Appendix B: Network Architecture

Appendix B: Lattice Network Architecture

Lattice operates as a two-tier network with Orchestrators handling control plane operations and Resource Nodes providing data plane services.

Orchestrator Responsibilities

Orchestrators run continuously and maintain global network state:

• Registry management: Orchestrators maintain a registry of bonded Resource Nodes with their capabilities (supported services, geographic location, compute capacity, network bandwidth), current status (available, busy, offline), and reputation scores.

• Job assignment: When an application requests a meshnet, the Orchestrator selects Resource Nodes based on multiple factors including reputation score, geographic proximity, available capacity, and stake. The specific algorithm and factor weights will be detailed in a separate technical paper on network algorithms.

• Validation pipeline: Orchestrators validate submitted Proofs of Coordination through several checks:

  1. Signature verification (all participant signatures valid)

  2. Participant authorization (all participants were registered and authorized for this job)

  3. Consensus correctness (proof demonstrates supermajority agreement)

  4. Timestamp validity (session occurred within claimed time window)

  5. Reputation eligibility (participants had sufficient reputation to participate)

• Reward distribution: Validated proofs trigger reward calculation. Orchestrators issue reward proposals specifying how many Reward Points each participant earned. Multiple Orchestrators co-sign reward proposals to prevent single-Orchestrator manipulation.

• Failover coordination: Orchestrators respond to requests from meshnet participants or assigned Resource Nodes when additional coordination is required. If a meshnet risks losing consensus threshold due to participant failures, Orchestrators can inject backup Resource Nodes to maintain f+1 redundancy.

Resource Node Operations

Resource Nodes register with Orchestrators by:

1. Staking 10,000 $TASHI

2. Proving network connectivity (NAT traversal capability, latency to Orchestrators)

3. Declaring service capabilities

Initial Resource Node services include:

• Telemetry: Peer-to-peer connectivity metrics collection

• Handshake: Temporary key-value store for coordinating meshnet metadata and connectivity (also known as "Lobby" in gaming contexts)

• Traversal: Network traversal including NAT traversal

• Proxy: Simple tunneling service to forward traffic between peers in a meshnet (also known as "Tunnel")

Once registered, Resource Nodes:

• Respond to job assignment requests from Orchestrators

• Execute assigned services

• Report job completion or failure to Orchestrators

• Submit periodic availability check-ins to maintain reputation

Resource Nodes earn rewards from:

• Completed jobs (30% of network revenue, pro rata by jobs completed)

• Availability check-ins (10% of network revenue, pro rata by uptime)

• Incentive bonuses (20% of network revenue, based on good network and economic behavior)

Discovery Protocol

Applications discover Lattice through:

1. DNS lookup of Orchestrator endpoints (lattice.tashi.network resolves to geographically distributed Orchestrators)

2. Initial connection to nearest Orchestrator

3. Service request specifying requirements (participant count, latency target, duration, geographic constraints)

4. Orchestrator response with a PASETO token and Resource Node connection details

5. Direct peer-to-peer connection establishment (with Resource Node proxy as fallback)

NAT Traversal

Most devices sit behind Network Address Translation (NAT) and cannot accept incoming connections. Lattice handles this through:

• UDP hole punching: Orchestrators coordinate simultaneous outbound UDP packet transmission from both peers. This creates temporary openings in NAT tables allowing direct peer-to-peer communication.

• Tunneling fallback: When hole punching fails (symmetric NATs, corporate firewalls), Resource Nodes proxy traffic. Applications only pay for tunneled bandwidth. Current tunnel rates: ~25-35% for PC/console environments, ~60-75% for enterprise/robotics behind strict firewalls.

• STUN/TURN integration: Lattice integrates standard STUN (Session Traversal Utilities for NAT) and TURN (Traversal Using Relays around NAT) protocols, making it compatible with existing WebRTC and real-time communication infrastructure.