Dev/test option for short BFT block periods (#7588)

* Dev mode for short BFT block periods Signed-off-by: Matthew Whitehead <matthew1001@gmail.com> * Refactoring Signed-off-by: Matthew Whitehead <matthew1001@gmail.com> * Fix comment Signed-off-by: Matthew Whitehead <matthew1001@gmail.com> * Refactor to make BFT block milliseconds an experimental QBFT config option Signed-off-by: Matthew Whitehead <matthew1001@gmail.com> * Update Json BFT config options Signed-off-by: Matthew Whitehead <matthew1001@gmail.com> --------- Signed-off-by: Matthew Whitehead <matthew1001@gmail.com>
2026-01-08 23:08:15 -05:00 · 2024-09-20 10:12:11 +01:00
parent e721237c26
commit 19d3ca84b2
19 changed files with 181 additions and 65 deletions
--- a/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/controller/IbftBesuControllerBuilder.java
+++ b/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/controller/IbftBesuControllerBuilder.java
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.worldstate.WorldStateArchive;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.plugin.services.BesuEvents;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.util.Subscribers;

+import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
@@ -182,7 +183,10 @@ public class IbftBesuControllerBuilder extends BftBesuControllerBuilder {
            Util.publicKeyToAddress(nodeKey.getPublicKey()),
            proposerSelector,
            uniqueMessageMulticaster,
-            new RoundTimer(bftEventQueue, bftConfig.getRequestTimeoutSeconds(), bftExecutors),
+            new RoundTimer(
+                bftEventQueue,
+                Duration.ofSeconds(bftConfig.getRequestTimeoutSeconds()),
+                bftExecutors),
            new BlockTimer(bftEventQueue, forksSchedule, bftExecutors, clock),
            blockCreatorFactory,
            clock);
--- a/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/controller/QbftBesuControllerBuilder.java
+++ b/besu/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/controller/QbftBesuControllerBuilder.java
@@ -84,6 +84,7 @@ import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.worldstate.WorldStateArchive;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.plugin.services.BesuEvents;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.util.Subscribers;

+import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
@@ -222,7 +223,10 @@ public class QbftBesuControllerBuilder extends BftBesuControllerBuilder {
            Util.publicKeyToAddress(nodeKey.getPublicKey()),
            proposerSelector,
            uniqueMessageMulticaster,
-            new RoundTimer(bftEventQueue, qbftConfig.getRequestTimeoutSeconds(), bftExecutors),
+            new RoundTimer(
+                bftEventQueue,
+                Duration.ofSeconds(qbftConfig.getRequestTimeoutSeconds()),
+                bftExecutors),
            new BlockTimer(bftEventQueue, qbftForksSchedule, bftExecutors, clock),
            blockCreatorFactory,
            clock);
--- a/config/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/config/BftConfigOptions.java
+++ b/config/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/config/BftConfigOptions.java
@@ -37,6 +37,13 @@ public interface BftConfigOptions {
   */
  int getBlockPeriodSeconds();

+  /**
+   * Gets block period milliseconds. For TESTING only. If set then blockperiodseconds is ignored.
+   *
+   * @return the block period milliseconds
+   */
+  long getBlockPeriodMilliseconds();
+
  /**
   * Gets request timeout seconds.
   *
--- a/config/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/config/BftFork.java
+++ b/config/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/config/BftFork.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.Optional;
 import java.util.OptionalInt;
+import java.util.OptionalLong;

 import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonCreator;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.node.ArrayNode;
@@ -40,6 +41,9 @@ public class BftFork implements Fork {
  /** The constant BLOCK_PERIOD_SECONDS_KEY. */
  public static final String BLOCK_PERIOD_SECONDS_KEY = "blockperiodseconds";

+  /** The constant BLOCK_PERIOD_MILLISECONDS_KEY. */
+  public static final String BLOCK_PERIOD_MILLISECONDS_KEY = "xblockperiodmilliseconds";
+
  /** The constant BLOCK_REWARD_KEY. */
  public static final String BLOCK_REWARD_KEY = "blockreward";

@@ -82,6 +86,15 @@ public class BftFork implements Fork {
    return JsonUtil.getPositiveInt(forkConfigRoot, BLOCK_PERIOD_SECONDS_KEY);
  }

+  /**
+   * Gets block period milliseconds. Experimental for test scenarios only.
+   *
+   * @return the block period milliseconds
+   */
+  public OptionalLong getBlockPeriodMilliseconds() {
+    return JsonUtil.getLong(forkConfigRoot, BLOCK_PERIOD_MILLISECONDS_KEY);
+  }
+
  /**
   * Gets block reward wei.
   *
--- a/config/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/config/JsonBftConfigOptions.java
+++ b/config/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/config/JsonBftConfigOptions.java
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ public class JsonBftConfigOptions implements BftConfigOptions {

  private static final long DEFAULT_EPOCH_LENGTH = 30_000;
  private static final int DEFAULT_BLOCK_PERIOD_SECONDS = 1;
+  private static final int DEFAULT_BLOCK_PERIOD_MILLISECONDS = 0; // Experimental for test only
  private static final int DEFAULT_ROUND_EXPIRY_SECONDS = 1;
  // In a healthy network this can be very small. This default limit will allow for suitable
  // protection for on a typical 20 node validator network with multiple rounds
@@ -66,6 +67,12 @@ public class JsonBftConfigOptions implements BftConfigOptions {
        bftConfigRoot, "blockperiodseconds", DEFAULT_BLOCK_PERIOD_SECONDS);
  }

+  @Override
+  public long getBlockPeriodMilliseconds() {
+    return JsonUtil.getLong(
+        bftConfigRoot, "xblockperiodmilliseconds", DEFAULT_BLOCK_PERIOD_MILLISECONDS);
+  }
+
  @Override
  public int getRequestTimeoutSeconds() {
    return JsonUtil.getInt(bftConfigRoot, "requesttimeoutseconds", DEFAULT_ROUND_EXPIRY_SECONDS);
@@ -133,6 +140,9 @@ public class JsonBftConfigOptions implements BftConfigOptions {
    if (bftConfigRoot.has("blockperiodseconds")) {
      builder.put("blockPeriodSeconds", getBlockPeriodSeconds());
    }
+    if (bftConfigRoot.has("xblockperiodmilliseconds")) {
+      builder.put("xBlockPeriodMilliSeconds", getBlockPeriodMilliseconds());
+    }
    if (bftConfigRoot.has("requesttimeoutseconds")) {
      builder.put("requestTimeoutSeconds", getRequestTimeoutSeconds());
    }
--- a/consensus/common/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/common/bft/BlockTimer.java
+++ b/consensus/common/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/common/bft/BlockTimer.java
@@ -24,9 +24,14 @@ import java.util.Optional;
 import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledFuture;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;

+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
 /** Class for starting and keeping organised block timers */
 public class BlockTimer {

+  private static final Logger LOG = LoggerFactory.getLogger(BlockTimer.class);
+
  private final ForksSchedule<? extends BftConfigOptions> forksSchedule;
  private final BftExecutors bftExecutors;
  private Optional<ScheduledFuture<?>> currentTimerTask;
@@ -79,12 +84,26 @@ public class BlockTimer {
    cancelTimer();

    final long now = clock.millis();
+    final long expiryTime;

-    // absolute time when the timer is supposed to expire
-    final int blockPeriodSeconds =
-        forksSchedule.getFork(round.getSequenceNumber()).getValue().getBlockPeriodSeconds();
-    final long minimumTimeBetweenBlocksMillis = blockPeriodSeconds * 1000L;
-    final long expiryTime = chainHeadHeader.getTimestamp() * 1_000 + minimumTimeBetweenBlocksMillis;
+    // Experimental option for test scenarios only. Not for production use.
+    final long blockPeriodMilliseconds =
+        forksSchedule.getFork(round.getSequenceNumber()).getValue().getBlockPeriodMilliseconds();
+
+    if (blockPeriodMilliseconds > 0) {
+      // Experimental mode for setting < 1 second block periods e.g. for CI/CD pipelines
+      // running tests against Besu
+      expiryTime = clock.millis() + blockPeriodMilliseconds;
+      LOG.warn(
+          "Test-mode only xblockperiodmilliseconds has been set to {} millisecond blocks. Do not use in a production system.",
+          blockPeriodMilliseconds);
+    } else {
+      // absolute time when the timer is supposed to expire
+      final int blockPeriodSeconds =
+          forksSchedule.getFork(round.getSequenceNumber()).getValue().getBlockPeriodSeconds();
+      final long minimumTimeBetweenBlocksMillis = blockPeriodSeconds * 1000L;
+      expiryTime = chainHeadHeader.getTimestamp() * 1_000 + minimumTimeBetweenBlocksMillis;
+    }

    if (expiryTime > now) {
      final long delay = expiryTime - now;
--- a/consensus/common/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/common/bft/MutableBftConfigOptions.java
+++ b/consensus/common/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/common/bft/MutableBftConfigOptions.java
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import java.util.Optional;
 public class MutableBftConfigOptions implements BftConfigOptions {
  private long epochLength;
  private int blockPeriodSeconds;
+  private long blockPeriodMilliseconds;
  private int requestTimeoutSeconds;
  private int gossipedHistoryLimit;
  private int messageQueueLimit;
@@ -48,6 +49,7 @@ public class MutableBftConfigOptions implements BftConfigOptions {
  public MutableBftConfigOptions(final BftConfigOptions bftConfigOptions) {
    this.epochLength = bftConfigOptions.getEpochLength();
    this.blockPeriodSeconds = bftConfigOptions.getBlockPeriodSeconds();
+    this.blockPeriodMilliseconds = bftConfigOptions.getBlockPeriodMilliseconds();
    this.requestTimeoutSeconds = bftConfigOptions.getRequestTimeoutSeconds();
    this.gossipedHistoryLimit = bftConfigOptions.getGossipedHistoryLimit();
    this.messageQueueLimit = bftConfigOptions.getMessageQueueLimit();
@@ -68,6 +70,11 @@ public class MutableBftConfigOptions implements BftConfigOptions {
    return blockPeriodSeconds;
  }

+  @Override
+  public long getBlockPeriodMilliseconds() {
+    return blockPeriodMilliseconds;
+  }
+
  @Override
  public int getRequestTimeoutSeconds() {
    return requestTimeoutSeconds;
@@ -131,6 +138,16 @@ public class MutableBftConfigOptions implements BftConfigOptions {
    this.blockPeriodSeconds = blockPeriodSeconds;
  }

+  /**
+   * Sets block period milliseconds. Experimental for test scenarios. Not for use on production
+   * systems.
+   *
+   * @param blockPeriodMilliseconds the block period milliseconds
+   */
+  public void setBlockPeriodMilliseconds(final long blockPeriodMilliseconds) {
+    this.blockPeriodMilliseconds = blockPeriodMilliseconds;
+  }
+
  /**
   * Sets request timeout seconds.
   *
--- a/consensus/common/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/common/bft/RoundTimer.java
+++ b/consensus/common/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/common/bft/RoundTimer.java
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ package org.hyperledger.besu.consensus.common.bft;

 import org.hyperledger.besu.consensus.common.bft.events.RoundExpiry;

+import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.Optional;
 import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledFuture;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
@@ -31,21 +32,21 @@ public class RoundTimer {
  private final BftExecutors bftExecutors;
  private Optional<ScheduledFuture<?>> currentTimerTask;
  private final BftEventQueue queue;
-  private final long baseExpiryMillis;
+  private final Duration baseExpiryPeriod;

  /**
   * Construct a RoundTimer with primed executor service ready to start timers
   *
   * @param queue The queue in which to put round expiry events
-   * @param baseExpirySeconds The initial round length for round 0
+   * @param baseExpiryPeriod The initial round length for round 0
   * @param bftExecutors executor service that timers can be scheduled with
   */
  public RoundTimer(
-      final BftEventQueue queue, final long baseExpirySeconds, final BftExecutors bftExecutors) {
+      final BftEventQueue queue, final Duration baseExpiryPeriod, final BftExecutors bftExecutors) {
    this.queue = queue;
    this.bftExecutors = bftExecutors;
    this.currentTimerTask = Optional.empty();
-    this.baseExpiryMillis = baseExpirySeconds * 1000;
+    this.baseExpiryPeriod = baseExpiryPeriod;
  }

  /** Cancels the current running round timer if there is one */
@@ -71,7 +72,8 @@ public class RoundTimer {
  public synchronized void startTimer(final ConsensusRoundIdentifier round) {
    cancelTimer();

-    final long expiryTime = baseExpiryMillis * (long) Math.pow(2, round.getRoundNumber());
+    final long expiryTime =
+        baseExpiryPeriod.toMillis() * (long) Math.pow(2, round.getRoundNumber());

    final Runnable newTimerRunnable = () -> queue.add(new RoundExpiry(round));

--- a/consensus/common/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/common/bft/RoundTimerTest.java
+++ b/consensus/common/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/common/bft/RoundTimerTest.java
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;

 import org.hyperledger.besu.consensus.common.bft.events.RoundExpiry;

+import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledFuture;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;

@@ -46,7 +47,7 @@ public class RoundTimerTest {
    bftExecutors = mock(BftExecutors.class);
    queue = new BftEventQueue(1000);
    queue.start();
-    timer = new RoundTimer(queue, 1, bftExecutors);
+    timer = new RoundTimer(queue, Duration.ofSeconds(1), bftExecutors);
  }

  @Test
--- a/consensus/ibft/src/integration-test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/ibft/support/TestContextBuilder.java
+++ b/consensus/ibft/src/integration-test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/ibft/support/TestContextBuilder.java
@@ -100,6 +100,7 @@ import org.hyperledger.besu.testutil.TestClock;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.util.Subscribers;

 import java.time.Clock;
+import java.time.Duration;
 import java.time.Instant;
 import java.time.ZoneId;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
@@ -403,7 +404,7 @@ public class TestContextBuilder {
            Util.publicKeyToAddress(nodeKey.getPublicKey()),
            proposerSelector,
            multicaster,
-            new RoundTimer(bftEventQueue, ROUND_TIMER_SEC, bftExecutors),
+            new RoundTimer(bftEventQueue, Duration.ofSeconds(ROUND_TIMER_SEC), bftExecutors),
            new BlockTimer(bftEventQueue, forksSchedule, bftExecutors, TestClock.fixed()),
            blockCreatorFactory,
            clock);
--- a/consensus/ibft/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/ibft/IbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactory.java
+++ b/consensus/ibft/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/ibft/IbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactory.java
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.headervalidationrules.GasUsageValid
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.headervalidationrules.TimestampBoundedByFutureParameter;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.headervalidationrules.TimestampMoreRecentThanParent;

+import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.Optional;

 import org.apache.tuweni.units.bigints.UInt256;
@@ -45,32 +46,43 @@ public class IbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactory {
   * Produces a BlockHeaderValidator configured for assessing bft block headers which are to form
   * part of the BlockChain (i.e. not proposed blocks, which do not contain commit seals)
   *
-   * @param secondsBetweenBlocks the minimum number of seconds which must elapse between blocks.
+   * @param minimumTimeBetweenBlocks the minimum time which must elapse between blocks.
   * @param baseFeeMarket an {@link Optional} wrapping {@link BaseFeeMarket} class if appropriate.
   * @return BlockHeaderValidator configured for assessing bft block headers
   */
  public static BlockHeaderValidator.Builder blockHeaderValidator(
-      final long secondsBetweenBlocks, final Optional<BaseFeeMarket> baseFeeMarket) {
-    return new BlockHeaderValidator.Builder()
-        .addRule(new AncestryValidationRule())
-        .addRule(new GasUsageValidationRule())
-        .addRule(
-            new GasLimitRangeAndDeltaValidationRule(
-                DEFAULT_MIN_GAS_LIMIT, DEFAULT_MAX_GAS_LIMIT, baseFeeMarket))
-        .addRule(new TimestampBoundedByFutureParameter(1))
-        .addRule(new TimestampMoreRecentThanParent(secondsBetweenBlocks))
-        .addRule(
-            new ConstantFieldValidationRule<>(
-                "MixHash", BlockHeader::getMixHash, BftHelpers.EXPECTED_MIX_HASH))
-        .addRule(
-            new ConstantFieldValidationRule<>(
-                "OmmersHash", BlockHeader::getOmmersHash, Hash.EMPTY_LIST_HASH))
-        .addRule(
-            new ConstantFieldValidationRule<>(
-                "Difficulty", BlockHeader::getDifficulty, UInt256.ONE))
-        .addRule(new ConstantFieldValidationRule<>("Nonce", BlockHeader::getNonce, 0L))
-        .addRule(new BftValidatorsValidationRule())
-        .addRule(new BftCoinbaseValidationRule())
-        .addRule(new BftCommitSealsValidationRule());
+      final Duration minimumTimeBetweenBlocks, final Optional<BaseFeeMarket> baseFeeMarket) {
+    final BlockHeaderValidator.Builder ruleBuilder =
+        new BlockHeaderValidator.Builder()
+            .addRule(new AncestryValidationRule())
+            .addRule(new GasUsageValidationRule())
+            .addRule(
+                new GasLimitRangeAndDeltaValidationRule(
+                    DEFAULT_MIN_GAS_LIMIT, DEFAULT_MAX_GAS_LIMIT, baseFeeMarket))
+            .addRule(new TimestampBoundedByFutureParameter(1))
+            .addRule(
+                new ConstantFieldValidationRule<>(
+                    "MixHash", BlockHeader::getMixHash, BftHelpers.EXPECTED_MIX_HASH))
+            .addRule(
+                new ConstantFieldValidationRule<>(
+                    "OmmersHash", BlockHeader::getOmmersHash, Hash.EMPTY_LIST_HASH))
+            .addRule(
+                new ConstantFieldValidationRule<>(
+                    "Difficulty", BlockHeader::getDifficulty, UInt256.ONE))
+            .addRule(new ConstantFieldValidationRule<>("Nonce", BlockHeader::getNonce, 0L))
+            .addRule(new BftValidatorsValidationRule())
+            .addRule(new BftCoinbaseValidationRule())
+            .addRule(new BftCommitSealsValidationRule());
+
+    // Currently the minimum acceptable time between blocks is 1 second. The timestamp of an
+    // Ethereum header is stored as seconds since Unix epoch so blocks being produced more
+    // frequently than once a second cannot pass this validator. For non-production scenarios
+    // (e.g. for testing block production much more frequently than once a second) Besu has
+    // an experimental 'xblockperiodmilliseconds' option for BFT chains. If this is enabled
+    // we cannot apply the TimestampMoreRecentThanParent validation rule so we do not add it
+    if (minimumTimeBetweenBlocks.compareTo(Duration.ofSeconds(1)) >= 0) {
+      ruleBuilder.addRule(new TimestampMoreRecentThanParent(minimumTimeBetweenBlocks.getSeconds()));
+    }
+    return ruleBuilder;
  }
 }
--- a/consensus/ibft/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/ibft/IbftProtocolScheduleBuilder.java
+++ b/consensus/ibft/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/ibft/IbftProtocolScheduleBuilder.java
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.feemarket.FeeMarket;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.evm.internal.EvmConfiguration;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.plugin.services.MetricsSystem;

+import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.Optional;

 /** Defines the protocol behaviours for a blockchain using a BFT consensus mechanism. */
@@ -120,6 +121,9 @@ public class IbftProtocolScheduleBuilder extends BaseBftProtocolScheduleBuilder
        Optional.of(feeMarket).filter(FeeMarket::implementsBaseFee).map(BaseFeeMarket.class::cast);

    return IbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactory.blockHeaderValidator(
-        config.getBlockPeriodSeconds(), baseFeeMarket);
+        config.getBlockPeriodMilliseconds() > 0
+            ? Duration.ofMillis(config.getBlockPeriodMilliseconds())
+            : Duration.ofSeconds(config.getBlockPeriodSeconds()),
+        baseFeeMarket);
  }
 }
--- a/consensus/ibft/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/ibft/IbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactoryTest.java
+++ b/consensus/ibft/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/ibft/IbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactoryTest.java
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.BlockHeaderValidator;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.HeaderValidationMode;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.feemarket.FeeMarket;

+import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Optional;
@@ -93,7 +94,7 @@ public class IbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactoryTest {

    final BlockHeaderValidator validator =
        IbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactory.blockHeaderValidator(
-                5, Optional.of(FeeMarket.london(1)))
+                Duration.ofSeconds(5), Optional.of(FeeMarket.london(1)))
            .build();

    assertThat(
@@ -372,7 +373,8 @@ public class IbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactoryTest {
  }

  public BlockHeaderValidator getBlockHeaderValidator() {
-    return IbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactory.blockHeaderValidator(5, Optional.empty())
+    return IbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactory.blockHeaderValidator(
+            Duration.ofSeconds(5), Optional.empty())
        .build();
  }
 }
--- a/consensus/ibft/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/ibft/blockcreation/BftBlockCreatorTest.java
+++ b/consensus/ibft/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/ibft/blockcreation/BftBlockCreatorTest.java
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ import org.hyperledger.besu.plugin.services.MetricsSystem;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.testutil.DeterministicEthScheduler;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.testutil.TestClock;

+import java.time.Duration;
 import java.time.ZoneId;
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.List;
@@ -105,7 +106,7 @@ public class BftBlockCreatorTest {
          public BlockHeaderValidator.Builder createBlockHeaderRuleset(
              final BftConfigOptions config, final FeeMarket feeMarket) {
            return IbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactory.blockHeaderValidator(
-                5, Optional.empty());
+                Duration.ofSeconds(5), Optional.empty());
          }
        };
    final GenesisConfigOptions configOptions =
@@ -200,7 +201,7 @@ public class BftBlockCreatorTest {

    final BlockHeaderValidator rules =
        IbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactory.blockHeaderValidator(
-                secondsBetweenBlocks, Optional.empty())
+                Duration.ofSeconds(secondsBetweenBlocks), Optional.empty())
            .build();

    // NOTE: The header will not contain commit seals, so can only do light validation on header.
--- a/consensus/qbft/src/integration-test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/qbft/support/TestContextBuilder.java
+++ b/consensus/qbft/src/integration-test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/qbft/support/TestContextBuilder.java
@@ -118,6 +118,7 @@ import org.hyperledger.besu.util.Subscribers;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.nio.file.Path;
 import java.time.Clock;
+import java.time.Duration;
 import java.time.Instant;
 import java.time.ZoneId;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
@@ -512,7 +513,7 @@ public class TestContextBuilder {
            Util.publicKeyToAddress(nodeKey.getPublicKey()),
            proposerSelector,
            multicaster,
-            new RoundTimer(bftEventQueue, ROUND_TIMER_SEC, bftExecutors),
+            new RoundTimer(bftEventQueue, Duration.ofSeconds(ROUND_TIMER_SEC), bftExecutors),
            new BlockTimer(bftEventQueue, forksSchedule, bftExecutors, TestClock.fixed()),
            blockCreatorFactory,
            clock);
--- a/consensus/qbft/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/qbft/QbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactory.java
+++ b/consensus/qbft/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/qbft/QbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactory.java
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.headervalidationrules.GasUsageValid
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.headervalidationrules.TimestampBoundedByFutureParameter;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.headervalidationrules.TimestampMoreRecentThanParent;

+import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.Optional;

 import org.apache.tuweni.units.bigints.UInt256;
@@ -44,31 +45,42 @@ public class QbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactory {
   * Produces a BlockHeaderValidator configured for assessing bft block headers which are to form
   * part of the BlockChain (i.e. not proposed blocks, which do not contain commit seals)
   *
-   * @param secondsBetweenBlocks the minimum number of seconds which must elapse between blocks.
+   * @param minimumTimeBetweenBlocks the minimum amount of time that must elapse between blocks.
   * @param useValidatorContract whether validator selection is using a validator contract
   * @param baseFeeMarket an {@link Optional} wrapping {@link BaseFeeMarket} class if appropriate.
   * @return BlockHeaderValidator configured for assessing bft block headers
   */
  public static BlockHeaderValidator.Builder blockHeaderValidator(
-      final long secondsBetweenBlocks,
+      final Duration minimumTimeBetweenBlocks,
      final boolean useValidatorContract,
      final Optional<BaseFeeMarket> baseFeeMarket) {
-    return new BlockHeaderValidator.Builder()
-        .addRule(new AncestryValidationRule())
-        .addRule(new GasUsageValidationRule())
-        .addRule(
-            new GasLimitRangeAndDeltaValidationRule(
-                DEFAULT_MIN_GAS_LIMIT, DEFAULT_MAX_GAS_LIMIT, baseFeeMarket))
-        .addRule(new TimestampBoundedByFutureParameter(1))
-        .addRule(new TimestampMoreRecentThanParent(secondsBetweenBlocks))
-        .addRule(
-            new ConstantFieldValidationRule<>(
-                "MixHash", BlockHeader::getMixHash, BftHelpers.EXPECTED_MIX_HASH))
-        .addRule(
-            new ConstantFieldValidationRule<>(
-                "Difficulty", BlockHeader::getDifficulty, UInt256.ONE))
-        .addRule(new QbftValidatorsValidationRule(useValidatorContract))
-        .addRule(new BftCoinbaseValidationRule())
-        .addRule(new BftCommitSealsValidationRule());
+    BlockHeaderValidator.Builder ruleBuilder =
+        new BlockHeaderValidator.Builder()
+            .addRule(new AncestryValidationRule())
+            .addRule(new GasUsageValidationRule())
+            .addRule(
+                new GasLimitRangeAndDeltaValidationRule(
+                    DEFAULT_MIN_GAS_LIMIT, DEFAULT_MAX_GAS_LIMIT, baseFeeMarket))
+            .addRule(new TimestampBoundedByFutureParameter(1))
+            .addRule(
+                new ConstantFieldValidationRule<>(
+                    "MixHash", BlockHeader::getMixHash, BftHelpers.EXPECTED_MIX_HASH))
+            .addRule(
+                new ConstantFieldValidationRule<>(
+                    "Difficulty", BlockHeader::getDifficulty, UInt256.ONE))
+            .addRule(new QbftValidatorsValidationRule(useValidatorContract))
+            .addRule(new BftCoinbaseValidationRule())
+            .addRule(new BftCommitSealsValidationRule());
+
+    // Currently the minimum acceptable time between blocks is 1 second. The timestamp of an
+    // Ethereum header is stored as seconds since Unix epoch so blocks being produced more
+    // frequently than once a second cannot pass this validator. For non-production scenarios
+    // (e.g. for testing block production much more frequently than once a second) Besu has
+    // an experimental 'xblockperiodmilliseconds' option for BFT chains. If this is enabled
+    // we cannot apply the TimestampMoreRecentThanParent validation rule so we do not add it
+    if (minimumTimeBetweenBlocks.compareTo(Duration.ofSeconds(1)) >= 0) {
+      ruleBuilder.addRule(new TimestampMoreRecentThanParent(minimumTimeBetweenBlocks.getSeconds()));
+    }
+    return ruleBuilder;
  }
 }
--- a/consensus/qbft/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/qbft/QbftForksSchedulesFactory.java
+++ b/consensus/qbft/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/qbft/QbftForksSchedulesFactory.java
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ public class QbftForksSchedulesFactory {
        new MutableQbftConfigOptions(lastSpec.getValue());

    fork.getBlockPeriodSeconds().ifPresent(bftConfigOptions::setBlockPeriodSeconds);
+    fork.getBlockPeriodMilliseconds().ifPresent(bftConfigOptions::setBlockPeriodMilliseconds);
    fork.getBlockRewardWei().ifPresent(bftConfigOptions::setBlockRewardWei);

    if (fork.isMiningBeneficiaryConfigured()) {
--- a/consensus/qbft/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/qbft/QbftProtocolScheduleBuilder.java
+++ b/consensus/qbft/src/main/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/qbft/QbftProtocolScheduleBuilder.java
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.feemarket.FeeMarket;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.evm.internal.EvmConfiguration;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.plugin.services.MetricsSystem;

+import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.Optional;

 /** Defines the protocol behaviours for a blockchain using a QBFT consensus mechanism. */
@@ -164,7 +165,9 @@ public class QbftProtocolScheduleBuilder extends BaseBftProtocolScheduleBuilder
        Optional.of(feeMarket).filter(FeeMarket::implementsBaseFee).map(BaseFeeMarket.class::cast);

    return QbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactory.blockHeaderValidator(
-        qbftConfigOptions.getBlockPeriodSeconds(),
+        qbftConfigOptions.getBlockPeriodMilliseconds() > 0
+            ? Duration.ofMillis(qbftConfigOptions.getBlockPeriodMilliseconds())
+            : Duration.ofSeconds(qbftConfigOptions.getBlockPeriodSeconds()),
        qbftConfigOptions.isValidatorContractMode(),
        baseFeeMarket);
  }
--- a/consensus/qbft/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/qbft/QbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactoryTest.java
+++ b/consensus/qbft/src/test/java/org/hyperledger/besu/consensus/qbft/QbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactoryTest.java
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.BlockHeaderValidator;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.HeaderValidationMode;
 import org.hyperledger.besu.ethereum.mainnet.feemarket.FeeMarket;

+import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Optional;
@@ -92,7 +93,7 @@ public class QbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactoryTest {

    final BlockHeaderValidator validator =
        QbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactory.blockHeaderValidator(
-                5, false, Optional.of(FeeMarket.london(1)))
+                Duration.ofSeconds(5), false, Optional.of(FeeMarket.london(1)))
            .build();

    assertThat(
@@ -366,7 +367,8 @@ public class QbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactoryTest {
  }

  public BlockHeaderValidator getBlockHeaderValidator() {
-    return QbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactory.blockHeaderValidator(5, false, Optional.empty())
+    return QbftBlockHeaderValidationRulesetFactory.blockHeaderValidator(
+            Duration.ofSeconds(5), false, Optional.empty())
        .build();
  }
 }