FAB[2018] - Gossip protocol topic

yacov feedback incorporated
small update to offline peers
convert policies.md to .rst
move policies.rst to source folder
convert to rst, incorporate outlying comments
address PS 4 feedback
[ci skip]

Change-Id: I68fedcd32db74db8d7d460a74f5c30b0b063eff3
Signed-off-by: Joshua Horton <[email protected]>
Signed-off-by: Nick Gaski <[email protected]>

Author: joshhus

docs/source/gossip.rst

@@ -1,4 +1,82 @@
 Gossip data dissemination protocol
-----------------------------------
+==================================
 
-...coming soon
+Hyperledger Fabric optimizes blockchain network performance, security
+and scalability by dividing workload across transaction execution
+(endorsing and committing) peers and transaction ordering nodes. This
+decoupling of network operations requires a secure, reliable and
+scalable data dissemination protocol to ensure data integrity and
+consistency. To meet these requirements, the fabric implements a
+**gossip data dissemination protocol**.
+
+Gossip protocol
+---------------
+
+Peers leverage gossip to broadcast ledger and channel data in a scalable fashion.
+Gossip messaging is continuous, and each peer on a channel is
+constantly receiving current and consistent ledger data, from multiple
+peers. Each gossiped message is signed, thereby allowing Byzantine participants
+sending faked messages to be easily identified and the distribution of the
+message(s) to unwanted targets to be prevented. Peers affected by delays, network
+partitions or other causations resulting in missed blocks, will eventually be
+synced up to the current ledger state by contacting peers in possession of these
+missing blocks.
+
+The gossip-based data dissemination protocol performs three primary functions on
+a Fabric network:
+
+1. Manages peer discovery and channel membership, by continually
+   identifying available member peers, and eventually detecting peers that have
+   gone offline.
+2. Disseminates ledger data across all peers on a channel. Any peer with data
+   that is out of sync with the rest of the channel identifies the
+   missing blocks and syncs itself by copying the correct data.
+3. Bring newly connected peers up to speed by allowing peer-to-peer state
+   transfer update of ledger data.
+
+Gossip-based broadcasting operates by peers receiving messages from
+other peers on the channel, and then forwarding these messages to a number of
+randomly-selected peers on the channel, where this number is a configurable
+constant. Peers can also exercise a pull mechanism, rather than waiting for
+delivery of a message.  This cycle repeats, with the result of channel
+membership, ledger and state information continually being kept current and in
+sync. For dissemination of new blocks, the **leader** peer on the channel pulls
+the data from the ordering service and initiates gossip dissemination to peers.
+
+Gossip messaging
+----------------
+
+Online peers indicate their availability by continually broadcasting "alive"
+messages, with each containing the **public key infrastructure (PKI)** ID and the
+signature of the sender over the message. Peers maintain channel membership by collecting
+these alive messages; if no peer receives an alive message from a specific peer,
+this "dead" peer is eventually purged from channel membership. Because "alive"
+messages are cryptographically signed, malicious peers can never impersonate
+other peers, as they lack a signing key authorized by a root certificate
+authority (CA).
+
+In addition to the automatic forwarding of received messages, a state
+reconciliation process synchronizes **world state** across peers on each
+channel. Each peer continually pulls blocks from other peers on the channel,
+in order to repair its own state if discrepancies are identified. Because fixed
+connectivity is not required to maintain gossip-based data dissemination, the
+process reliably provides data consistency and integrity to the shared ledger,
+including tolerance for node crashes.
+
+Because channels are segregated, peers on one channel cannot message or
+share information on any other channel. Though any peer can belong
+to multiple channels, partitioned messaging prevents blocks from being disseminated
+to peers that are not in the channel by applying message routing policies based
+on peers' channel subscriptions.
+
+| **Notes:**
+| 1. Security of point-to-point messages are handled by the peer TLS layer, and do
+  not require signatures. Peers are authenticated by their certificates,
+  which are assigned by a CA. Although TLS certs are also used, it is
+  the peer certificates that are authenticated in the gossip layer. Ledger blocks
+  are signed by the ordering service, and then delivered to the leader peers on a channel.
+  2. Authentication is governed by the membership service provider for the
+  peer. When the peer connects to the channel for the first time, the
+  TLS session binds with fabric membership identity. This essentially
+  authenticates each peer to the connecting peer, with respect to
+  membership in the network and channel.