Published on: 2015-07-02T11:40:19+00:00
In an email conversation, Rusty Russell and Stephen discuss a proposed solution by Joseph Poon for routing failure in signed transactions within the Lightning Network. The solution involves E routing a conditional refund back to A with a larger timeout via another route as a guarantee that E will not reveal the preimage required to take the stalled payment. However, questions are raised about how nodes get paid and if A can provide evidence that the route had timed out.The discussion also explores the possibility of using a system similar to Tor's directory authority for the Lightning Network. This would involve directory authorities recording whether nodes in the network are available, voting among themselves to produce a directory consensus, and signing it. It is suggested that Lightning could use a similar system without requiring everyone to use the same directory authority. The issue of trust and dishonest behavior within the network is discussed, with suggestions for alternative solutions such as rerouting payments or implementing a rating system based on node trustworthiness.The potential failure modes of the Lightning Network are also examined. Concerns are raised about collusion between nodes to steal funds, especially if one node experiences an outage. Delaying the entire payment is deemed unfavorable, so alternatives such as re-routing part of the payment or breaking up payments into smaller chunks across diverse paths are proposed. However, the current setup incentivizes dishonesty, making the implementation of a rating system or cryptographic solution necessary.Additionally, the issue of security when rerouting payments is addressed. The concern is that if a payment channel becomes unresponsive mid-payment, the original non-responsive party could reveal the pre-image to someone else and effectively steal additional funds. The need for separate preimages for each message in order to prevent this type of theft is highlighted.Overall, the discussions revolve around finding solutions to ensure the reliability, trustworthiness, and security of the Lightning Network, while addressing potential failure modes and incentivizing honest behavior among network nodes.
Updated on: 2023-07-31T18:04:19.159192+00:00