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28 lines
2.2 KiB
Plaintext
== Lightning Network Architecture
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In the first part of this book we introduced the main concepts of the Lightning Network, worked through a comprehensive example of routing a payment and setting up the tools we can use to explore further. In the second part of the book we will explore the Lightning Network in a lot more technical detail, dissecting each of the building blocks.
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In this section we will outline the components of the Lightning Network in more detail and provide a "big picture" perspective to guide you through the following chapters.
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=== The Lightning Network Protocol Suite
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The Lightning Network is composed of a complex collection of protocols that run on top of the internet. We can broadly classify these protocols into five distinct layers that make up a _protocol stack_, where each layer build upon and uses the protocols in the layer below. Also, each protocol layer abstracts the underlying layers and "hides" some of the complexity.
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The architecture diagram shown in <<lightning_network_protocol_suite>> provides an overview of these layers and their component protocols:
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[[lightning_network_protocol_suite]]
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.The Lightning Network Protocol Suite
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image::images/lightning-network-protocol-suite.png[]
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The five layers of the Lightning Network, from the bottom up, are:
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Network Connection Layer:: This contains the protocols that interact directly with the internet core protocols (TCP/IP), overlay protocols (Tor v2/v3), and internet services (DNS). This layer also contains the cryptographic transport protocols that protect Lightning messages.
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Messaging Layer:: This layer contains the protocols that nodes use to negotiate features, format messages, and encode message fields.
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Peer-2-Peer (P2P) Layer:: This layer is primary protocol layer for communication between Lightning nodes and contains all the different messages exchanged between nodes.
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Routing Layer:: This layer contains the protocols used to route payments between nodes, end-to-end and atomically. This layer contains the "core" functionality of the Lightning Network: routed payments.
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Payment Layer:: The highest layer of the network, which presents a reliable payment interface to applications.
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