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2. Core Concepts and Architecture

On-Chain Components​

  • Node Provider Registry/Store: Smart contracts where Node Providers register and deposit TON to increase their node limit. These contracts track each provider’s deposit and node details.
  • VPN Provider Registry/Store: Smart contracts that handle:
    • Registration of VPN Providers.
    • Payment logic for monthly subscriptions.
    • Payment logic for user-limit expansions (MAU).
    • The monthly reward pool distribution.

Off-Chain Components​

  • apivpn-cli: A Go-based command-line tool that interacts with on-chain contracts (via TON) and manages local node/VPN server operations. It handles:

    • Node deployment & updates (Node Provider side).
    • VPN server hosting & ticket issuance (VPN Provider side).
    • User connections (VPN User side), automatically configuring V2Ray.

  • Tickets: Signed off-chain by a VPN Provider’s private key. Each ticket includes:

    • The Provider’s address.
    • The User’s address.
    • Plan type (time-based).
    • Expiry timestamp.

Users present these tickets to nodes for connection authorization, ensuring only paying Users under an active subscription can connect.

Roles​

  1. Node Provider:

    • Registers on-chain, deposits TON to stake.
    • Deploys multiple VPN nodes (VPS-based).
    • Runs a local node server providing heartbeat signals and verifying user tickets.

  2. VPN Provider:

    • Registers on-chain and pays a monthly subscription (renewed 1st of each month).
    • Purchases user-limit (MAU) capacity so they can serve more paying users.
    • Issues signed tickets to end-users.

  3. VPN User:

    • Buys or receives the VPN service from a chosen VPN Provider (off-chain).
    • Obtains the ticket (signed by the provider).
    • Uses apivpn-cli user connect (or a custom client) to connect to nodes.

A simplified flow:

  1. Node Provider stakes -> Node is added to the network.
  2. VPN Provider pays monthly fee + user-limits -> Gains ability to issue tickets.
  3. VPN User obtains a ticket -> Connects to node -> Node logs usage -> Receives monthly reward from the provider’s deposit (based on quality factors).