Community Update 182

General

• Status of the networks and Releases
  • All Main net nodes are running Hard fork 1 version of RNode version 0.12.1 https://github.com/rchain/rchain/releases/tag/v0.12.1 This version includes the block merge code that does not require a hard fork, but block merge is currently disabled until we have the block merge version coming up in hard fork 2, aka block merge hard fork.
    
  • Test net is also running the same version as above. Current test net info is at RChain public testnet information
  • The current epoch ends at July end. Please email staking@rchain.coop If you want to stake additional REV or withdraw your current stake (ONLY the portion that is not subject to long term staking in your purchase contract). The default is to roll over your stake to the next period if you take no action.
  • There will be two more hard forks after this, one for block merge (release versioning will be 0.13.x) and one for PoS changes (release versioning will be either 0.14.x or 1.x.x) to eventually enable a fully decentralized node.
    
  • A preliminary block merge test net is available for the community now. As we complete the remaining block merge work outlined below, we will continue to update this test net.  We expect the performance of this network to improve as we complete these tasks.

Sprint 92 in progress

Main Focus is to prepare the block merge Hard fork (hf2). Other work items include resolving any identified bugs, improving  performance, hardening the main net, configuration changes in preparation for decentralized validators, Hard fork 3 changes - PoS contract and other.  Current PR list is at https://github.com/rchain/rchain/pulls .  

Block merge Hard Fork (hf2)

1. The main items to be completed for block merge are (a) per deploy vault (b) Attestation messages (c) a lot of testing + bug fixing and (d) performance improvements.  Per deploy vault reduces conflicts during block merge. Attestation messages (https://github.com/rchain/rchain/pull/3452) let the network continue without dummy blocks, in the absence of real transactions. This would allow fast processing for real transactions without requiring the network to be unnecessarily overbuilt, at current transaction volumes.
2. We expect to be code complete on block merge in the next two to three weeks. Following this, we will be testing and adding performance improvements. We currently anticipate block merge on the main net in the early September time frame.
3. Status of various Block merge tasks is at
   1. https://github.com/rchain/rchain/projects/4
4. Other changes:
   1. Will completed https://github.com/rchain/rchain/pull/3433 which provides support for transaction API directly in the node. This PR is being reviewed.
   2. We will be make the minimum phlo price a parameter such that it can be adjusted as needed to meet business requirements (e.g. meeting validator hardware costs). The adjustment can be either model driven or manual. This parameterization may require some code changes in the wallets. Once the design is complete, we will be communicating with the wallet providers, so they can make necessary changes. We will discuss this with the community at the Tech Governance meeting this Friday 9:30 am US Eastern.

Hard Fork 3 - PoS changes

1. PR for Rev Vault logging is being reviewed https://github.com/rchain/rchain/pull/3418. Isaac corrected the failing tests.
2. Isaac is making progress on the proof of concept code for the Soft fork process at https://github.com/rchain/rchain/pull/3485. 

Release Plan

Currently planned near term releases are

1. Block merge release hard fork 2,
2. Configuration changes release,
3. Performance improvements releases (one or more),
4. Hard Fork 3 with PoS changes and other items,
5. External validators process validation with trusted community validators
6. External validators among extended ecosystem
7. External validators in the wild.

Explanation of the different Hard Forks (for reference)

Proceeding further with block merge requires changes to the per validator vault to make it a per deploy vault/purse etc. We are currently finalizing the design for this. Actual code and test will take some time. We are potentially looking at this scenario:
1. First hard fork for balances and removing the slashed validator
2. Second hard fork for block merge - This is the fastest way to get block merge on the main net without holding it until the third hard fork. This includes the per deploy vault and the Tree depth being increased to 4.
3. Third hard fork with all other changes.  Third hard fork includes implementation of a lot of changes including the PoS contract changes, Soft fork process etc.  Design for soft fork process is complete and is being reviewed by the team.

(Hard Fork) TEST NET 2 ADVISORY: (for reference)

To test the version of block merge with data changes that need a hard fork, we are creating a separate feature branch and a TEST NET 2 as the testbed for this feature branch. This content will be left here until we are close to Hard Fork 2 implementation on the main net. 

1. There will be no guarantees of data storage format compatibility on Test Net 2, as the data storage format changes are incrementally implemented. The anticipated changes are mostly storage level format changes visible only to node operators. We encourage the community to start using Test Net 2 in addition to the current test net, so that we can quickly identify and resolve any issues with the upcoming hard forks. All new development should be targeted to TEST NET 2 and all current code MUST BE tested against TEST NET 2 to ensure future compatibility. 

On all the hard forks on the main net, we will be starting from an empty state, with REV balances only. On Test Net 2, this 'loosing the state' will be repeated multiple times.

Tech-Governance meetings on Fridays 9:30 AM Eastern, 6:30 Am Pacific 

Mercury requirements and acceptance criteria

Details on the acceptance criteria: Mercury acceptance criteria

Please see the documentation at https://github.com/rchain/rchain/blob/dev/docs/features.md. 

Developer website

https://developer.rchain.coop