
- Add Crypto Session Management config section to fips-architecture.md
- Add cross-references to fips-protocol-flow.md in all design docs
- Update reconciliation tracking in protocol-flow.md §7
Create comprehensive architecture document covering:
- Core entities: Node, Transport, Link, Peer hierarchy
- Transport vs Link distinction (interface vs connection)
- State machines for Transport, Link, and Peer lifecycles
- Reference transport types: UDP/IP, Ethernet, WiFi, Tor
- Spanning tree and Bloom filter state requirements
- Self-healing protocol design (no ack/retry needed)
- Leaf-only operation for constrained devices
- Comprehensive sysctl-style configuration reference
Also add architecture review document capturing identified
issues to resolve before implementation begins.
Create fips-routing.md covering the complete routing architecture:
- Bloom filter design: 4KB filters, K=2 scope, event-driven updates
- Discovery protocol: LookupRequest/Response with signed proofs
- Greedy tree routing using coordinates from discovery
- Session establishment model for minimal data packet overhead
- Router coordinate caching with LRU eviction
Key design decisions:
- Leaf-only mode for constrained devices (single peer handles routing)
- Separation of discovery (find destination) from routing (deliver packets)
- Session setup pays coordinate cost once; data packets carry only addresses
- 36-byte data packet header comparable to IPv6
Update design docs README to include new document.
Move design documents from working directory into source tree:
- fips-design.md - Full protocol design specification
- spanning-tree-dynamics.md - Spanning tree protocol dynamics study
Add README index files for docs/ and docs/design/.
Johnathan Corgan