Optimum Gateway – User Guide
RC8 Release Notes: See what's new in v0.0.1-rc8
Version History: CHANGELOG
The Optimum Gateway (OG) is the entry point for validators into the Optimum network.
It bridges your Ethereum Consensus Layer (CL) client with Optimum’s high-performance P2P cluster.
What does Optimum Gateway do?
- Problem: Validators rely on CL gossip for block/attestation propagation. Latency variance hurts performance.
- Gateway Role: Bridges your local CL client (libp2p) to the Optimum network (an overlay optimized for fast, resilient gossip).
- Result: Faster propagation (especially beacon blocks and attestations) and reduced bandwidth usage.
High-Level Architecture
- The Gateway spawns a local libp2p node, subscribes to configured ETH CL topics, and forwards messages to the Optimum network.
- RC8 currently supports only the beacon_block topic for focused metrics collection and validation. Future releases will support additional topics (attestations, aggregates, etc.).
Requirements
- CL Client: An existing consensus layer client running (Prysm, Lighthouse, Teku, or Nimbus)
- Docker: Docker Desktop or Docker Engine installed and running
- Network Access: Connectivity to Optimum hosts (provided by Optimum team)
- Firewall: Required ports must be open (see Network Requirements)
Getting Started
Ready to set up your gateway? Follow our Quick Start guide to get running in minutes.