Network Epochs

Definition

A Netting Epoch (NE) is a discrete protocol interval during which the obligation graph is locked, scanned for cycles, and compressed. NIL does not clear continuously — it breathes, in fixed intervals.

Lifecycle

An epoch moves through QUEUED → ACTIVE → CLOSED. While ACTIVE, new obligations continue to join the live graph. At close, the graph is snapshotted, cycle detection and multilateral netting run against the snapshot, and residual exposure is computed and queued for rebalancing. Obligations created after the snapshot roll forward into the next epoch.

Length Tradeoff

Longer epochs allow more obligations to accumulate before compression, generally improving compression ratio, at the cost of delaying global finality for obligations that already achieved local finality earlier in the epoch. See NIL-R05 for a fuller treatment of this tradeoff.