TimeRPC Authority

Decentralized Time Attestation Protocol

TimeRPC is ROKO Network's revolutionary protocol for providing cryptographically attested, hardware-verified timestamps with nanosecond precision to any application or smart contract.

Overview

TimeRPC serves as the temporal oracle for the ROKO Network, providing:

• Hardware-attested timestamps
• Dual-signature verification
• Decentralized time consensus
• Cross-chain time bridging

Architecture

Protocol Stack

┌─────────────────────────────────┐
    │     Application Layer           │
    │   (Smart Contracts, DApps)      │
    ├─────────────────────────────────┐
    │      TimeRPC API Layer          │
    │   (REST, WebSocket, gRPC)       │
    ├─────────────────────────────────┐
    │    Attestation Layer            │
    │  (Dual Signatures, Proofs)      │
    ├─────────────────────────────────┐
    │    Time Authority Layer         │
    │   (Distributed Nodes)           │
    ├─────────────────────────────────┐
    │     Hardware Layer              │
    │   (OCP TAP 2.0 Cards)           │
    └─────────────────────────────────┘

Core Protocol

Time Request Flow

sequenceDiagram
        participant Client
        participant TimeRPC Node
        participant Hardware Clock
        participant Validator Network
        
        Client->>TimeRPC Node: Request timestamp
        TimeRPC Node->>Hardware Clock: Get hardware time
        Hardware Clock-->>TimeRPC Node: Attested time
        TimeRPC Node->>Validator Network: Request consensus
        Validator Network-->>TimeRPC Node: Consensus proof
        TimeRPC Node-->>Client: Dual-signed timestamp

Message Format

syntax = "proto3";

    message TimeRequest {
        string request_id = 1;
        uint64 nonce = 2;
        RequestType type = 3;
        bytes client_signature = 4;
        
        enum RequestType {
            CURRENT_TIME = 0;
            HISTORICAL_PROOF = 1;
            FUTURE_SCHEDULE = 2;
        }
    }

    message TimeResponse {
        string request_id = 1;
        uint128 nano_moment = 2;
        TimeProof proof = 3;
        NodeInfo node = 4;
        ConsensusProof consensus = 5;
    }

    message TimeProof {
        bytes hardware_signature = 1;
        bytes node_signature = 2;
        uint32 accuracy_ns = 3;
        string hardware_id = 4;
        GPSReference gps = 5;
    }

Dual Signature Mechanism

Primary Signature (Hardware)

pub struct HardwareSignature {
        timestamp: NanoMoment,
        card_id: [u8; 32],
        signature: [u8; 64],
        certificate: X509Certificate,
    }

    impl HardwareSignature {
        pub fn create(moment: NanoMoment) -> Result<Self> {
            let card = TimeCard::get_instance()?;
            let signature = card.sign_timestamp(moment)?;
            
            Ok(HardwareSignature {
                timestamp: moment,
                card_id: card.id(),
                signature,
                certificate: card.certificate(),
            })
        }
    }

Secondary Signature (Node)

class NodeSignature:
        def __init__(self, hardware_sig, node_key):
            self.hardware_sig = hardware_sig
            self.node_id = node_key.public_key
            self.timestamp = NanoMoment.now()
            
        def sign(self):
            # Create composite signature
            message = self.hardware_sig.bytes() + self.timestamp.bytes()
            self.signature = self.node_key.sign(message)
            
            return {
                'hardware': self.hardware_sig,
                'node': {
                    'id': self.node_id,
                    'timestamp': self.timestamp,
                    'signature': self.signature
                }
            }

Node Network

Node Types

Type	Role	Requirements
Primary	Direct hardware access	OCP TAP 2.0, GPS
Secondary	Relay and verification	High bandwidth
Archive	Historical proofs	Large storage
Bridge	Cross-chain time	Multi-chain connection

Node Selection Algorithm

class NodeSelector {
        selectNode(request) {
            const nodes = this.getActiveNodes();
            
            // Score nodes based on:
            // 1. Hardware capability
            // 2. Network latency
            // 3. Recent accuracy
            // 4. Load balancing
            
            const scores = nodes.map(node => ({
                node,
                score: this.calculateScore(node, request)
            }));
            
            // Select top node with randomization for load distribution
            const topNodes = scores
                .sort((a, b) => b.score - a.score)
                .slice(0, 5);
                
            const selected = topNodes[Math.floor(Math.random() * topNodes.length)];
            
            return selected.node;
        }
        
        calculateScore(node, request) {
            let score = 0;
            
            // Hardware quality (0-40 points)
            score += node.hardwareAccuracy * 40;
            
            // Network latency (0-30 points)
            score += (100 - node.avgLatencyMs) * 0.3;
            
            // Recent accuracy (0-20 points)
            score += node.recentAccuracyScore * 20;
            
            // Load factor (0-10 points)
            score += (1 - node.currentLoad) * 10;
            
            return score;
        }
    }

API Endpoints

REST API

openapi: 3.0.0
    paths:
      /time/current:
        get:
          summary: Get current attested time
          responses:
            200:
              content:
                application/json:
                  schema:
                    type: object
                    properties:
                      nanoMoment: 
                        type: string
                        example: "1704067200500000000"
                      proof:
                        $ref: '#/components/schemas/TimeProof'
                        
      /time/verify:
        post:
          summary: Verify time proof
          requestBody:
            content:
              application/json:
                schema:
                  type: object
                  properties:
                    nanoMoment: string
                    proof: object
                    
      /time/schedule:
        post:
          summary: Schedule future time attestation
          requestBody:
            content:
              application/json:
                schema:
                  type: object
                  properties:
                    executeAt: string
                    callback: string

WebSocket API

// Connect to TimeRPC WebSocket
    const ws = new WebSocket('wss://timerpc.roko.network/v1/stream');

    // Subscribe to time updates
    ws.send(JSON.stringify({
        type: 'subscribe',
        interval: 1000000000, // 1 second in nanoseconds
        accuracy: 'hardware'
    }));

    // Receive continuous time updates
    ws.on('message', (data) => {
        const update = JSON.parse(data);
        console.log(`NanoMoment: ${update.nanoMoment}`);
        console.log(`Drift: ±${update.accuracy} ns`);
    });

gRPC Service

service TimeRPC {
        // Get current time with proof
        rpc GetCurrentTime(TimeRequest) returns (TimeResponse);
        
        // Stream time updates
        rpc StreamTime(StreamRequest) returns (stream TimeResponse);
        
        // Verify historical timestamp
        rpc VerifyTime(VerifyRequest) returns (VerifyResponse);
        
        // Schedule future attestation
        rpc ScheduleAttestation(ScheduleRequest) returns (ScheduleResponse);
    }

Smart Contract Integration

Solidity Interface

interface ITimeRPC {
        struct TimeProof {
            uint128 nanoMoment;
            bytes hardwareSignature;
            bytes nodeSignature;
            uint32 accuracy;
        }
        
        function getCurrentTime() external view returns (TimeProof memory);
        function verifyTimeProof(TimeProof memory proof) external view returns (bool);
        function scheduleCall(uint128 executeAt, bytes calldata data) external;
    }

    contract TemporalContract {
        ITimeRPC constant timeRPC = ITimeRPC(0x1234...);
        
        function timeBasedAction() external {
            ITimeRPC.TimeProof memory proof = timeRPC.getCurrentTime();
            
            require(timeRPC.verifyTimeProof(proof), "Invalid time proof");
            require(proof.accuracy <= 100, "Insufficient accuracy");
            
            // Execute time-sensitive logic
            processAtTime(proof.nanoMoment);
        }
    }

Consensus Mechanism

Time Consensus Algorithm

class TimeConsensus:
        def __init__(self, nodes):
            self.nodes = nodes
            self.threshold = len(nodes) * 2 // 3  # 2/3+ majority
            
        def achieve_consensus(self):
            # Collect timestamps from all nodes
            timestamps = []
            for node in self.nodes:
                try:
                    ts = node.get_hardware_time()
                    timestamps.append({
                        'node': node.id,
                        'time': ts.nano_moment,
                        'proof': ts.proof
                    })
                except Exception as e:
                    log.warning(f"Node {node.id} failed: {e}")
            
            # Check if we have enough responses
            if len(timestamps) < self.threshold:
                raise ConsensusError("Insufficient node responses")
            
            # Calculate median time
            times = [t['time'] for t in timestamps]
            median_time = statistics.median(times)
            
            # Verify all times are within acceptable range (±100ns)
            valid_times = [
                t for t in timestamps 
                if abs(t['time'] - median_time) <= 100
            ]
            
            if len(valid_times) < self.threshold:
                raise ConsensusError("Time divergence too high")
            
            return ConsensusResult(
                time=median_time,
                signatures=[t['proof'] for t in valid_times],
                accuracy=max(abs(t['time'] - median_time) for t in valid_times)
            )

Security Features

Attestation Verification

pub fn verify_time_attestation(
        nano_moment: NanoMoment,
        proof: &TimeProof,
    ) -> Result<bool> {
        // 1. Verify hardware signature
        let hw_valid = verify_hardware_signature(
            &proof.hardware_signature,
            nano_moment,
            &proof.hardware_id,
        )?;
        
        // 2. Verify node signature
        let node_valid = verify_node_signature(
            &proof.node_signature,
            nano_moment,
            &proof.hardware_signature,
        )?;
        
        // 3. Check timestamp freshness
        let current = NanoMoment::now();
        let age = current - nano_moment;
        if age > MAX_ATTESTATION_AGE {
            return Ok(false);
        }
        
        // 4. Verify accuracy claim
        if proof.accuracy_ns > MAX_ACCEPTABLE_DRIFT {
            return Ok(false);
        }
        
        Ok(hw_valid && node_valid)
    }

Anti-Manipulation Measures

1. Hardware Tamper Detection

// Detect physical tampering
    if (time_card_tamper_detected()) {
        shutdown_attestation_service();
        alert_network();
    }

2. Byzantine Fault Tolerance

# Require 2/3+ agreement for consensus
    def byzantine_consensus(responses):
        if len(responses) < (total_nodes * 2 // 3):
            return None
        return median_time(responses)

3. Rate Limiting

const rateLimiter = {
        requests: new Map(),
        
        checkLimit(clientId) {
            const count = this.requests.get(clientId) || 0;
            if (count > MAX_REQUESTS_PER_SECOND) {
                throw new Error('Rate limit exceeded');
            }
            this.requests.set(clientId, count + 1);
        }
    };

Performance Metrics

Latency Benchmarks

Operation	Average	P99
Get current time	5ms	15ms
Verify proof	2ms	5ms
Achieve consensus	50ms	150ms
Hardware attestation	1ms	3ms

Throughput

• Single node: 10,000 requests/second
• Network capacity: 1,000,000 requests/second
• Consensus operations: 1,000/second

Cross-Chain Bridge

Time Bridge Protocol

contract TimeBridge {
        mapping(uint256 => ChainConfig) public chains;
        
        struct CrossChainTime {
            uint128 rokoTime;
            uint256 targetChain;
            bytes proof;
            uint256 targetBlock;
        }
        
        function bridgeTime(uint256 targetChain) external {
            // Get attested time from TimeRPC
            ITimeRPC.TimeProof memory proof = timeRPC.getCurrentTime();
            
            // Create cross-chain message
            CrossChainTime memory bridgedTime = CrossChainTime({
                rokoTime: proof.nanoMoment,
                targetChain: targetChain,
                proof: abi.encode(proof),
                targetBlock: 0 // To be filled by target
            });
            
            // Send via bridge protocol
            bridge.send(targetChain, abi.encode(bridgedTime));
        }
    }

Client Libraries

JavaScript/TypeScript

import { TimeRPCClient } from '@roko/timerpc';

    const client = new TimeRPCClient({
        endpoint: 'https://timerpc.roko.network',
        apiKey: process.env.TIMERPC_API_KEY
    });

    // Get current time
    const time = await client.getCurrentTime();
    console.log(`NanoMoment: ${time.nanoMoment}`);
    console.log(`Accuracy: ±${time.accuracy}ns`);

    // Verify time proof
    const isValid = await client.verifyProof(time.proof);

Python

from roko_timerpc import TimeRPCClient

    client = TimeRPCClient(
        endpoint='https://timerpc.roko.network',
        api_key=os.environ['TIMERPC_API_KEY']
    )

    # Get attested time
    time_proof = client.get_current_time()
    print(f"NanoMoment: {time_proof.nano_moment}")

    # Schedule future attestation
    future_time = NanoMoment.now() + (3600 * 10**9)  # 1 hour
    scheduled = client.schedule_attestation(future_time)

Monitoring & Analytics

Health Metrics

metrics:
      - name: timerpc_requests_total
        type: counter
        description: Total number of time requests
        
      - name: timerpc_accuracy_ns
        type: histogram
        description: Time accuracy in nanoseconds
        
      - name: timerpc_consensus_latency
        type: histogram
        description: Consensus achievement time
        
      - name: timerpc_node_drift_ns
        type: gauge
        description: Current node time drift

Future Roadmap

1. Quantum-Safe Attestation: Post-quantum cryptographic signatures

2. Satellite Integration: Direct satellite time feeds

3. AI Prediction: Predictive time synchronization

4. Zero-Knowledge Proofs: Privacy-preserving time attestation

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Innovation: TimeRPC is the world's first decentralized, hardware-attested time oracle providing cryptographic proof of nanosecond-precision timestamps.