Overview
The Abstract Datagram Network Layer (ADNL) is a fundamental component of TON.
ADNL is a peer-to-peer, unreliable datagram protocol in the TON networking stack. ADNL operates over UDP and TCP.
ADNL address
Each participant in the network possesses a 256-bit ADNL address.
The ADNL protocol enables the sending and receiving of datagrams using only ADNL addresses, concealing the underlying IP addresses and ports.
An ADNL address is a 256‑bit identifier derived as SHA‑256(type_id || public_key), where type_id is a little‑endian uint32 indicating the key type — that is, the SHA‑256 of the TL‑serialized key object. The corresponding private key must be known to receive and decrypt messages intended for a specific address.
Encryption and security
ADNL packets can be signed and encrypted; when signatures are present, recipients verify integrity and authenticity.
Neighbor tables
A TON ADNL node will typically maintain a neighbor table that contains information about other known nodes, including their abstract addresses, public keys, IP addresses, and UDP ports. Over time, this table is updated: new entries are discovered from responses to specific queries, and outdated records are removed.
Higher-level protocols such as RLDP operate over ADNL.
See also
What's next
- To learn more about ADNL, refer to the Low-level ADNL documentation.
- See the TON Whitepaper.