mfahampshire
a70e68c7bd
* Smolmix documentation * Add smolmix docs: landing page, tutorials, and developer page links * Add Exit Gateway services page (NR vs IPR) and link from existing docs * Update auto-generated command and API outputs * Reorg of tutorials and architecture pages * License information + remove TODO from docs.rs visibile comment + reorg readme * Add versions file for doc-wide versioning * Relative -> absolute links * Relative -> absolute links * Update license + add old tutorial code as examples * Streamline smolmix docs * Clippy * Clean up doc comments * Last pass * Add larger file download to list * set new versions * Clippy * Remove blake pin from docs + add version range to root Cargo.toml * Format example logging * Remove crate blocked component * Loose whitespace * Add doc verification script for inline mdx * Formatting * Components regen * Reorg + tighten text * Voicing cohesion pass + remove bloated examples * Voicing cont. * Reduce max download size * Small suggested clarifications * Max/docs voicing consistency (#6769) * Reduce max download size * voicing consistency across docs * New landing order w smolmix * Tweaks * Final tweaks
1.7 KiB
title, description, schemaType, section, lastUpdated
| title | description | schemaType | section | lastUpdated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epochs in the Nym Network | How epochs organise time in the Nym Network: reward distribution, topology reshuffling, SURB validity windows, and future automatic role assignment. | TechArticle | Network | 2026-03-15 |
Epochs
Time in the Nym Network is organised into epochs: discrete periods during which certain network operations occur. The current epoch length is one hour.
What happens at epoch boundaries
Reward distribution calculates performance metrics for each node and distributes NYM token rewards based on routing reliability and uptime, so that nodes successfully forwarding packets earn more than those with poor performance.
Topology rerandomization shuffles the arrangement of nodes in each layer. This prevents long-term route prediction attacks and limits the damage from any compromised nodes. Nodes may also enter or leave the active set based on uptime monitoring and stake changes.
Future changes
In upcoming releases, epochs will trigger automatic role assignment. Nodes will switch between Mix Node and Gateway roles based on network demand, without operators needing to manually configure roles.
SURB validity
SURBs are tied to key rotation cycles. Node keys rotate on an odd/even schedule with a default validity of 24 epochs. A SURB remains usable for (validity_epochs + 1) * epoch_duration, roughly 25 hours at the current 1-hour epoch. After that, the routing keys it was built with are no longer accepted by the network. Clients automatically purge stale SURBs and request fresh ones.
Querying epoch information
Current epoch data is available through Nyx blockchain queries and Nym API endpoints.