Boson Integration

PC2 integrates with the Boson Network for decentralized identity and connectivity.

What is Boson?

Boson is a decentralized communication network built on:

• Distributed Hash Table (DHT) — Peer discovery without central servers
• Ed25519 Cryptography — Strong identity and signing
• Active Proxy — NAT traversal for unreachable nodes
• DID — Decentralized Identifiers

PC2 Boson Services

PC2 implements five Boson-related services:

IdentityService

Manages the node’s cryptographic identity:

// Identity structure
{
  nodeId: "2abc...xyz",     // Base58(publicKey)
  did: "did:boson:2abc...xyz",
  publicKey: Uint8Array,
  privateKey: Uint8Array    // Never leaves node
}

Storage: data/identity/identity.json

UsernameService

Registers human-readable usernames:

alice.ela.city → nodeId → IP:port

Usernames are stored in the DHT and resolved by super nodes.

ConnectivityService

Detects network conditions:

• Public IP detection
• NAT type detection
• Port availability
• Super node reachability

ActiveProxyClient

Connects to Active Proxy for NAT traversal (see NAT Traversal).

BosonService

Orchestrates all Boson services on startup.

Identity Creation

Flow

1. Generate random entropy
2. Create BIP39 mnemonic (12 words)
3. Derive Ed25519 keypair from seed
4. Compute Node ID = Base58(publicKey)
5. Create DID = “did:boson:” + nodeId
6. Save to identity.json

Recovery Phrase

The 12-word mnemonic can restore your identity on any PC2 node:

witch collapse practice feed shame open despair creek road again ice least

DHT Operations

Storing Data

// Store username → endpoint mapping
await dht.put(
  sha256("username:alice"),
  {
    nodeId: "2abc...",
    endpoint: "http://1.2.3.4:4200",
    timestamp: Date.now(),
    signature: sign(data, privateKey)
  }
);

Retrieving Data

// Lookup username
const result = await dht.get(sha256("username:alice"));
// { nodeId, endpoint, timestamp, signature }

Super Node Connection

PC2 nodes connect to super nodes for:

Bootstrap Flow

1. Connect to known super node
2. Join DHT network
3. Announce presence
4. Discover peers

Signatures

All DHT data is signed with Ed25519:

const signature = sign(JSON.stringify(data), privateKey);
 
// Verification
const valid = verify(signature, data, publicKey);

This prevents tampering and impersonation.

DID Format

PC2 uses the Boson DID method:

did:boson:2abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456789
         └─────────── Node ID (Base58) ─────────┘

DIDs enable:

• Verifiable identity
• Cross-platform authentication
• Decentralized PKI

Configuration

Super nodes are configured in data/config/pc2.json:

{
  "boson": {
    "superNodes": [
      {
        "host": "69.164.241.210",
        "dhtPort": 39001,
        "proxyPort": 8090
      }
    ],
    "enabled": true
  }
}

Troubleshooting

Identity Not Found

# Check identity file exists
cat data/identity/identity.json

If missing, delete data directory and re-run setup wizard.

DHT Connection Failed

# Test super node connectivity
nc -vuz 69.164.241.210 39001

Check firewall allows UDP outbound.

Username Conflict

If username taken:

• Choose different username
• Or contact admin if you believe it’s yours

→ See NAT Traversal for proxy details