@aztec/p2p 0.0.0-test.1 → 0.0.1-commit.017a351

package/src/services/peer-manager/peer_manager.ts

@@ -1,27 +1,40 @@
+import type { EpochCacheInterface } from '@aztec/epoch-cache';
+import { makeEthSignDigest, tryRecoverAddress } from '@aztec/foundation/crypto/secp256k1-signer';
+import { Fr } from '@aztec/foundation/curves/bn254';
+import type { EthAddress } from '@aztec/foundation/eth-address';
 import { createLogger } from '@aztec/foundation/log';
-import type { PeerInfo } from '@aztec/stdlib/interfaces/server';
+import { bufferToHex } from '@aztec/foundation/string';
+import { DateProvider } from '@aztec/foundation/timer';
+import type { PeerInfo, WorldStateSynchronizer } from '@aztec/stdlib/interfaces/server';
 import type { PeerErrorSeverity } from '@aztec/stdlib/p2p';
-import { type TelemetryClient, trackSpan } from '@aztec/telemetry-client';
+import type { TelemetryClient } from '@aztec/telemetry-client';
 
-import type { ENR } from '@chainsafe/enr';
 import type { Connection, PeerId } from '@libp2p/interface';
+import { peerIdFromString } from '@libp2p/peer-id';
 import type { Multiaddr } from '@multiformats/multiaddr';
+import { ENR } from '@nethermindeth/enr';
 import { inspect } from 'util';
 
 import type { P2PConfig } from '../../config.js';
 import { PeerEvent } from '../../types/index.js';
-import type { PubSubLibp2p } from '../../util.js';
+import type { FullLibp2p } from '../../util.js';
 import { ReqRespSubProtocol } from '../reqresp/interface.js';
+import { AuthRequest, AuthResponse } from '../reqresp/protocols/auth.js';
 import { GoodByeReason, prettyGoodbyeReason } from '../reqresp/protocols/goodbye.js';
+import { StatusMessage } from '../reqresp/protocols/status.js';
 import type { ReqResp } from '../reqresp/reqresp.js';
+import { ReqRespStatus } from '../reqresp/status.js';
 import type { PeerDiscoveryService } from '../service.js';
+import type { PeerManagerInterface } from './interface.js';
 import { PeerManagerMetrics } from './metrics.js';
 import { PeerScoreState, type PeerScoring } from './peer_scoring.js';
 
 const MAX_DIAL_ATTEMPTS = 3;
 const MAX_CACHED_PEERS = 100;
 const MAX_CACHED_PEER_AGE_MS = 5 * 60 * 1000; // 5 minutes
-const FAILED_PEER_BAN_TIME_MS = 5 * 60 * 1000; // 5 minutes timeout after failing MAX_DIAL_ATTEMPTS
+const DEFAULT_FAILED_PEER_BAN_TIME_MS = 5 * 60 * 1000; // 5 minutes timeout after failing MAX_DIAL_ATTEMPTS
+const GOODBYE_DIAL_TIMEOUT_MS = 1000;
+const FAILED_AUTH_HANDSHAKE_EXPIRY_MS = 60 * 60 * 1000; // 1 hour
 
 type CachedPeer = {
   peerId: PeerId;
@@ -36,83 +49,262 @@ type TimedOutPeer = {
   timeoutUntilMs: number;
 };
 
-export class PeerManager {
+type FailedAuthHandshakeEntry = {
+  count: number;
+  lastFailureTimestamp: number;
+};
+
+export class PeerManager implements PeerManagerInterface {
   private cachedPeers: Map<string, CachedPeer> = new Map();
   private heartbeatCounter: number = 0;
   private displayPeerCountsPeerHeartbeat: number = 0;
   private timedOutPeers: Map<string, TimedOutPeer> = new Map();
+  private trustedPeers: Set<string> = new Set();
+  private trustedPeersInitialized: boolean = false;
+  private privatePeers: Set<string> = new Set();
+  private privatePeersInitialized: boolean = false;
+  private preferredPeers: Set<string> = new Set();
+  private authenticatedPeerIdToValidatorAddress: Map<string, EthAddress> = new Map();
+  private authenticatedValidatorAddressToPeerId: Map<string, PeerId> = new Map();
+  private peersToBeDisconnected: Set<string> = new Set();
+  private failedAuthHandshakes: Map<string, FailedAuthHandshakeEntry> = new Map();
+  private validatorAddresses: EthAddress[] = [];
+  private initializedPreferredPeers: boolean = false;
 
   private metrics: PeerManagerMetrics;
-  private discoveredPeerHandler;
+  private handlers: {
+    handleConnectedPeerEvent: (e: CustomEvent<PeerId>) => void;
+    handleDisconnectedPeerEvent: (e: CustomEvent<PeerId>) => void;
+    handleDiscoveredPeer: (enr: ENR) => Promise<void>;
+  };
 
   constructor(
-    private libP2PNode: PubSubLibp2p,
+    private libP2PNode: FullLibp2p,
     private peerDiscoveryService: PeerDiscoveryService,
     private config: P2PConfig,
     telemetryClient: TelemetryClient,
     private logger = createLogger('p2p:peer-manager'),
     private peerScoring: PeerScoring,
     private reqresp: ReqResp,
+    private readonly worldStateSynchronizer: WorldStateSynchronizer,
+    private readonly protocolVersion: string,
+    private readonly epochCache: EpochCacheInterface,
+    private readonly dateProvider: DateProvider = new DateProvider(),
   ) {
+    if (this.config.p2pDisableStatusHandshake && this.config.p2pAllowOnlyValidators) {
+      throw new Error('Status handshake disabled but is required to allow only validators to connect.');
+    }
     this.metrics = new PeerManagerMetrics(telemetryClient, 'PeerManager');
 
+    // Handle Discovered peers
+    this.handlers = {
+      handleConnectedPeerEvent: this.handleConnectedPeerEvent.bind(this),
+      handleDisconnectedPeerEvent: this.handleDisconnectedPeerEvent.bind(this),
+      handleDiscoveredPeer: (enr: ENR) =>
+        this.handleDiscoveredPeer(enr).catch(e => this.logger.error('Error handling discovered peer', e)),
+    };
+
     // Handle new established connections
-    this.libP2PNode.addEventListener(PeerEvent.CONNECTED, this.handleConnectedPeerEvent.bind(this));
+    this.libP2PNode.addEventListener(PeerEvent.CONNECTED, this.handlers.handleConnectedPeerEvent);
     // Handle lost connections
-    this.libP2PNode.addEventListener(PeerEvent.DISCONNECTED, this.handleDisconnectedPeerEvent.bind(this));
+    this.libP2PNode.addEventListener(PeerEvent.DISCONNECTED, this.handlers.handleDisconnectedPeerEvent);
 
-    // Handle Discovered peers
-    this.discoveredPeerHandler = (enr: ENR) =>
-      this.handleDiscoveredPeer(enr).catch(e => this.logger.error('Error handling discovered peer', e));
     // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-misused-promises
-    this.peerDiscoveryService.on(PeerEvent.DISCOVERED, this.discoveredPeerHandler);
+    this.peerDiscoveryService?.on(PeerEvent.DISCOVERED, this.handlers.handleDiscoveredPeer);
 
     // Display peer counts every 60 seconds
     this.displayPeerCountsPeerHeartbeat = Math.floor(60_000 / this.config.peerCheckIntervalMS);
   }
+  /**
+   * Initializes the trusted peers.
+   *
+   * This function is called when the peer manager is initialized.
+   */
+  async initializePeers() {
+    if (this.config.trustedPeers) {
+      const trustedPeersEnrs: ENR[] = this.config.trustedPeers.map(enr => ENR.decodeTxt(enr));
+      await Promise.all(trustedPeersEnrs.map(enr => enr.peerId()))
+        .then(peerIds => peerIds.forEach(peerId => this.trustedPeers.add(peerId.toString())))
+        .finally(() => {
+          this.trustedPeersInitialized = true;
+        })
+        .catch(e => this.logger.error('Error initializing trusted peers', e));
+    }
+
+    if (this.config.privatePeers) {
+      const privatePeersEnrs: ENR[] = this.config.privatePeers.map(enr => ENR.decodeTxt(enr));
+      await Promise.all(privatePeersEnrs.map(enr => enr.peerId()))
+        .then(peerIds =>
+          peerIds.forEach(peerId => {
+            this.trustedPeers.add(peerId.toString());
+            this.privatePeers.add(peerId.toString());
+          }),
+        )
+        .finally(() => {
+          if (!this.config.trustedPeers) {
+            this.trustedPeersInitialized = true;
+          }
+          this.privatePeersInitialized = true;
+        })
+        .catch(e => this.logger.error('Error initializing private peers', e));
+    }
+
+    if (this.config.preferredPeers) {
+      const preferredPeersEnrs: ENR[] = this.config.preferredPeers.map(enr => ENR.decodeTxt(enr));
+      await Promise.all(preferredPeersEnrs.map(enr => enr.peerId()))
+        .then(peerIds => peerIds.forEach(peerId => this.preferredPeers.add(peerId.toString())))
+        .catch(e => this.logger.error('Error initializing preferred peers', e));
+    }
+  }
 
   get tracer() {
     return this.metrics.tracer;
   }
 
-  @trackSpan('PeerManager.heartbeat')
-  public heartbeat() {
+  public async heartbeat() {
     this.heartbeatCounter++;
     this.peerScoring.decayAllScores();
-
     this.cleanupExpiredTimeouts();
 
+    await this.setupDirectPeersIfValidator();
+    await this.updateAuthenticatedPeers();
+    await this.processScheduledDisconnects();
+
     this.discover();
   }
 
+  /*
+   * If this node is connecting to preferred peers, make sure it is registered validator */
+  async setupDirectPeersIfValidator() {
+    if (!this.config.preferredPeers) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // Already initialized preferred peers, don't wastefully repeat the same work
+    if (this.initializedPreferredPeers) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const registeredValidators = await this.epochCache.getRegisteredValidators();
+    const validatorSet = new Set(registeredValidators.map(v => v.toString()));
+    const isThisNodePartOfValidatorSet = this.validatorAddresses.some(v => validatorSet.has(v.toString()));
+
+    if (!isThisNodePartOfValidatorSet) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const preferredPeersEnrs: ENR[] = this.config.preferredPeers.map(enr => ENR.decodeTxt(enr));
+    await Promise.all(preferredPeersEnrs.map(enr => enr.peerId()))
+      .then(peerIds => peerIds.forEach(peerId => this.preferredPeers.add(peerId.toString())))
+      .catch(e => this.logger.error('Error initializing preferred peers', e));
+
+    const directPeers = (
+      await Promise.all(
+        preferredPeersEnrs.map(async enr => {
+          const peerId = await enr.peerId();
+          const address = enr.getLocationMultiaddr('tcp');
+          if (address === undefined) {
+            throw new Error(`Direct peer ${peerId.toString()} has no TCP address, ENR: ${enr.encodeTxt()}`);
+          }
+          return {
+            id: peerId,
+            addrs: [address],
+          };
+        }),
+      )
+    ).filter(peer => peer !== undefined);
+
+    await Promise.all(
+      directPeers.map(peer => {
+        this.libP2PNode.services.pubsub.direct.add(peer.id.toString());
+
+        return this.libP2PNode.peerStore.merge(peer.id, { multiaddrs: peer.addrs });
+      }),
+    );
+
+    this.initializedPreferredPeers = true;
+  }
+
   /**
-   * Cleans up expired timeouts.
+   * Cleans up expired timeouts and stale failed-auth-handshake entries.
    *
    * When peers fail to dial after a number of retries, they are temporarily timed out.
    * This function removes any peers that have been in the timed out state for too long.
    * To give them a chance to reconnect.
+   *
+   * Also evicts entries from the failed-auth-handshake map whose expiry window has passed.
+   * Without this, peers that probe once and never reconnect would leave their entries in the
+   * map forever, causing an unbounded memory leak.
    */
   private cleanupExpiredTimeouts() {
-    // Clean up expired timeouts
-    const now = Date.now();
+    const now = this.dateProvider.now();
+
     for (const [peerId, timedOutPeer] of this.timedOutPeers.entries()) {
       if (now >= timedOutPeer.timeoutUntilMs) {
         this.timedOutPeers.delete(peerId);
       }
     }
+
+    for (const [id, entry] of this.failedAuthHandshakes.entries()) {
+      if (now - entry.lastFailureTimestamp > FAILED_AUTH_HANDSHAKE_EXPIRY_MS) {
+        this.failedAuthHandshakes.delete(id);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Processes scheduled disconnects during heartbeat.
+   *
+   * This batch processes all peers that have been marked for disconnect.
+   * preventing immediate disconnects that could cause libp2p state corruption.
+   */
+  private async processScheduledDisconnects() {
+    if (this.peersToBeDisconnected.size === 0) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const peersToDisconnect = Array.from(this.peersToBeDisconnected);
+
+    this.logger.debug(`Processing ${peersToDisconnect.length} scheduled disconnects`);
+    try {
+      await Promise.all(
+        peersToDisconnect.map(async peerIdStr => {
+          if (await this.disconnectPeer(peerIdFromString(peerIdStr))) {
+            this.peersToBeDisconnected.delete(peerIdStr);
+          }
+        }),
+      );
+      this.logger.verbose(`Disconnected ${peersToDisconnect.length} peers`, { peersToDisconnect });
+    } catch (error) {
+      this.logger.error('Error when disconnecting from peers', error);
+    }
   }
 
   /**
-   * Simply logs the type of connected peer.
+   * Performs Status Handshake with a connected peer.
    * @param e - The connected peer event.
    */
   private handleConnectedPeerEvent(e: CustomEvent<PeerId>) {
     const peerId = e.detail;
-    if (this.peerDiscoveryService.isBootstrapPeer(peerId)) {
-      this.logger.verbose(`Connected to bootstrap peer ${peerId.toString()}`);
-    } else {
-      this.logger.verbose(`Connected to transaction peer ${peerId.toString()}`);
+    this.logger.verbose(`Connected to peer ${peerId.toString()}`);
+    this.metrics.peerConnected(peerId);
+    if (this.config.p2pDisableStatusHandshake) {
+      return;
+    }
+    // If we are not configured to only allow validators then perform a status handshake
+    if (!this.config.p2pAllowOnlyValidators) {
+      void this.exchangeStatusHandshake(peerId);
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // We are configured to only allow validators, but this doesn't apply to trusted, private peers or preferred peers
+    if (this.isProtectedPeer(peerId)) {
+      void this.exchangeStatusHandshake(peerId);
+      return;
     }
+
+    // Initiate auth handshake
+    void this.exchangeAuthHandshake(peerId);
   }
 
   /**
@@ -121,11 +313,107 @@ export class PeerManager {
    */
   private handleDisconnectedPeerEvent(e: CustomEvent<PeerId>) {
     const peerId = e.detail;
-    if (this.peerDiscoveryService.isBootstrapPeer(peerId)) {
-      this.logger.verbose(`Disconnected from bootstrap peer ${peerId.toString()}`);
-    } else {
-      this.logger.verbose(`Disconnected from transaction peer ${peerId.toString()}`);
+    const peerIdStr = peerId.toString();
+    this.metrics.peerDisconnected(peerId);
+    this.logger.verbose(`Disconnected from peer ${peerIdStr}`);
+    const validatorAddress = this.authenticatedPeerIdToValidatorAddress.get(peerIdStr);
+    if (validatorAddress !== undefined) {
+      this.logger.info(
+        `Removing authentication for validator ${validatorAddress} at peer id ${peerIdStr} due to disconnection`,
+      );
+      this.authenticatedValidatorAddressToPeerId.delete(validatorAddress.toString());
+      this.authenticatedPeerIdToValidatorAddress.delete(peerIdStr);
+    }
+
+    if (this.peerScoring.getScoreState(peerIdStr) === PeerScoreState.Healthy) {
+      this.peerScoring.removePeer(peerIdStr);
+    }
+  }
+
+  public registerThisValidatorAddresses(address: EthAddress[]): void {
+    this.validatorAddresses = [...address];
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Checks if a peer is trusted.
+   * @param peerId - The peer ID.
+   * @returns True if the peer is trusted, false otherwise.
+   * Note: This function will return false and log a warning if the trusted peers are not initialized.
+   */
+  private isTrustedPeer(peerId: PeerId): boolean {
+    if (!this.trustedPeersInitialized) {
+      this.logger.warn('Trusted peers not initialized, returning false');
+      return false;
+    }
+    return this.trustedPeers.has(peerId.toString());
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Adds a peer to the trusted peers set.
+   * @param peerId - The peer ID to add to trusted peers.
+   */
+  public addTrustedPeer(peerId: PeerId): void {
+    const peerIdStr = peerId.toString();
+
+    this.trustedPeers.add(peerIdStr);
+    this.trustedPeersInitialized = true;
+    this.logger.verbose(`Added trusted peer ${peerIdStr}`);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Adds a peer to the private peers set.
+   * @param peerId - The peer ID to add to private peers.
+   */
+  public addPrivatePeer(peerId: PeerId): void {
+    const peerIdStr = peerId.toString();
+
+    this.trustedPeers.add(peerIdStr);
+    this.privatePeers.add(peerIdStr);
+    this.trustedPeersInitialized = true;
+    this.privatePeersInitialized = true;
+    this.logger.verbose(`Added private peer ${peerIdStr}`);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Checks if a peer is private.
+   * @param peerId - The peer ID.
+   * @returns True if the peer is private, false otherwise.
+   */
+  private isPrivatePeer(peerId: PeerId): boolean {
+    if (!this.privatePeersInitialized) {
+      this.logger.warn('Private peers not initialized, returning false');
+      return false;
     }
+    return this.privatePeers.has(peerId.toString());
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Adds a peer to the preferred peers set.
+   * @param peerId - The peer ID to add to preferred peers.
+   */
+  public addPreferredPeer(peerId: PeerId): void {
+    const peerIdStr = peerId.toString();
+
+    this.preferredPeers.add(peerIdStr);
+    this.logger.verbose(`Added preferred peer ${peerIdStr}`);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Checks if a peer is preferred.
+   * @param peerId - The peer ID.
+   * @returns True if the peer is preferred, false otherwise.
+   */
+  private isPreferredPeer(peerId: PeerId): boolean {
+    return this.preferredPeers.has(peerId.toString());
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Checks if a peer is protected (either trusted or private).
+   * @param peerId - The peer ID.
+   * @returns True if the peer is protected, false otherwise.
+   */
+  private isProtectedPeer(peerId: PeerId): boolean {
+    return this.isTrustedPeer(peerId) || this.isPrivatePeer(peerId) || this.isPreferredPeer(peerId);
   }
 
   /**
@@ -140,7 +428,7 @@ export class PeerManager {
 
     this.metrics.recordGoodbyeReceived(reason);
 
-    void this.disconnectPeer(peerId);
+    this.markPeerForDisconnect(peerId);
   }
 
   public penalizePeer(peerId: PeerId, penalty: PeerErrorSeverity) {
@@ -151,6 +439,11 @@ export class PeerManager {
     return this.peerScoring.getScore(peerId);
   }
 
+  public shouldDisableP2PGossip(peerId: string): boolean {
+    const isAuthenticated = this.isAuthenticatedPeer(peerIdFromString(peerId));
+    return (this.config.p2pAllowOnlyValidators ?? false) && !isAuthenticated;
+  }
+
   public getPeers(includePending = false): PeerInfo[] {
     const connected = this.libP2PNode
       .getPeers()
@@ -184,25 +477,63 @@ export class PeerManager {
     return [...connected, ...dialQueue, ...cachedPeers];
   }
 
+  public isAuthenticatedPeer(peerId: PeerId): boolean {
+    const peerIdAsString = peerId.toString();
+    return (
+      this.privatePeers.has(peerIdAsString) ||
+      this.trustedPeers.has(peerIdAsString) ||
+      this.preferredPeers.has(peerIdAsString) ||
+      this.authenticatedPeerIdToValidatorAddress.has(peerIdAsString)
+    );
+  }
+
+  /*
+   * Checks whether peer is allowed to connect
+   *
+   * @param id: Address of the node or it's peerId
+   *
+   * @returns: True if node is allowed to connect, otherwise false
+   * */
+  public isNodeAllowedToConnect(id: string | PeerId): boolean {
+    const entry = this.failedAuthHandshakes.get(id.toString());
+    if (!entry) {
+      return true;
+    }
+
+    // In case entry is too old, remove it and allow connection
+    if (this.dateProvider.now() - entry.lastFailureTimestamp > FAILED_AUTH_HANDSHAKE_EXPIRY_MS) {
+      this.failedAuthHandshakes.delete(id.toString());
+      return true;
+    }
+
+    return entry.count <= this.config.p2pMaxFailedAuthAttemptsAllowed;
+  }
+
   /**
    * Discovers peers.
    */
   private discover() {
     const connections = this.libP2PNode.getConnections();
 
-    const healthyConnections = this.prioritizePeers(this.pruneUnhealthyPeers(this.pruneDuplicatePeers(connections)));
+    const healthyConnections = this.prioritizePeers(this.pruneUnhealthyPeers(this.getNonProtectedPeers(connections)));
 
     // Calculate how many connections we're looking to make
-    const peersToConnect = this.config.maxPeerCount - healthyConnections.length;
+    const protectedPeerCount = this.getProtectedPeerCount();
+    const peersToConnect = this.config.maxPeerCount - healthyConnections.length - protectedPeerCount;
 
     const logLevel = this.heartbeatCounter % this.displayPeerCountsPeerHeartbeat === 0 ? 'info' : 'debug';
-    this.logger[logLevel](`Connected to ${healthyConnections.length} peers`, {
-      connections: healthyConnections.length,
+    this.logger[logLevel](`Connected to ${healthyConnections.length + this.trustedPeers.size} peers`, {
+      discoveredConnections: healthyConnections.length,
+      protectedConnections: protectedPeerCount,
       maxPeerCount: this.config.maxPeerCount,
       cachedPeers: this.cachedPeers.size,
+      discv5KadPeers: this.peerDiscoveryService.getKadValues().length,
       ...this.peerScoring.getStats(),
     });
 
+    this.metrics.recordPeerCount(connections.length);
+    this.metrics.recordHealthyPeerCount(healthyConnections.length);
+
     // Exit if no peers to connect
     if (peersToConnect <= 0) {
       return;
@@ -217,13 +548,14 @@ export class PeerManager {
         .filter(Boolean) as string[],
     );
 
+    const now = this.dateProvider.now();
     for (const [id, peerData] of this.cachedPeers.entries()) {
       // if already dialling or connected to, remove from cache
       if (
         pendingDials.has(id) ||
         healthyConnections.some(conn => conn.remotePeer.equals(peerData.peerId)) ||
         // if peer has been in cache for the max cache age, remove from cache
-        Date.now() - peerData.addedUnixMs > MAX_CACHED_PEER_AGE_MS
+        now - peerData.addedUnixMs > MAX_CACHED_PEER_AGE_MS
       ) {
         this.cachedPeers.delete(id);
       } else {
@@ -248,6 +580,14 @@ export class PeerManager {
     }
   }
 
+  private getNonProtectedPeers(connections: Connection[]): Connection[] {
+    return connections.filter(conn => !this.isProtectedPeer(conn.remotePeer));
+  }
+
+  private getProtectedPeerCount(): number {
+    return this.trustedPeers.size + this.privatePeers.size + this.preferredPeers.size;
+  }
+
   private pruneUnhealthyPeers(connections: Connection[]): Connection[] {
     const connectedHealthyPeers: Connection[] = [];
 
@@ -255,9 +595,11 @@ export class PeerManager {
       const score = this.peerScoring.getScoreState(peer.remotePeer.toString());
       switch (score) {
         case PeerScoreState.Banned:
+          this.metrics.recordLowScoreDisconnect('Banned');
           void this.goodbyeAndDisconnectPeer(peer.remotePeer, GoodByeReason.BANNED);
           break;
         case PeerScoreState.Disconnect:
+          this.metrics.recordLowScoreDisconnect('Disconnect');
           void this.goodbyeAndDisconnectPeer(peer.remotePeer, GoodByeReason.LOW_SCORE);
           break;
         case PeerScoreState.Healthy:
@@ -275,75 +617,85 @@ export class PeerManager {
    * @returns The pruned list of connections.
    */
   private prioritizePeers(connections: Connection[]): Connection[] {
-    if (connections.length > this.config.maxPeerCount) {
-      // Sort the peer scores from lowest to highest
+    const protectedPeerCount = this.getProtectedPeerCount();
+    if (connections.length > this.config.maxPeerCount - protectedPeerCount) {
+      // Sort the regular peer scores from highest to lowest
       const prioritizedConnections = connections.sort((connectionA, connectionB) => {
         const connectionScoreA = this.peerScoring.getScore(connectionA.remotePeer.toString());
         const connectionScoreB = this.peerScoring.getScore(connectionB.remotePeer.toString());
         return connectionScoreB - connectionScoreA;
       });
 
-      // Disconnect from the lowest scoring connections.
-      for (const conn of prioritizedConnections.slice(this.config.maxPeerCount)) {
+      // Calculate how many regular peers we can keep
+      const peersToKeep = Math.max(0, this.config.maxPeerCount - protectedPeerCount);
+
+      // Disconnect from the lowest scoring regular connections that exceed our limit
+      for (const conn of prioritizedConnections.slice(peersToKeep)) {
         void this.goodbyeAndDisconnectPeer(conn.remotePeer, GoodByeReason.MAX_PEERS);
       }
-      return prioritizedConnections.slice(0, this.config.maxPeerCount);
+
+      // Return trusted connections plus the highest scoring regular connections up to the max peer count
+      return prioritizedConnections.slice(0, peersToKeep);
     } else {
       return connections;
     }
   }
 
-  /**
-   * If multiple connections to the same peer are found, the oldest connection is kept and the duplicates are pruned.
-   *
-   * This is necessary to resolve a race condition where multiple connections to the same peer are established if
-   * they are discovered at the same time.
-   *
-   * @param connections - The list of connections to prune duplicate peers from.
-   * @returns The pruned list of connections.
-   */
-  private pruneDuplicatePeers(connections: Connection[]): Connection[] {
-    const peerConnections = new Map<string, Connection>();
-
-    for (const conn of connections) {
-      const peerId = conn.remotePeer.toString();
-      const existingConnection = peerConnections.get(peerId);
-      if (!existingConnection) {
-        peerConnections.set(peerId, conn);
-      } else {
-        // Keep the oldest connection for each peer
-        this.logger.debug(`Found duplicate connection to peer ${peerId}, keeping oldest connection`);
-        if (conn.timeline.open < existingConnection.timeline.open) {
-          peerConnections.set(peerId, conn);
-          void existingConnection.close();
-        } else {
-          void conn.close();
-        }
-      }
-    }
-
-    return [...peerConnections.values()];
-  }
-
   private async goodbyeAndDisconnectPeer(peer: PeerId, reason: GoodByeReason) {
     this.logger.debug(`Disconnecting peer ${peer.toString()} with reason ${prettyGoodbyeReason(reason)}`);
 
     this.metrics.recordGoodbyeSent(reason);
 
     try {
-      await this.reqresp.sendRequestToPeer(peer, ReqRespSubProtocol.GOODBYE, Buffer.from([reason]));
+      const resp = await this.reqresp.sendRequestToPeer(
+        peer,
+        ReqRespSubProtocol.GOODBYE,
+        Buffer.from([reason]),
+        GOODBYE_DIAL_TIMEOUT_MS,
+      );
+
+      if (resp.status === ReqRespStatus.FAILURE) {
+        this.logger.debug(`Failed to send goodbye to peer ${peer.toString()}`);
+      } else if (resp.status === ReqRespStatus.SUCCESS) {
+        this.logger.verbose(`Sent goodbye to peer ${peer.toString()}`);
+      } else {
+        this.logger.debug(
+          `Unexpected status sending goodbye to peer ${peer.toString()}: ${ReqRespStatus[resp.status]}`,
+        );
+      }
     } catch (error) {
       this.logger.debug(`Failed to send goodbye to peer ${peer.toString()}: ${error}`);
     } finally {
-      await this.disconnectPeer(peer);
+      this.markPeerForDisconnect(peer);
     }
   }
 
-  private async disconnectPeer(peer: PeerId) {
+  /*
+   * Marks peer to be disconnected on the next heartbeat
+   * */
+  private markPeerForDisconnect(peer: PeerId) {
+    const peerIdStr = peer.toString();
+    this.logger.debug(`Scheduling peer ${peerIdStr} for disconnection`);
+    this.peersToBeDisconnected.add(peerIdStr);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Performs the actual disconnection of a peer.
+   * This is called during heartbeat processing to avoid immediate disconnections.
+   *
+   * @returns True if peer was disconnect, otherwise false
+   */
+  private async disconnectPeer(peer: PeerId): Promise<boolean> {
+    const peerIdStr = peer.toString();
+
     try {
       await this.libP2PNode.hangUp(peer);
+
+      this.logger.debug(`Successfully disconnected peer ${peerIdStr}`);
+      return true;
     } catch (error) {
-      this.logger.debug(`Failed to disconnect peer ${peer.toString()}`, { error: inspect(error) });
+      this.logger.warn(`Failed to disconnect peer ${peerIdStr}`, { error });
+      return false;
     }
   }
 
@@ -356,10 +708,16 @@ export class PeerManager {
     const peerId = await enr.peerId();
     const peerIdString = peerId.toString();
 
+    // Don't attempt to connect to peers scheduled for disconnection
+    if (this.peersToBeDisconnected.has(peerIdString)) {
+      this.logger.trace(`Skipping peer scheduled for disconnection ${peerId}`);
+      return;
+    }
+
     // Check if peer is temporarily timed out
     const timedOutPeer = this.timedOutPeers.get(peerIdString);
     if (timedOutPeer) {
-      if (Date.now() < timedOutPeer.timeoutUntilMs) {
+      if (this.dateProvider.now() < timedOutPeer.timeoutUntilMs) {
         this.logger.trace(`Skipping timed out peer ${peerId}`);
         return;
       }
@@ -371,6 +729,12 @@ export class PeerManager {
       return;
     }
 
+    // Don't dial peers that have exceeded the auth failure threshold
+    if (!this.isNodeAllowedToConnect(peerId)) {
+      this.logger.trace(`Skipping peer ${peerId} due to failed auth handshake attempts`);
+      return;
+    }
+
     const [multiaddrTcp] = await Promise.all([enr.getFullMultiaddr('tcp')]);
 
     this.logger.trace(`Handling discovered peer ${peerId} at ${multiaddrTcp?.toString() ?? 'undefined address'}`);
@@ -399,7 +763,7 @@ export class PeerManager {
       enr,
       multiaddrTcp,
       dialAttempts: 0,
-      addedUnixMs: Date.now(),
+      addedUnixMs: this.dateProvider.now(),
     };
 
     // Determine if we should dial immediately or not
@@ -434,7 +798,8 @@ export class PeerManager {
         // Add to timed out peers
         this.timedOutPeers.set(id, {
           peerId: id,
-          timeoutUntilMs: Date.now() + FAILED_PEER_BAN_TIME_MS,
+          timeoutUntilMs:
+            this.dateProvider.now() + (this.config.peerFailedBanTimeMs ?? DEFAULT_FAILED_PEER_BAN_TIME_MS),
         });
       }
     }
@@ -458,7 +823,12 @@ export class PeerManager {
     }
 
     // Remove the oldest peers
-    for (const key of this.cachedPeers.keys()) {
+    for (const [key, value] of this.cachedPeers.entries()) {
+      if (this.isProtectedPeer(value.peerId)) {
+        this.logger.debug(`Not pruning trusted peer ${key}`);
+        continue;
+      }
+
       this.cachedPeers.delete(key);
       this.logger.trace(`Pruning peer ${key} from cache`);
       peersToDelete--;
@@ -468,21 +838,263 @@ export class PeerManager {
     }
   }
 
+  private async createStatusMessage() {
+    const syncSummary = (await this.worldStateSynchronizer.status()).syncSummary;
+    return StatusMessage.fromWorldStateSyncStatus(this.protocolVersion, syncSummary);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Performs status Handshake with the Peer
+   * The way the protocol is designed is that each peer will call this method on newly established p2p connection.
+   * Both peers request Status message and both peers perform validation of the received Status message.
+   * If this validation fails on any end that peer will initiate disconnect.
+   *  Note: It's important for both peers to request and perform Status validation,
+   *  Because one of the peers can be _bad peer_ and this peer can simply skip the check.
+   *  If we don't implement validation on both ends the _bad peer_ remains connected.
+   * @param: peerId The Id of the peer to request the Status from.
+   * */
+  private async exchangeStatusHandshake(peerId: PeerId) {
+    try {
+      const ourStatus = await this.createStatusMessage();
+      //Note: Technically we don't have to send out status to peer as well, but we do.
+      //It will be easier to update protocol in the future this way if need be.
+      this.logger.trace(`Initiating status handshake with peer ${peerId}`);
+      const response = await this.reqresp.sendRequestToPeer(peerId, ReqRespSubProtocol.STATUS, ourStatus.toBuffer());
+      const { status } = response;
+      if (status !== ReqRespStatus.SUCCESS) {
+        //TODO: maybe hard ban these peers in the future.
+        //We could allow this to happen up to N times, and then hard ban?
+        //Hard ban: Disallow connection via e.g. libp2p's Gater
+        this.logger.debug(`Disconnecting peer ${peerId} who failed to respond status handshake`, {
+          peerId,
+          status: ReqRespStatus[status],
+        });
+        this.markPeerForDisconnect(peerId);
+        return;
+      }
+
+      const { data } = response;
+      const logData = { peerId, status: ReqRespStatus[status], data: data ? bufferToHex(data) : undefined };
+      const peerStatusMessage = StatusMessage.fromBuffer(data);
+      if (!ourStatus.validate(peerStatusMessage)) {
+        this.logger.debug(`Disconnecting peer ${peerId} due to failed status handshake.`, logData);
+        this.markPeerForDisconnect(peerId);
+        return;
+      }
+      this.logger.debug(`Successfully completed status handshake with peer ${peerId}`, logData);
+    } catch (err: any) {
+      //TODO: maybe hard ban these peers in the future
+      this.logger.debug(`Disconnecting peer ${peerId} due to error during status handshake: ${err.message ?? err}`, {
+        peerId,
+      });
+      this.markPeerForDisconnect(peerId);
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Performs auth Handshake with the Peer
+   * A superset of the status handshake. Also includes a challenge that needs to be signed by the peer's validator key.
+   * @param: peerId The Id of the peer to request the Status from.
+   * */
+  private async exchangeAuthHandshake(peerId: PeerId) {
+    const peerIdString = peerId.toString();
+
+    try {
+      const ourStatus = await this.createStatusMessage();
+      const authRequest = new AuthRequest(ourStatus, Fr.random());
+
+      // Note: Technically we don't have to send our status to peer as well, but we do.
+      // It will be easier to update protocol in the future this way if need be.
+      // We also need to send the challenge at least, so that the peer can sign it.
+      this.logger.debug(`Initiating auth handshake with peer ${peerId}`);
+      const response = await this.reqresp.sendRequestToPeer(peerId, ReqRespSubProtocol.AUTH, authRequest.toBuffer());
+      const { status } = response;
+      if (status !== ReqRespStatus.SUCCESS) {
+        this.logger.verbose(`Disconnecting peer ${peerId} who failed to respond auth handshake`, {
+          peerId,
+          status: ReqRespStatus[status],
+        });
+        this.markAuthHandshakeFailed(peerId);
+        this.markPeerForDisconnect(peerId);
+        return;
+      }
+
+      const { data } = response;
+      const logData = { peerId, status: ReqRespStatus[status], data: data ? bufferToHex(data) : undefined };
+
+      const peerAuthResponse = AuthResponse.fromBuffer(data);
+
+      const peerStatusMessage = peerAuthResponse.status;
+      if (!ourStatus.validate(peerStatusMessage)) {
+        this.logger.verbose(`Disconnecting peer ${peerId} due to failed status handshake as part of auth.`, logData);
+        this.markAuthHandshakeFailed(peerId);
+        this.markPeerForDisconnect(peerId);
+        return;
+      }
+
+      const hashToRecover = authRequest.getPayloadToSign();
+      const ethSignedHash = makeEthSignDigest(hashToRecover);
+      const sender = tryRecoverAddress(ethSignedHash, peerAuthResponse.signature);
+      if (!sender) {
+        this.logger.verbose(`Disconnecting peer ${peerId} due to failed auth handshake, invalid signature.`, logData);
+        this.markAuthHandshakeFailed(peerId);
+        this.markPeerForDisconnect(peerId);
+        return;
+      }
+
+      const registeredValidators = await this.epochCache.getRegisteredValidators();
+      const found = registeredValidators.find(v => v.toString() === sender.toString()) !== undefined;
+      if (!found) {
+        this.logger.verbose(
+          `Disconnecting peer ${peerId} due to failed auth handshake, peer is not a registered validator.`,
+          { ...logData, address: sender.toString() },
+        );
+        this.markAuthHandshakeFailed(peerId);
+        this.markPeerForDisconnect(peerId);
+        return;
+      }
+
+      // Check to see that this validator address isn't already allocated to a different peer
+      const peerForAddress = this.authenticatedValidatorAddressToPeerId.get(sender.toString());
+      if (peerForAddress !== undefined && peerForAddress.toString() !== peerIdString) {
+        this.logger.verbose(
+          `Received auth for validator ${sender.toString()} from peer ${peerIdString}, but this validator is already authenticated to peer ${peerForAddress.toString()}`,
+          { ...logData, address: sender.toString() },
+        );
+        this.markAuthHandshakeFailed(peerId);
+        this.markPeerForDisconnect(peerId);
+        return;
+      }
+
+      this.markAuthHandshakeSuccess(peerId);
+      this.authenticatedPeerIdToValidatorAddress.set(peerIdString, sender);
+      this.authenticatedValidatorAddressToPeerId.set(sender.toString(), peerId);
+      this.logger.info(
+        `Successfully completed auth handshake with peer ${peerId}, validator address ${sender.toString()}`,
+        { ...logData, address: sender.toString() },
+      );
+    } catch (err: any) {
+      //TODO: maybe hard ban these peers in the future
+      this.logger.verbose(`Disconnecting peer ${peerId} due to error during auth handshake: ${err.message}`, {
+        peerId,
+        err,
+      });
+      this.markAuthHandshakeFailed(peerId);
+      this.markPeerForDisconnect(peerId);
+    }
+  }
+
+  /*
+   * Marks when peer fails auth handshake
+   * */
+  private markAuthHandshakeFailed(peerId: PeerId) {
+    const now = this.dateProvider.now();
+    const peerIdStr = peerId.toString();
+
+    const existingEntry = this.failedAuthHandshakes.get(peerIdStr);
+    const failureCount = (existingEntry?.count || 0) + 1;
+    this.failedAuthHandshakes.set(peerIdStr, {
+      count: failureCount,
+      lastFailureTimestamp: now,
+    });
+
+    const connections = this.libP2PNode.getConnections(peerId);
+    connections.forEach(conn => {
+      const address = conn.remoteAddr.nodeAddress().address;
+      const existingAddressEntry = this.failedAuthHandshakes.get(address);
+      this.failedAuthHandshakes.set(address, {
+        count: (existingAddressEntry?.count || 0) + 1,
+        lastFailureTimestamp: now,
+      });
+    });
+
+    // Ban the peer from being re-dialed for a cooldown period (exponential backoff)
+    const banTimeMs = this.config.peerFailedBanTimeMs ?? DEFAULT_FAILED_PEER_BAN_TIME_MS;
+    const backoffMs = banTimeMs * Math.pow(2, Math.min(failureCount - 1, 5));
+    this.timedOutPeers.set(peerIdStr, {
+      peerId: peerIdStr,
+      timeoutUntilMs: now + backoffMs,
+    });
+    this.cachedPeers.delete(peerIdStr);
+  }
+
+  /*
+   * Marks when peer exchanges auth handshake
+   * Removes any failed previous attempts
+   * */
+  private markAuthHandshakeSuccess(peerId: PeerId) {
+    this.failedAuthHandshakes.delete(peerId.toString());
+
+    const connections = this.libP2PNode.getConnections(peerId);
+    connections.forEach(conn => {
+      const address = conn.remoteAddr.nodeAddress().address;
+      this.failedAuthHandshakes.delete(address);
+    });
+  }
+
   /**
    * Stops the peer manager.
    * Removing all event listeners.
    */
   public async stop() {
     // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-misused-promises
-    this.peerDiscoveryService.off(PeerEvent.DISCOVERED, this.discoveredPeerHandler);
+    this.peerDiscoveryService.off(PeerEvent.DISCOVERED, this.handlers.handleDiscoveredPeer);
 
     // Send goodbyes to all peers
     await Promise.all(
       this.libP2PNode.getPeers().map(peer => this.goodbyeAndDisconnectPeer(peer, GoodByeReason.SHUTDOWN)),
     );
 
-    this.libP2PNode.removeEventListener(PeerEvent.CONNECTED, this.handleConnectedPeerEvent);
-    this.libP2PNode.removeEventListener(PeerEvent.DISCONNECTED, this.handleDisconnectedPeerEvent);
+    this.libP2PNode.removeEventListener(PeerEvent.CONNECTED, this.handlers.handleConnectedPeerEvent);
+    this.libP2PNode.removeEventListener(PeerEvent.DISCONNECTED, this.handlers.handleDisconnectedPeerEvent);
+  }
+
+  private shouldTrustWithIdentity(peerId: PeerId): boolean {
+    return this.isProtectedPeer(peerId);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Performs auth request verification from peer. An auth request is valid if requested by an authorized peer (a peer we trust).
+   *
+   * @param: _authRequest - Auth request (unused)
+   * @param: peerId - The ID of the peer that requested the auth handshake
+   *
+   * @returns: StatusMessage if peer is trusted
+   *
+   * @throws: If peer is unauthorized
+   * */
+  public async handleAuthRequestFromPeer(_authRequest: AuthRequest, peerId: PeerId): Promise<StatusMessage> {
+    if (!this.shouldTrustWithIdentity(peerId)) {
+      this.logger.warn(`Received auth request from untrusted peer ${peerId.toString()}`);
+      throw new Error('Unauthorised');
+    }
+    this.logger.debug(`Received auth request from trusted peer ${peerId.toString()}`);
+    return await this.createStatusMessage();
+  }
+
+  private async updateAuthenticatedPeers(): Promise<void> {
+    const registeredValidators = await this.epochCache.getRegisteredValidators();
+    const validatorSet = new Set(registeredValidators.map(v => v.toString()));
+
+    const peersToDelete: Set<string> = new Set();
+    const addressesToDelete: Set<string> = new Set();
+    for (const [peer, address] of this.authenticatedPeerIdToValidatorAddress.entries()) {
+      const addressString = address.toString();
+      if (!validatorSet.has(addressString)) {
+        peersToDelete.add(peer);
+        addressesToDelete.add(addressString);
+        this.logger.info(
+          `Removing authentication for peer ${peer.toString()} at address ${addressString} due to no longer being a registered validator`,
+        );
+      }
+    }
+
+    for (const peer of peersToDelete) {
+      this.authenticatedPeerIdToValidatorAddress.delete(peer);
+    }
+    for (const address of addressesToDelete) {
+      this.authenticatedValidatorAddressToPeerId.delete(address);
+    }
   }
 }