proxmox/docs/05-network/NETWORK_STATUS.md

Network Status Report

Date: 2025-12-20
Network: Chain ID 138 (QBFT Consensus)
Status: ✅ OPERATIONAL

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Executive Summary

The network is fully operational and producing blocks. The root cause issue (ethash conflicting with QBFT in genesis.json) has been resolved.

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1. Block Production

• Current Block Height: Blocks 83-85 (actively increasing)
• Block Period: ~2 seconds (as configured)
• Status: ✅ Blocks are being produced consistently

Block Production by Node

• VMID 1000 (validator-1): Block 83+
• VMID 1001 (validator-2): Block 84+
• VMID 1002 (validator-3): Block 85+

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2. Validator Recognition

• Total Validators: 5
• Status: ✅ All validators recognized by QBFT consensus

Validator Addresses (from QBFT)

1. 0x1c25c54bf177ecf9365445706d8b9209e8f1c39b (VMID 1000)
2. 0xc4c1aeeb5ab86c6179fc98220b51844b74935446 (VMID 1001)
3. 0x22f37f6faaa353e652a0840f485e71a7e5a89373 (VMID 1002)
4. 0x573ff6d00d2bdc0d9c0c08615dc052db75f82574 (VMID 1003)
5. 0x11563e26a70ed3605b80a03081be52aca9e0f141 (VMID 1004)

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3. Service Status

Validators (5 nodes)

• VMID 1000 (besu-validator-1): ✅ active
• VMID 1001 (besu-validator-2): ✅ active
• VMID 1002 (besu-validator-3): ✅ active
• VMID 1003 (besu-validator-4): ✅ active
• VMID 1004 (besu-validator-5): ✅ active

Sentries (4 nodes)

• VMID 1500 (besu-sentry-1): ✅ active
• VMID 1501 (besu-sentry-2): ✅ active
• VMID 1502 (besu-sentry-3): ✅ active
• VMID 1503 (besu-sentry-4): ✅ active

RPC Nodes (3 nodes)

• VMID 2500 (besu-rpc-1): ✅ active
• VMID 2501 (besu-rpc-2): ✅ active
• VMID 2502 (besu-rpc-3): ✅ active

Total Nodes: 12 (5 validators + 4 sentries + 3 RPC)

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4. Network Connectivity

• Peer Connections: All validators showing healthy peer counts (10+ peers)
• Status: ✅ Network topology is functioning correctly

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5. Consensus Configuration

• Consensus Algorithm: QBFT (Quorum Byzantine Fault Tolerance)
• Block Period: 2 seconds
• Epoch Length: 30,000 blocks
• Request Timeout: 10 seconds
• Status: ✅ QBFT consensus is active and functioning

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6. Recent Changes Applied

Critical Fix Applied

• Issue: Genesis file contained both ethash: {} and qbft: {...}, causing Besu to default to ethash instead of QBFT
• Solution: Removed ethash: {} from genesis.json config
• Result: QBFT consensus now active, validators recognized, blocks being produced

Previous Fixes

1. ✅ Key rotation completed (all validator and node keys regenerated)
2. ✅ Configuration files updated (removed deprecated options)
3. ✅ RPC enabled on validators (with QBFT API)
4. ✅ Permissioning configured correctly
5. ✅ Static nodes and permissioned nodes files updated

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7. Network Health

Overall Status: 🟢 HEALTHY

• ✅ All services running
• ✅ Validators recognized and producing blocks
• ✅ Blocks being produced consistently
• ✅ Network connectivity operational
• ✅ Consensus functioning correctly

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Next Steps / Recommendations

1. Monitor Block Production: Continue monitoring to ensure consistent block production
2. Monitor Validator Participation: Ensure all 5 validators continue to participate
3. Network Metrics: Consider setting up metrics collection for long-term monitoring
4. Backup Configuration: Archive the working genesis.json and key configurations

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Troubleshooting History

This network has been successfully restored from a state where:

• Validators were not recognized
• Blocks were not being produced
• Consensus was defaulting to ethash instead of QBFT

All issues have been resolved through systematic troubleshooting and configuration fixes.