This directory is a copy of the code found in https://github.com/dedis/cothority with the goal to make it small enough to be code-reviewable. The flow for code in this directory should always be:
dedis/cothority/byzcoin + patches ->
c4dt/byzcoin
The only binary in this directory is the server itself. For all other
binaries used normally in byzcoin production, like bcadmin, scmgr, and
others, please install them from the dedis/cothority directory.
For those familiar with the cothority/onet project, here some technical details of what is in this repository. This information is also useful as a starting point for a code review.
The cothority project uses onet for services available to the outside. Byzcoin needs at least the following services:
- skipchain - to handle the underlying consensus protocol
- byzcoin - the actual transaction and global state part
For convenience, the following service is also added:
- status - return information about the node
TODO: list of protocols
A byzcoin node needs two ports, and both should be exposed to the internet. The standard port-numbers are 7770 and 7771, but other port numbers can be chosen.
- node-2-node communication: this uses a proprietary protocol where protobuf-messages are sent over a plain TCP or TLS connection
- node-2-client communication: also a proprietary protocol with protobuf- messages over a websocket connection