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Add multi-hop NextHop recovery tests and unit tests for routing reliability
- Introduced a new test suite for multi-hop NextHop directed-message delivery and relay recovery in `test_nexthop_multihop_recovery.py`. This includes tests for end-to-end delivery and recovery after relay drop. - Implemented unit tests in `test_main.cpp` for NextHop routing reliability mitigations, covering: - M1: Ambiguity-aware last-byte resolution. - M2: NextHopRouter's strict-neighbor gate and hop limit checks. - M3: Route-health freshness and failure decay. - Enhanced mock classes to facilitate controlled testing of node behaviors and routing logic.
This commit is contained in:
Ben Meadors
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docs/nexthop-routing-reliability.md
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# NextHop direct-message reliability on dense meshes — findings & plan
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**Status:** Proposal / design doc for branch handoff (no code changes yet)
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**Date:** 2026-06-13
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**Area:** `src/mesh` router stack (`NextHopRouter`, `ReliableRouter`, `FloodingRouter`, `Router`, `NodeDB`, `PacketHistory`)
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**Constraint:** No over-the-air / wire-format changes — `next_hop` and `relay_node` stay 1 byte, no `PacketHeader` changes, no breaking protobuf changes. All new state is RAM-only.
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This document captures the analysis and the proposed mitigations so the work can be
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continued on this branch by anyone. It is intentionally code-grounded (file:line
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references throughout) and standalone — you should not need the original investigation
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context to pick it up.
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---
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## TL;DR
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NextHop routing for direct messages (DMs) is unreliable on dense meshes. The headline
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cause is the **birthday problem**: `next_hop` and `relay_node` are each a single byte
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(the last byte of a 32-bit node number), so on a mesh of N nodes the probability that
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two share the same byte hits ~50% at **~19 nodes** and is near-certain by 50–100. But
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there are **other, equally important issues**: that single byte is trusted blindly at
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five different code sites, learned routes **never decay**, routes are learned from the
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**reverse (ACK) path** (asymmetric-link hazard), and collision-driven spurious
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rebroadcasts **amplify congestion** exactly when the mesh is busy.
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Because we can't widen the on-wire field, the fix is **interpretation-side** ("don't
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trust a byte that doesn't map to a unique reachable neighbor — flood instead") plus
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**recovery-side** ("decay stale/failing routes so they get re-discovered"). Four
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mitigations, M1–M4, all RAM-only. The net behavioral change: on dense/mobile meshes a
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DM that today silently misroutes or black-holes instead falls back to managed flooding
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(which still delivers) and re-learns a fresh route quickly. Sparse-mesh happy paths are
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unchanged.
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---
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## How NextHop routing works today (mechanics)
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Inheritance chain: `Router` → `FloodingRouter` → `NextHopRouter` → `ReliableRouter`.
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**The single-byte identifiers.** Both routing bytes come from one helper:
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```cpp
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// src/mesh/NodeDB.h:255
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uint8_t getLastByteOfNodeNum(NodeNum num) { return (uint8_t)((num & 0xFF) ? (num & 0xFF) : 0xFF); }
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```
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It projects a 32-bit node number onto 255 values (`0x00` is remapped to `0xFF` so it
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never collides with the `0`-valued sentinels `NO_NEXT_HOP_PREFERENCE` / `NO_RELAY_NODE`,
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`src/mesh/MeshTypes.h:44-46`). `next_hop` and `relay_node` in the packet header are
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`uint8_t` (`src/mesh/mesh.pb.h`, comments "Last byte of the node number…"). The learned
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route stored per destination, `meshtastic_NodeInfoLite::next_hop`, is also a single byte
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(`src/mesh/generated/meshtastic/deviceonly.pb.h:83`).
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**Sending a DM** — `NextHopRouter::send` (`src/mesh/NextHopRouter.cpp:23`):
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1. `p->relay_node = getLastByteOfNodeNum(getNodeNum())` (mark ourselves as relayer).
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2. `p->next_hop = getNextHop(p->to, p->relay_node)` (`src/mesh/NextHopRouter.cpp:192`):
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look up `nodeDB->getMeshNode(to)->next_hop`; return it unless it equals the relayer
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byte; otherwise `NO_NEXT_HOP_PREFERENCE` (→ flood).
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**Relaying** — `NextHopRouter::perhapsRebroadcast` (`src/mesh/NextHopRouter.cpp:133`):
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rebroadcast iff `next_hop == NO_NEXT_HOP_PREFERENCE` (flood) **or**
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`next_hop == getLastByteOfNodeNum(getNodeNum())` (we are the addressed next hop)
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(`:147`). Each node only ever compares against **its own** byte.
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**Learning** — `NextHopRouter::sniffReceived` (`src/mesh/NextHopRouter.cpp:89`): on an
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ACK/reply (`request_id`/`reply_id` set), if the relayer of the ACK was also a relayer of
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the original packet (validated via `PacketHistory::checkRelayers`), set
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`origTx->next_hop = p->relay_node` (`:114`). I.e. the **forward** next-hop is learned
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from the **reverse** path's relayer.
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**Retransmission / fallback** — `NextHopRouter::doRetransmissions`
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(`src/mesh/NextHopRouter.cpp:284`). Budgets: `NUM_RELIABLE_RETX=3` (originator: initial
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- 2 retries), `NUM_INTERMEDIATE_RETX=2` (relayer: 1 retry). On the **last** retry
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(`numRetransmissions==1`) it resets `next_hop` to `NO_NEXT_HOP_PREFERENCE` on the packet
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**and** clears `sentTo->next_hop` in NodeDB, then floods (`:313-321`). Retransmit timing
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comes from `iface->getRetransmissionMsec`, whose contention window **grows with channel
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utilization** (`src/mesh/RadioInterface.cpp` `getTxDelayMsec`/`getTxDelayMsecWeighted`).
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**Dedup / relayer history** — `PacketHistory` (`src/mesh/PacketHistory.cpp`): a bounded
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ring (`PACKETHISTORY_MAX = max(MAX_NUM_NODES*2, 100)`, 20 B/record) keyed by
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`(sender,id)`, tracking up to `NUM_RELAYERS=6` relayer **bytes** per packet in
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`relayed_by[]`. `wasRelayer` (`:490`) and `checkRelayers` (`:517`) match bytes against
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that array.
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---
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## Root-cause analysis
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### 1. The single byte is trusted blindly at five sites (the birthday problem)
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| # | Site | File:line | Failure on collision |
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| --- | -------------------------------- | --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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| 1 | Rebroadcast self-check | `NextHopRouter.cpp:147` | A remote "impostor" node sharing the intended next-hop's byte also rebroadcasts → wasted airtime / congestion. |
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| 2 | Route learning | `NextHopRouter.cpp:111-114` | Stores an ambiguous byte as the route; later resolves to the wrong physical node. |
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| 3 | Relayer validation | `PacketHistory.cpp:490-538` | `wasRelayer(byte)` returns true for the wrong node → mis-validated ACK / mis-learn. |
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| 4 | Favorite-router hop preservation | `Router.cpp:120-145` | **First** NodeDB node whose last byte matches wins — non-deterministic; can preserve hops for the wrong relay (hop leak). |
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| 5 | Send-path lookup | `NextHopRouter.cpp:192-207` | Emits a byte that may address the wrong node; no check it still maps to a reachable neighbor. |
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Collision math (uniform last byte over 255 buckets): P(collision) ≈ 50% at ~19 nodes,
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> 99% by ~75 nodes. Dense meshes are squarely in the "always colliding" regime.
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### 2. Stale routes never decay
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The learned `next_hop` byte is cleared only on the **current DM's** last retry
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(`NextHopRouter.cpp:313-321`). A route learned hours ago that has since gone dead is
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still trusted on the **next** DM's first attempt — which on a congested mesh is also the
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slowest attempt. Result: silent black-hole at a dead hop until the retransmission budget
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drains, then a late flood. Intermediate nodes hold stale routes indefinitely.
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### 3. Reverse-path (asymmetric-link) learning
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`origTx->next_hop` is learned from the ACK's relayer (`NextHopRouter.cpp:110-114`) — the
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**reverse** direction. RF links are frequently asymmetric, so the best reverse relay can
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be a poor forward relay. Worse, the next reverse ACK immediately re-learns the same bad
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hop, so the route **flaps** back to the bad value even after a failure reset.
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### 4. Congestion amplification
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Collision-driven impostor rebroadcasts (issue 1) add airtime; the contention window
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grows with channel utilization, so retransmit intervals **lengthen** exactly when the
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mesh is busy. The 3-try reliable budget can then expire before delivery. On dense
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meshes, efficiency _is_ reliability.
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### Note: pubkey-derived node numbers (develop / 2.8) — does not change the plan
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develop derives the node number from the public key:
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`my_node_num = crc32Buffer(public_key)` (`src/mesh/NodeDB.cpp:481`), re-derived on key
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change in `createNewIdentity()` (`src/mesh/NodeDB.cpp:3113`). This **reinforces** the
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plan rather than changing it:
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- **Birthday problem unchanged and now textbook-exact.** CRC32 mixes well → the last
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byte is uniformly distributed over 256 values. Derivation adds no wire bits.
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- **Node numbers are now immutable / identity-bound.** Pre-2.8 `pickNewNodeNum()` could
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renumber a node to dodge a conflict; now the number is fixed by the key, so a last-byte
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collision **cannot be resolved operationally by renumbering** → M1/M2/M3 become _more_
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necessary.
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- **Resolver gets cleaner inputs.** Stable node numbers keep a learned byte bound to one
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identity (good for M3 freshness). `createNewIdentity()` retires the old entry by marking
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it **ignored** and clearing its pubkey (`src/mesh/NodeDB.cpp:3123-3125`), which M1's
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candidate gate already skips — so key rotation can't pollute resolution.
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- **No wire-free disambiguation unlocked.** A receiver still gets only 1 byte and cannot
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recover which full node number a colliding value meant — so "detect ambiguity → flood"
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remains the correct strategy.
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---
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## Proposed mitigations
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Key insight for all of M1/M2: **a 1-byte ID only needs to be unique among a node's
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direct neighbors / plausible relays, not the whole mesh.** That candidate set is small
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(typically 5–15), so a byte usually resolves unambiguously there; when it doesn't, fall
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back to the _safe_ behavior (flood / decrement / don't-learn).
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### M1 — Ambiguity-aware last-byte resolution (new NodeDB primitive)
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New types + methods in `src/mesh/NodeDB.h` (near line 255) / `src/mesh/NodeDB.cpp`
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(near `getMeshNode`, ~2936):
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```cpp
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enum class LastByteResolution : uint8_t { None, Unique, Ambiguous };
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struct ResolvedNode { LastByteResolution status = LastByteResolution::None; NodeNum num = 0; };
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// Resolve a single on-wire last-byte to a unique full NodeNum among relevant candidates.
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ResolvedNode resolveLastByte(uint8_t lastByte, bool requireDirectNeighbor);
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// Convenience: true iff exactly one relevant candidate (Ambiguous and None both -> false = SAFE).
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bool resolveUniqueLastByte(uint8_t lastByte, bool requireDirectNeighbor, NodeNum *outNum = nullptr);
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```
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- **One linear pass** over `meshNodes`, reusing `getNumMeshNodes()`/`getMeshNodeByIndex()`,
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the bitfield helpers (`nodeInfoLiteIsFavorite/HasUser/IsIgnored`), `sinceLastSeen()`,
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and `getLastByteOfNodeNum()`. **Early-exit** on the 2nd match (return `Ambiguous`).
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- **Guard:** `if (lastByte == 0) return {None, 0};` (covers `NO_RELAY_NODE` / MQTT-invalid).
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- **Candidate gate** (skip): `num == getNodeNum()` (never resolve to ourselves), `num == 0`,
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`num == NODENUM_BROADCAST`, `nodeInfoLiteIsIgnored`. Then match
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`getLastByteOfNodeNum(node->num) == lastByte` (cheapest test last, mirroring `Router.cpp:119`).
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- **Relevance gate:**
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- `requireDirectNeighbor == true` (strict, for SEND): `has_hops_away && hops_away == 0`
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**and** `sinceLastSeen(node) < NEXTHOP_NEIGHBOR_FRESH_SECS`.
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- `requireDirectNeighbor == false` (lenient, for learn / hop-preserve): accept if direct
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neighbor **or** `nodeInfoLiteIsFavorite` **or** role ∈ {ROUTER, ROUTER_LATE, CLIENT_BASE}.
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- **No tie-break.** A collision must return `Ambiguous` — picking "best SNR" would
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resurrect the silent-misroute bug. (Deliberate non-goal; document in code.)
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New constant in `src/mesh/MeshTypes.h` (near line 44):
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`#define NEXTHOP_NEIGHBOR_FRESH_SECS (60 * 60 * 2)` (mirrors `NUM_ONLINE_SECS`).
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### M2 — Only route on bytes that resolve to a unique, reachable neighbor
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In `getNextHop` (`src/mesh/NextHopRouter.cpp:192-207`), after the existing split-horizon
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check (`node->next_hop != relay_node`), require the stored byte to resolve to a **unique,
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currently-fresh direct neighbor**; else flood:
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```cpp
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if (node->next_hop != relay_node) {
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ResolvedNode r = nodeDB->resolveLastByte(node->next_hop, /*requireDirectNeighbor=*/true);
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if (r.status == LastByteResolution::Unique) return node->next_hop;
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LOG_WARN("Next hop 0x%x for 0x%x %s -> flood", node->next_hop, to,
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r.status == LastByteResolution::Ambiguous ? "ambiguous among neighbors" : "no longer a neighbor");
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return std::nullopt;
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}
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```
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This self-heals when a neighbor goes away (unicast-into-a-void becomes a flood). It
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applies to originating, relaying, and retrying, since all route through `getNextHop`.
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Apply M1's safe fallback at the other sites:
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- **Learning** (`NextHopRouter.cpp:111-114`): gate `origTx->next_hop = p->relay_node` on
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`resolveUniqueLastByte(p->relay_node, /*direct=*/false)`. Ambiguous/unknown → don't
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learn (leave route unset → flood).
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- **Favorite-router preservation** (`Router.cpp:120-145`): replace the "first match wins"
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loop with `resolveUniqueLastByte(p->relay_node, /*direct=*/false)` + a re-check that the
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resolved node is favorite/has_user/router. Ambiguous/none/not-favorite → **decrement**
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(safe). Net: removes one full DB scan, adds one resolver scan (wash).
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**Left unchanged, by design (document why in code):**
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- **Site 1** rebroadcast self-check (`NextHopRouter.cpp:147`) and self-identity checks
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(`ReliableRouter.cpp:127`): a node matches its **own** byte — no DB resolution helps. A
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remote impostor sharing the intended next-hop's byte will still rebroadcast. M1/M2
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shrink the blast radius by reducing how often an ambiguous byte is ever stored or
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originated; a true fix needs a wider field (out of scope). **This is the one residual
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the plan cannot fully close.**
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- **Site 3** `wasRelayer`/`checkRelayers` (`PacketHistory.cpp:490-538`): intentionally
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byte-domain (both sides are on-wire bytes); the consumer (learning) is now hardened.
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Add a one-line comment; do not change.
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### M3 — Route freshness / failure memory (RAM table on NextHopRouter)
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A bounded, LRU-evicted table keyed by destination, mirroring `PacketHistory`'s
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reuse-oldest discipline (not an unbounded map) to cap RAM.
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`src/mesh/NextHopRouter.h` (near `pending`, line 99):
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```cpp
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struct RouteHealth {
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NodeNum dest = 0; // 0 == empty slot
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uint32_t learnedAtMsec = 0; // millis() at last (re)learn; rollover-aware
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uint8_t consecutiveFailures = 0;
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uint8_t lastNextHop = NO_NEXT_HOP_PREFERENCE; // byte this health refers to
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};
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static constexpr uint8_t ROUTE_HEALTH_MAX = 32; // ~384B; drop to 16 if RAM-tight
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RouteHealth routeHealth[ROUTE_HEALTH_MAX] = {};
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// Helpers take `now` (pure/testable): findRouteHealth, getOrAllocRouteHealth,
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// noteRouteLearned, noteRouteSuccess, noteRouteFailure, isRouteStale, clearRouteHealth
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```
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Policy:
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| Constant | Value | Rationale |
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| ------------------------- | ------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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| `ROUTE_TTL_MSEC` | 30 min | Survives a normal conversation; re-discovers a moved node within a telemetry interval. |
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| `ROUTE_FAILURE_THRESHOLD` | 3 | 1–2 consecutive failures are transient LoRa collisions; 3 to the same hop = dead. Accumulates **across** DMs (independent of the per-DM 3-try budget). |
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`isRouteStale(h, now)` = `(now - h.learnedAtMsec) >= ROUTE_TTL_MSEC || h.consecutiveFailures >= ROUTE_FAILURE_THRESHOLD`.
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All age math uses **unsigned subtraction** (rollover-safe, matching
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`PacketHistory.cpp:364`); treat `learnedAtMsec == 0` as "set now".
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Wiring (as built — `src/mesh/NextHopRouter.cpp`, `src/mesh/ReliableRouter.cpp`):
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- `getNextHop`: if a health record matches the stored byte and `isRouteStale`, clear
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`node->next_hop` (NodeDB) **and** `clearRouteHealth`, return `nullopt` (flood). No
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record yet (cold path, first DM after boot) → trust NodeDB, but the M2 strict-neighbor
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gate still applies.
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- `sniffReceived` learn: gate the write through `resolveUniqueLastByte` (M2), then
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`noteRouteLearned(p->from, p->relay_node, millis())` — resets `consecutiveFailures`
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**only if the hop changed** (anti-flap for asymmetric re-learn); otherwise just refreshes
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`learnedAtMsec`. (No success signal is taken on the intermediate reverse-pass: an ACK
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merely passing through us is not proof that _we_ delivered, and resetting failures there
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would reintroduce the asymmetric flap.)
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- `doRetransmissions`: on the last-retransmission branch (`numRetransmissions == 1`, the
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point a directed delivery has gone un-ACKed for both originator and intermediate) →
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`noteRouteFailure(to)`, then the existing NodeDB `next_hop` reset + flood. We deliberately
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do **not** `clearRouteHealth` here: keeping the record is what lets the failure count
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accumulate across DMs so a flapping reverse-path-relearned dead hop eventually ages out.
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- `ReliableRouter::sniffReceived` ACK path → `noteRouteSuccess(getFrom(p), millis())`
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(an end-to-end ACK addressed to us is genuine forward-delivery proof; clears failures and
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refreshes freshness). `noteRouteSuccess`/`noteRouteFailure` are no-ops when no record
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exists, so flood-only destinations never pollute the table.
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**Reconciliation (no double-handling):** `doRetransmissions` owns _in-flight_ failure of
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the current DM (reset NodeDB `next_hop` + flood, and bump the cross-DM failure counter);
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`getNextHop` owns _between-DM_ staleness (TTL or failure-threshold → flood + clear). The
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only place that erases a health record is the `getNextHop` decay path; the retransmission
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path leaves it intact so the counter survives a reverse-path re-learn.
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### M4 — Earlier flood for unverified routes (gated, off by default)
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Compile-gated so healthy sparse meshes are untouched. **Default is off** — the define
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lives in `NextHopRouter.h` and must be flipped to measure:
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`#define NEXTHOP_EARLY_FLOOD_ON_UNVERIFIED 1`.
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In `doRetransmissions`, the directed-retry `else` branch: if the route is **not verified**
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(`!findRouteHealth(to) || consecutiveFailures > 0 || isRouteStale`), reset `next_hop` and
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flood on this attempt instead of spending another directed try. A **verified** route
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(record present, `consecutiveFailures == 0`, within TTL — i.e. recently ACKed) takes the
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unchanged directed-retry path, so the sparse-mesh happy path is untouched. Trade-off:
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airtime ↔ latency; the gate ensures we never pay the flood cost on a proven route, only on
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one we already distrust. Off by default precisely so it can be A/B-measured on the
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simulator before broad enable.
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---
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## Files to modify
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||||
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||||
| File | Change |
|
||||
| ------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|
||||
| `src/mesh/MeshTypes.h` | `NEXTHOP_NEIGHBOR_FRESH_SECS`, `ROUTE_TTL_MSEC`, `ROUTE_FAILURE_THRESHOLD`, `NEXTHOP_EARLY_FLOOD_ON_UNVERIFIED` |
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| `src/mesh/NodeDB.h` / `src/mesh/NodeDB.cpp` | `LastByteResolution`, `ResolvedNode`, `resolveLastByte`, `resolveUniqueLastByte` |
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| `src/mesh/NextHopRouter.h` | `RouteHealth` + array + helpers; `#ifdef PIO_UNIT_TESTING public:` for helpers and `getNextHop` |
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| `src/mesh/NextHopRouter.cpp` | `getNextHop` (M2 gate + M3 decay); `sniffReceived` (learn gate + health seed + success); `doRetransmissions` (failure counting + M4); comment site 1 |
|
||||
| `src/mesh/Router.cpp` | `shouldDecrementHopLimit` → resolver + favorite/router re-check |
|
||||
| `src/mesh/ReliableRouter.cpp` | ACK path → `noteRouteSuccess` |
|
||||
| `test/test_nexthop_routing/test_main.cpp` | **new** unit suite (auto-built under `[env:native]`) |
|
||||
|
||||
**Reuse, don't reinvent:** `getLastByteOfNodeNum`, `sinceLastSeen`, the bitfield helpers,
|
||||
`getMeshNodeByIndex`/`getNumMeshNodes`, PacketHistory's reuse-oldest eviction shape, and
|
||||
`MockNodeDB::addTestNode` (from `test/test_hop_scaling/test_main.cpp`).
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Edge cases
|
||||
|
||||
- **`0x00`↔`0xFF` projection:** the resolver compares via `getLastByteOfNodeNum` on both
|
||||
sides, so a `…00` node and a `…FF` node correctly collide on `0xFF` → `Ambiguous`. Test
|
||||
explicitly.
|
||||
- **MQTT packets:** `relay_node`/`next_hop` are forced invalid when `hop_start == 0`
|
||||
(`src/mesh/RadioLibInterface.cpp:603-605`) → byte 0 → resolver `None` → don't learn
|
||||
(correct).
|
||||
- **`has_hops_away == false`** nodes are excluded from the strict gate (never fabricate a
|
||||
Unique neighbor for M2); admitted to the lenient gate only via favorite/router role.
|
||||
Safe; self-corrects once `hops_away` is learned.
|
||||
- **Self / broadcast:** the resolver skips `getNodeNum()` and `NODENUM_BROADCAST`;
|
||||
`getNextHop` already early-returns for broadcast.
|
||||
- **Perf:** M2 adds one O(N) resolver scan per directed send/relay (early-exit on the 2nd
|
||||
match), cheaper than the crypto already on that path; site-4 is a wash. If ever hot, a
|
||||
future 256-entry last-byte index is the optimization (not now — RAM).
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Verification (all tiers)
|
||||
|
||||
### 1. Native unit tests — new `test/test_nexthop_routing/test_main.cpp`
|
||||
|
||||
`pio test -e native -f test_nexthop_routing`; on macOS `./bin/test-native-docker.sh -f test_nexthop_routing`.
|
||||
Design the RouteHealth helpers to take `now` as a parameter so the 30-min TTL logic is
|
||||
testable without a clock mock.
|
||||
|
||||
- **Resolver:** None / Unique / **Ambiguous (birthday collision)** / strict-excludes-stale /
|
||||
strict-excludes-far / lenient-includes-favorite-router / lenient-collision / skips-self /
|
||||
skips-ignored / **`0x00`↔`0xFF` collision** / early-exit.
|
||||
- **`getNextHop`:** unique→byte, **ambiguous→nullopt**, stale-neighbor→nullopt,
|
||||
split-horizon (relay==next_hop)→nullopt, broadcast→nullopt.
|
||||
- **RouteHealth:** TTL boundary, **rollover** (learn near `0xFFFFFFFF`, check after wrap),
|
||||
failure threshold, success-resets, **re-learn-same-hop keeps fails (anti-flap)**,
|
||||
re-learn-new-hop resets, LRU eviction bound, clear.
|
||||
- **Site-4:** preserve on unique favorite router; **decrement on two colliding favorites**;
|
||||
decrement when the resolved node is not a favorite.
|
||||
- **Sparse-mesh regression:** all-distinct last bytes → every resolve Unique, `getNextHop`
|
||||
returns the stored byte unchanged (proves no happy-path change).
|
||||
- Re-run `test_packet_history` and `test_hop_scaling` for no regression.
|
||||
|
||||
### 2. portduino SimRadio simulator
|
||||
|
||||
`pio run -e native && ./bin/test-simulator.sh`. Best vehicle for the **intermediate-node**
|
||||
path the 2-device bench can't reach. Line topology A — B — C: establish A→C (B learns a
|
||||
directed route), stop B relaying that dest, confirm A re-discovers via flood within
|
||||
`ROUTE_FAILURE_THRESHOLD` and that B's `noteRouteFailure`/`clearRouteHealth` fires (visible
|
||||
via the `LOG_INFO "Route to … stale"` / "Resetting next hop" lines). Use this to A/B M4
|
||||
(attempts-to-delivery, total airtime).
|
||||
|
||||
### 3. Hardware via meshtastic MCP (auto-detect; 3+ devices for a real hop)
|
||||
|
||||
- `mcp-server/tests/mesh/test_nexthop_multihop_recovery.py` — **the multi-hop validator
|
||||
for this work** (added on this branch). Self-discovers an A — relay — C line, asserts a
|
||||
directed DM is delivered across the relay (next_hop + M1/M2/M3 engaged), and asserts
|
||||
delivery recovers after the relay is power-cycled (M3). Skips unless the bench is a true
|
||||
multi-hop line (≥3 roles via `--hub-profile`, endpoints out of direct RF range).
|
||||
- `mcp-server/tests/mesh/test_direct_with_ack.py` — happy-path regression: a fresh/unique
|
||||
route still delivers a want_ack DM on the first/second try (M4's gate must keep this
|
||||
green).
|
||||
- `mcp-server/tests/mesh/test_peer_offline_recovery.py` — 2-device recovery validator: peer
|
||||
off mid-conversation then back. Must stay green and ideally recover in fewer attempts.
|
||||
|
||||
### 4. Build / format sanity
|
||||
|
||||
native-macos **and** Docker both ways; trunk clang-format@16.0.3; a release `pio run` to
|
||||
confirm the `#ifdef PIO_UNIT_TESTING` visibility widening does **not** leak into
|
||||
production; sanity-check RAM headroom on the smallest nRF52 build for the ~384 B table.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Verification status (as built on `nexthop-redux`)
|
||||
|
||||
| Tier | What ran | Result |
|
||||
| -------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------- |
|
||||
| Unit (native-macos) | `test_nexthop_routing` (31 cases) | ✅ 31/31 |
|
||||
| Unit (Docker / Linux, CI parity) | `test_nexthop_routing` | ✅ 31/31 |
|
||||
| Regression | `test_packet_history`, `test_hop_scaling`, `test_mqtt`, `test_traffic_management` | ✅ 105/105 |
|
||||
| Build | `pio run -e native-macos` (M4 off) and with `-DNEXTHOP_EARLY_FLOOD_ON_UNVERIFIED=1` | ✅ both link |
|
||||
| Format | trunk `clang-format@16.0.3` | ✅ no issues |
|
||||
| Simulator (CI `simulator-tests`) | `meshtasticd -s` + `meshtastic.test.testSimulator()` on native-macos | ✅ exit 0, no crash |
|
||||
|
||||
**Pending (environment-blocked, not yet run):**
|
||||
|
||||
- **Multi-hop A–B–C recovery sim** — the `simulator/` broker hub is **not git-tracked**
|
||||
(only stale local `.pyc`), and two `meshtasticd -s` instances can't hear each other
|
||||
without it. The intermediate-node failure-count path and the M4 A/B therefore have unit
|
||||
coverage of their logic but no end-to-end multi-node run yet.
|
||||
- **Hardware / multi-hop tier** — a committable bench test now exists:
|
||||
`mcp-server/tests/mesh/test_nexthop_multihop_recovery.py`. It self-discovers a real
|
||||
multi-hop pair (A — relay — C), asserts a directed DM is delivered across the relay, and
|
||||
asserts delivery recovers after the relay is power-cycled (the M3 path). It
|
||||
`pytest.skip`s cleanly unless the bench is a true line with endpoints out of direct RF
|
||||
range (≥3 roles via `--hub-profile`), so it's safe to commit and only asserts when the
|
||||
NextHop path is genuinely exercised. Collected + verified to skip without hardware;
|
||||
not yet run on a bench. `test_direct_with_ack.py` / `test_peer_offline_recovery.py`
|
||||
remain the 2-device happy-path/recovery regressions.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Risks & limitations
|
||||
|
||||
- **Site-1 impostor rebroadcast** is unfixable without a wider field — documented; M1/M2
|
||||
only shrink its frequency.
|
||||
- **Dense meshes flood DMs more often** — intended (a flooded DM arrives; a mis-unicast one
|
||||
black-holes). Call out in the PR so reviewers expect a slightly higher DM flood rate on
|
||||
very dense meshes.
|
||||
- **M4 airtime** if the gate is too loose → default conservative + compile-gated +
|
||||
simulator A/B before broad enable.
|
||||
- **RAM** ~384 B (32 slots); 16 slots (~192 B) with graceful LRU degradation if tight.
|
||||
- **Asymmetric flap** not fully closed (a _new_ bad hop resets the counter); the TTL
|
||||
backstop bounds it. Per-hop failure history is future work (more RAM).
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## How to continue this work (commit sequencing)
|
||||
|
||||
Each step is independently testable; land them as separate commits.
|
||||
|
||||
1. **M1 resolver + unit tests** — `NodeDB` only; no behavior change until wired. Lands the
|
||||
`resolveLastByte`/`resolveUniqueLastByte` primitive and its full unit-test matrix.
|
||||
2. **M2 + wiring + tests** — `getNextHop` strict gate, learning gate, favorite-router
|
||||
preservation rewrite. Adds the `getNextHop` and site-4 tests.
|
||||
3. **M3 health table + decay + tests** — RAM `RouteHealth` table, decay-on-read, failure/
|
||||
success accounting, reconciliation with the existing last-retry reset. Adds the
|
||||
route-health unit tests and the simulator recovery check.
|
||||
4. **M4 gated tuning** — early-flood-on-unverified behind the compile flag; simulator A/B
|
||||
and hardware regression.
|
||||
|
||||
Reference plan (with the same content) was developed at
|
||||
`~/.claude/plans/nexthop-routing-for-direct-lexical-shell.md` on the author's machine; this
|
||||
in-repo doc is the canonical handoff copy.
|
||||
Reference in New Issue
Block a user