Multi-Oracle Node Reliability & Leadership Rotation
To enhance the reliability and fault tolerance of Cortensor’s oracle infrastructure, a phased approach is being adopted to transition from a single-oracle setup to a distributed and resilient oracle cluster model. This will reduce downtime risks caused by unstable RPC endpoints or stalled oracle nodes.
Phase 1: Off-Chain Rotation via NTP-Based Logical Coordination
Overview In the initial phase, leadership among multiple oracle nodes is managed off-chain using synchronized NTP timestamps and logical rules.
Mechanism
All oracle nodes maintain a synchronized clock using NTP.
A round-robin rotation schedule determines which node is active leader during a given time window.
The current leader is responsible for executing critical oracle tasks (e.g., triggering Cognitive tasks, session updates).
If the leader becomes unresponsive or exceeds its window:
The next designated oracle takes over automatically.
Leadership changes are based on elapsed time and session activity checks.
Advantages
Simple and fast to implement.
Enables automated fallback and basic fault tolerance without requiring contract-level changes.
Effective during early-stage deployment with low consensus overhead.
Phase 2: On-Chain Coordination via Smart Contract Timestamping
Overview In the second phase, oracle coordination will be enforced and recorded on-chain, increasing transparency and trustlessness.
Mechanism
Oracle nodes submit heartbeat or activity proofs (e.g., session commits) to a smart contract.
The smart contract tracks:
The active oracle node.
Timestamp of last valid action.
If a node fails to perform its duties within the expected timeframe:
The contract automatically emits a leadership rotation event.
The next oracle is granted active status based on a predefined sequence or dynamic reputation.
Advantages
Trustless and verifiable oracle activity.
Tamper-proof and permissionless failover logic.
Lays the foundation for fully decentralized oracle clusters with on-chain accountability.
Summary
1
NTP-based + Logical Logic
Time window + session check
Low
Low
2
Smart contract-based
On-chain timestamp & inactivity
High
Medium–High
Together, these phases enable a graceful evolution from centralized coordination to decentralized resilience—ensuring Cortensor’s oracle infrastructure scales securely and reliably.
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