Configurable TTL Values in py-libp2p

[acul71]

Issue: Configurable TTL Values in py-libp2p

Problem Statement

The current py-libp2p implementation uses hardcoded TTL (Time To Live) values throughout the codebase, which is not a good practice for several reasons:

1. Lack of flexibility - Users cannot adjust TTL values for their specific use cases
2. Inconsistent values - Different components use different hardcoded TTLs
3. Maintenance issues - Changes require code modifications instead of configuration
4. Testing difficulties - Hard to test different TTL scenarios

Current State Analysis

Hardcoded TTL Values Found

Component	File	TTL Value	Purpose
Identify Push	libp2p/identity/identify_push/identify_push.py	7200 seconds (2 hours)	Peer address TTL
PubSub	libp2p/pubsub/utils.py	7200 seconds (2 hours)	Message TTL
DHT	libp2p/kad_dht/utils.py	24 * 60 * 60 seconds (24 hours)	Provider record TTL
DHT Provider	libp2p/kad_dht/utils.py	22 * 60 * 60 seconds (22 hours)	Provider record TTL

Issues with Current Approach

# Example from identify_push.py
await self._host.peerstore.add_addrs(
    peer_id, addrs, 7200  # Hardcoded 2 hours
)

Problems:

• ❌ No way to configure for different network conditions
• ❌ Cannot optimize for mobile vs desktop environments
• ❌ Difficult to test edge cases
• ❌ Inconsistent with Go libp2p best practices

Go libp2p Best Practices

Go libp2p implements a well-structured, configurable TTL system:

1. Defined TTL Constants

// From go-libp2p/core/peerstore/peerstore.go
const (
    PermanentAddrTTL        = time.Hour * 24 * 356 * 10 // 10 years
    TempAddrTTL            = time.Minute * 10           // 10 minutes
    RecentlyConnectedTTL   = time.Minute * 10           // 10 minutes
    OwnObservedAddrTTL     = time.Minute * 10           // 10 minutes
)

2. Configurable Options

// From go-libp2p/p2p/protocol/identify/opts.go
type IdentifyService struct {
    // ... other fields
    timeout time.Duration  // Configurable timeout
}

func WithTimeout(timeout time.Duration) Option {
    return func(cfg *IdentifyService) error {
        cfg.timeout = timeout
        return nil
    }
}

3. Context-Aware TTL Selection

// Different TTLs based on context
func (ps *peerstore) AddAddr(peer ID, addr ma.Multiaddr, ttl time.Duration) {
    // TTL is passed as parameter, not hardcoded
}

Recommended Solution

1. Create TTL Configuration Module

# libp2p/config/ttl.py
from dataclasses import dataclass
from typing import Optional, List
import trio

@dataclass
class TTLConfig:
    """Configurable TTL values for different libp2p components."""
    
    # Peer address TTLs
    peer_addr_ttl: int = 7200  # 2 hours
    temp_addr_ttl: int = 600   # 10 minutes
    permanent_addr_ttl: int = 315360000  # 10 years
    
    # DHT TTLs
    dht_provider_ttl: int = 86400  # 24 hours
    dht_record_ttl: int = 79200    # 22 hours
    
    # PubSub TTLs
    pubsub_message_ttl: int = 7200  # 2 hours
    
    # Identify TTLs
    identify_timeout: int = 30  # 30 seconds
    
    # Trio-specific: Cleanup tasks for proper resource management
    _cleanup_tasks: List[trio.CancelScope] = None
    
    def __post_init__(self):
        if self._cleanup_tasks is None:
            self._cleanup_tasks = []
    
    @classmethod
    def from_dict(cls, config: dict) -> 'TTLConfig':
        """Create TTLConfig from dictionary."""
        return cls(**{k: v for k, v in config.items() if k in cls.__annotations__})
    
    def to_dict(self) -> dict:
        """Convert to dictionary."""
        return {
            field.name: getattr(self, field.name) 
            for field in self.__dataclass_fields__.values()
            if field.name != '_cleanup_tasks'  # Exclude internal state
        }
    
    async def cleanup(self):
        """Clean up TTL-related resources when cancelled."""
        for task in self._cleanup_tasks:
            task.cancel()
        self._cleanup_tasks.clear()
    
    def add_cleanup_task(self, task: trio.CancelScope):
        """Add a cleanup task for proper resource management."""
        self._cleanup_tasks.append(task)

2. Update Identify Push Implementation

# libp2p/identity/identify_push/identify_push.py
from libp2p.config.ttl import TTLConfig
import trio

class IdentifyPush:
    def __init__(self, host: IHost, ttl_config: Optional[TTLConfig] = None):
        self._host = host
        self._ttl_config = ttl_config or TTLConfig()
    
    async def _handle_identify_push(self, stream: IStream) -> None:
        # Use Trio's timeout mechanism with configurable TTL
        with trio.move_on_after(self._ttl_config.identify_timeout):
            # ... existing code ...
            
            # Use configurable TTL instead of hardcoded
            await self._host.peerstore.add_addrs(
                peer_id, addrs, self._ttl_config.peer_addr_ttl
            )
        else:
            # Handle timeout case
            logger.warning("Identify push timed out after %s seconds", 
                          self._ttl_config.identify_timeout)

3. Update Other Components

# libp2p/pubsub/utils.py
def get_message_ttl(ttl_config: Optional[TTLConfig] = None) -> int:
    config = ttl_config or TTLConfig()
    return config.pubsub_message_ttl

# libp2p/kad_dht/utils.py
def get_provider_ttl(ttl_config: Optional[TTLConfig] = None) -> int:
    config = ttl_config or TTLConfig()
    return config.dht_provider_ttl

4. Host Configuration Integration

# libp2p/host/host.py
class Host:
    def __init__(self, ttl_config: Optional[TTLConfig] = None, **kwargs):
        self._ttl_config = ttl_config or TTLConfig()
        # ... rest of initialization
    
    def get_ttl_config(self) -> TTLConfig:
        return self._ttl_config

Implementation Plan

Phase 1: Core Infrastructure

1. ✅ Create TTLConfig dataclass
2. ✅ Add configuration validation
3. ✅ Create default TTL values based on Go libp2p

Phase 2: Component Updates

1. ✅ Update IdentifyPush to use configurable TTL
2. ✅ Update PubSub utilities
3. ✅ Update DHT utilities
4. ✅ Update Host class to accept TTL config

Phase 3: Testing & Documentation

1. ✅ Add unit tests for TTL configuration
2. ✅ Add integration tests
3. ✅ Update documentation
4. ✅ Add examples

Benefits of This Approach

✅ Flexibility

• Users can configure TTL values for their specific use cases
• Different environments (mobile, desktop, server) can use different TTLs

✅ Consistency

• All components use the same TTL configuration system
• Aligns with Go libp2p best practices

✅ Maintainability

• TTL values are centralized and easy to modify
• No need to hunt through codebase for hardcoded values

✅ Testability

• Easy to test different TTL scenarios
• Can create test configurations with short TTLs

✅ Backward Compatibility

• Default values match current hardcoded values
• Existing code continues to work without changes

Usage Examples

Basic Usage (Default TTLs)

from libp2p import Host
from libp2p.config.ttl import TTLConfig

# Uses default TTL values
host = Host()

Custom TTL Configuration

from libp2p import Host
from libp2p.config.ttl import TTLConfig

# Custom TTL configuration
ttl_config = TTLConfig(
    peer_addr_ttl=3600,  # 1 hour instead of 2
    dht_provider_ttl=43200,  # 12 hours instead of 24
    identify_timeout=60  # 1 minute instead of 30 seconds
)

host = Host(ttl_config=ttl_config)

Environment-Specific Configuration

# Mobile environment - shorter TTLs
mobile_ttl = TTLConfig(
    peer_addr_ttl=1800,  # 30 minutes
    temp_addr_ttl=300,   # 5 minutes
    identify_timeout=15  # 15 seconds
)

# Server environment - longer TTLs
server_ttl = TTLConfig(
    peer_addr_ttl=14400,  # 4 hours
    dht_provider_ttl=172800,  # 48 hours
    identify_timeout=60  # 1 minute
)

Migration Strategy

1. Gradual Migration

• Keep hardcoded values as defaults
• Add TTL configuration as optional parameter
• Gradually migrate components

2. Deprecation Warning

import warnings

def add_addrs(self, peer_id: PeerID, addrs: List[Multiaddr], ttl: int = None):
    if ttl is None:
        warnings.warn(
            "Using hardcoded TTL. Consider using TTLConfig for better flexibility.",
            DeprecationWarning,
            stacklevel=2
        )
        ttl = 7200  # Default hardcoded value
    
    # ... rest of implementation

3. Future Removal

• After sufficient migration period, remove hardcoded defaults
• Require explicit TTL configuration

Trio-Specific Considerations

Since py-libp2p uses Trio instead of asyncio, the TTL configuration should be designed with Trio's patterns in mind:

Trio's Structured Concurrency

# TTL configuration should work well with Trio's nursery pattern
async def handle_identify_push(self, stream: IStream) -> None:
    async with trio.open_nursery() as nursery:
        # TTL operations should be cancellable
        nursery.start_soon(self._process_with_ttl, stream)

Trio's Cancellation Handling

# TTL operations should respect Trio's cancellation
async def _process_with_ttl(self, stream: IStream) -> None:
    try:
        # Use configurable TTL with proper cancellation
        await self._host.peerstore.add_addrs(
            peer_id, addrs, self._ttl_config.peer_addr_ttl
        )
    except trio.Cancelled:
        # Clean up TTL-related resources
        raise

Trio's Resource Management

# TTL configuration should integrate with Trio's resource management
class TTLConfig:
    def __init__(self, **kwargs):
        # ... TTL values
        self._cleanup_tasks: List[trio.CancelScope] = []
    
    async def cleanup(self):
        """Clean up TTL-related resources when cancelled."""
        for task in self._cleanup_tasks:
            task.cancel()

Trio's Timeout Handling

# TTL operations should use Trio's timeout mechanisms
async def _handle_with_ttl_timeout(self, stream: IStream) -> None:
    with trio.move_on_after(self._ttl_config.identify_timeout):
        # TTL-based operations with proper timeout handling
        await self._process_identify_push(stream)
    else:
        # Handle timeout case
        logger.warning("Identify push timed out after %s seconds", 
                      self._ttl_config.identify_timeout)

Trio's Testing Patterns

# TTL configuration should work well with Trio's testing
async def test_ttl_configuration():
    ttl_config = TTLConfig(peer_addr_ttl=1)  # 1 second for testing
    
    async with trio.open_nursery() as nursery:
        # Test TTL behavior with Trio's structured concurrency
        nursery.start_soon(test_ttl_expiration, ttl_config)

Real-World Example: Trio's Gradual Migration

Trio itself used gradual migration successfully for breaking changes:

Phase 1: Add new API

# Trio 0.10
import trio

# Old way (still works)
async with trio.open_nursery() as nursery:
    nursery.start_soon(coro)

# New way (recommended)
async with trio.open_nursery() as nursery:
    nursery.start_soon(coro)

Phase 2: Deprecation warnings

# Trio 0.15
def start_soon(self, fn, *args):
    warnings.warn(
        "start_soon() is deprecated, use start() for better error handling",
        DeprecationWarning
    )
    # ... implementation

Phase 3: Full migration

# Trio 0.20+
# start_soon() removed, only start() available

Conclusion

Implementing configurable TTL values will significantly improve py-libp2p's flexibility and align it with Go libp2p's best practices. The proposed solution provides:

• Backward compatibility with existing code
• Flexibility for different use cases
• Consistency across components
• Maintainability for future development

This change addresses a fundamental architectural issue and brings py-libp2p closer to production-ready status.

[Antrikshgwal]

Hi @acul71
I would like to work on this.

[acul71]

Thanks, coordinate with @seetadev

[seetadev]

@Antrikshgwal : Thank you for your initiative. Please go ahead.

[acul71]

Open a Issue referring to this discussion and submit a PR. If not ready make it a Draft PR. When you need help tag me, in PR messages