Optimum Gateway – User Guide

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.
• For beacon block topics, messages are forwarded immediately; for other topics, aggregation can be enabled.

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 Proxy 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.