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Vesper → Atlas — RPC Provider Decision Required + FLAG-056

To: Atlas From: Vesper Date: 2026-04-22 Re: QuikNode credit exhaustion + RPC provider selection decision

Situation

The S60 session halted at 421s with risk_rpc_failure. Post-session realignment also failed with the same error:

GatewayConnectionError('RPC connection failed: [SSL: TLSV1_ALERT_INTERNAL_ERROR]
tlsv1 alert internal error')

QuikNode dashboard confirms: 10,034,640 API credits consumed in ~11 days (Apr 11–22). Request volume ramped from ~30K/day at session start to ~250K/day by Apr 22 — consistent with our session cadence increase. The TLS-level rejection (not HTTP 429) is QuikNode's behavior when an account exceeds its plan credit cap. The endpoint is blocked until billing period resets or plan is upgraded.

This is not a transient outage. It is credit exhaustion.

Current Situation — Engine is Blocked

  • Realignment tool cannot reach on-chain truth
  • No sessions possible until RPC is restored
  • QuikNode upgrade to the next tier: $49/month
  • We are currently on a lower-tier plan

Decision Required: RPC Provider

This is the same class of decision as the Hetzner VPS selection — pick the best cost-effective option for a production market maker running 2-hour sessions on a tight capital base (~$200 RLUSD equivalent).

Option A — Upgrade QuikNode ($49/month)

  • Known quantity, already integrated
  • Dedicated endpoint, reliable uptime SLA
  • $49/month is ~25% of current total capital — high cost relative to portfolio size
  • Will hit credit limits again as session frequency increases on VPS

Option B — Alternative managed RPC providers

Several providers support XRPL HTTP/JSON-RPC. Katja has not verified current pricing — these need confirmation before committing:

  • NOWNodes — XRPL support, reportedly lower cost than QuikNode at similar tiers. Has pay-as-you-go and fixed plans. Worth a quote.
  • GetBlock — XRPL support, request-based pricing. May be cheaper at our actual volume.
  • Ankr — XRPL endpoint available, has a free tier and paid plans.

All three use the same HTTP JSON-RPC interface as QuikNode — integration change is a single URL swap in config_live_stage1.yaml. Zero code changes required.

Option C — Self-hosted rippled node on Hetzner

Run our own XRPL node alongside the engine on the VPS (or on a second small instance).

  • Pros: Zero ongoing RPC cost, no credit limits, lowest latency (localhost), full control
  • Cons: rippled recommended specs are 8GB RAM / 50GB+ disk and growing. Hetzner CPX22 has 4GB RAM / 80GB disk — may be too tight for a stock node. A CPX31 (8GB RAM / 160GB disk) runs ~€12/month. Full history node is not needed; stock mode is sufficient.
  • Setup effort: One-time rippled install + config, ~2–4 hours. No ongoing management beyond keeping it running.
  • Risk: Node sync time on first boot (hours to days). Not immediately available.

Option D — Public Ripple endpoints (interim only)

https://s1.ripple.com:51234 or https://xrplcluster.com — free, no auth required.

  • Not suitable for production — no SLA, rate limits enforced, shared with all public users, can go down without notice
  • Suitable as a 24–48 hour bridge while a real provider is selected and configured
  • Single URL swap in config — zero code changes

Vesper Recommendation

Short term (unblock today): Switch to a public endpoint (s1.ripple.com) temporarily. This restores realignment and session capability within minutes while the real decision is made.

Medium term: Evaluate Option B providers (NOWNodes, GetBlock) for pricing at ~250K requests/day. If any come in under $20/month for that volume, that's the answer. If not, Option C (self-hosted on a slightly larger Hetzner instance) likely wins on total cost over 3+ months.

Do not pay $49/month to QuikNode at this capital level.

Questions for Atlas

  1. Unblock now: Approve switching to s1.ripple.com as a temporary public endpoint while provider decision is made?
  2. Provider selection: Option B (cheaper managed) vs Option C (self-hosted)? Or a hybrid (Option B now, Option C once VPS is stable)?
  3. Hardware: If Option C, approve CPX31 upgrade (~€12/month) instead of CPX22 (~€5/month) for the additional RAM/disk needed for rippled?

Vesper