Fix critical P2P network issues

- Fix self-connection bug preventing proper peer discovery
- Remove duplicate API server startup causing port conflicts
- Add missing /api/v1/peers endpoint for P2P communication
- Consolidate RPC/API servers to single unified server on port 8001
- Improve peer validation with additional localhost checks
- Ensure proper HTTP API responses for blockchain height sync

Author: AIQnetLab

development/qnet-integration/src/node.rs

@@ -358,24 +358,19 @@ impl BlockchainNode {
                     8001 // fallback
                 });
 
-            // Start both RPC and API servers for Full/Super nodes
-            let node_clone_rpc = self.clone();
+            // Start unified API/RPC server for Full/Super nodes
             let node_clone_api = self.clone();
 
-            tokio::spawn(async move {
-                crate::rpc::start_rpc_server(node_clone_rpc, rpc_port).await;
-            });
-            
             println!("[Node] 🚀 API server starting on port {}", api_port);
             tokio::spawn(async move {
                 crate::rpc::start_rpc_server(node_clone_api, api_port).await;
             });
 
             // Store ports for external access
-            std::env::set_var("QNET_CURRENT_RPC_PORT", rpc_port.to_string());
+            std::env::set_var("QNET_CURRENT_RPC_PORT", api_port.to_string()); // Unified port
             std::env::set_var("QNET_CURRENT_API_PORT", api_port.to_string());
 
-            println!("[Node] 🔌 RPC server: port {}", rpc_port);
+            println!("[Node] 🔌 RPC server: port {}", api_port);
             println!("[Node] 🌐 API server: port {}", api_port);
         } else {
             // Light nodes: RPC only, no API server

development/qnet-integration/src/rpc.rs

@@ -231,6 +231,27 @@ pub async fn start_rpc_server(blockchain: BlockchainNode, port: u16) {
         .and(blockchain_filter.clone())
         .and_then(handle_mempool_transactions);
 
+    // Peer discovery endpoint (for P2P network)
+    let peers_endpoint = api_v1
+        .and(warp::path("peers"))
+        .and(warp::path::end())
+        .and(warp::get())
+        .and(blockchain_filter.clone())
+        .and_then(|blockchain: Arc<BlockchainNode>| async move {
+            let peers = blockchain.get_connected_peers().await.unwrap_or_default();
+            let peer_list: Vec<serde_json::Value> = peers.iter().map(|peer| {
+                json!({
+                    "id": peer.id,
+                    "address": peer.address,
+                    "node_type": peer.node_type,
+                    "region": peer.region,
+                    "last_seen": peer.last_seen
+                })
+            }).collect();
+            println!("[API] 📊 Peers request: returning {} peers", peer_list.len());
+            Ok::<_, Rejection>(warp::reply::json(&json!({"peers": peer_list})))
+        });
+
     // Batch operations endpoints
     let batch_claim_rewards = api_v1
         .and(warp::path("batch"))
@@ -296,6 +317,7 @@ pub async fn start_rpc_server(blockchain: BlockchainNode, port: u16) {
     let routes = rpc_path
         .or(root_path)
         .or(chain_height)
+        .or(peers_endpoint)
         .or(microblock_one)
         .or(microblocks_range)
         .or(account_info)

development/qnet-integration/src/unified_p2p.rs

@@ -300,6 +300,12 @@ impl SimplifiedP2P {
                     continue;
                 }
 
+                // ADDITIONAL CHECK: Skip if IP matches any of our listening addresses
+                if ip == "127.0.0.1" || ip == "0.0.0.0" || ip == "localhost" {
+                    println!("[P2P] 🚫 Skipping local address: {}", ip);
+                    continue;
+                }
+                
                 println!("[P2P] 🌐 Attempting to connect to peer: {}", ip);
                 // PRODUCTION FIX: Test actual HTTP API ports where nodes listen
                 // 8001 = primary API port, 9877 = RPC port