Concepts Overview

Nalix architecture is built on a layered system that separates transport, dispatch, and application logic. Understanding these core concepts is key to building high-performance, maintainable networking systems.

🧱 The Fundamentals

• Architecture — The 4-layer system: Common, Framework, Runtime, and Network.
• Selecting Building Blocks — A guide to selecting between Middleware, Protocols, and Handlers.
• Glossary — Terminology and definitions used throughout the documentation.

🔄 Packet Execution Path

• Packet System — Serialization, wire format, and binary layout.
• Packet Lifecycle — The step-by-step journey of a packet from socket to handler.
• Middleware — Intercepting and modifying traffic before it reaches your logic.
• Security Architecture — Authentication, Handshakes, and Encryption.

⚙️ Engine Internals

• Real-time Engine — How the tick-based execution and timing wheels work.
• Configuration System — Managing options, services, and the InstanceManager.
• Performance Optimizations — Zero-allocation data paths and shard-aware dispatch.
• Errors and Diagnostics — Runtime signaling and protocol violations.

🎓 Advanced Internals

Senior Developers Only

These topics cover deep technical contracts and failure models. Skip if you are just getting started.

• Reliability Model — The production confidence layer.
• System Guarantees — Ordering and Concurrency contracts.
• Failure Model — Resilience and observable behavior.
• Design Tradeoffs — Why we chose performance over convenience.