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Target release	Release name or number
Epic	Link to related JIRA epic or feature
Document status
Document owner	Medha Parlikar (Unlicensed)
Designer	Lead designer
Developers	Lead developer
QA	Lead tester

Goals

Release upgrades to the RChain platform

Background and strategic fit

There needs to be a way that platform updates can be released in such a way that node operators know when the upgrade takes effect. In non-shared blockchain implementations, this is handled by block height. However, RChain aims to be sharded by namepsace, which means that the block height mechanism probably won't work.

Assumptions

Each namespace will have its own block DAG
Within each namespace, the block DAG will add new blocks at different rates.
Updates need to be released and installed on the node well in advance of the date when the update takes effect. Particularly for changes to the protocol, where a hard fork is likely.

Requirements

#	Title	User Story	Importance	Notes
1	Upgrade effective point	As a node operator, I must know when an upgrade is going to take effect on the system	Must Have	See assumptions - block height cannot be used as implemented in current blockchain systems.
2

User interaction and design

Include any mockups, diagrams or visual designs relating to these requirements.

Questions

Below is a list of questions to be addressed as a result of this requirements document:

Question	Outcome
When will a feature take effect?	Communicate the decision reached

Not Doing

List the features discussed which are out of scope or might be revisited in a later release.