Mainnet and Active Set is Live:
The Active Set is live; the network is running. All sharders are in place, and most miners have been successfully deployed. This will allow us to test the performance of our Apps directly on the AS network. We anticipate a potential Mainnet launch in the near future, provided the following tests proceed smoothly. Stay tuned for more updates on the progress. Exciting times ahead!
Storm of the Week:
Responding to Ethereum’s Centralization Challenges
In a recent article published on Cointelegraph, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin highlighted the challenges Ethereum faces regarding node centralization. Buterin acknowledges the majority of Ethereum nodes are being run through centralized web providers, creating potential vulnerabilities for the network.
In contrast to Ethereum’s current centralization dilemma, our blockchain solution, Züs, is designed with proactive decentralization at its core. While Ethereum’s path towards decentralization appears uncertain and potentially prolonged, with possible solutions spanning a 10–20-year horizon, Züs is taking immediate, concrete steps to ensure a globally distributed and genuinely decentralized blockchain. Key measures include geo-location and city-specific caps, data center limits, and an aim for a balanced power distribution between Western and Eastern regions.
In the evolving blockchain landscape, while Ethereum grapples with integrating decentralization into its existing structure, Züs is paving the way for a future where decentralization is not just an afterthought but a foundational principle.
Blockchain Updates:
Last week, the team focused on authorizer replacement tests. Additionally, the blockchain team initiated a live test by deploying DEX and NFT contracts on the Ethereum mainnet. Concurrently, load, chaos, and Cypress tests were conducted for tag and publish release. A PR was submitted to address the issue of the chain becoming stuck or slowing down. Detailed insights are provided below:
Authorizers Replacement Tests
Previously, the team had tested removing and registering new authorizers in DEX SC contracts, which proceeded without issues. Last week’s focus was to test the removal and registration of authorizers in the 0chain zcnsc to assess whether the removed or newly added entities could effectively participate in the consensus. The tests were successful overall. However, several challenges arose:
- The zwalletcli’s bridge-auth-delete command did not support the removal from the SC owner. This was rectified in PR#2743.
- Authorizer servers struggled to fetch native events from the tenderly fork, yet performed optimally with alchemy. Although initial plans included system tests with the graphnode, it was found that the native event fetch worked well with the tenderly fork in system tests. Given concerns about the IPFS ports scanning issue, the use of the graph node was dismissed. Despite these adjustments, the team continues to face native event fetching issues on one test server. However, since the system tests are functioning correctly, this concern will be parked unless it escalates.
Following manual tests on authorizers replacement, system tests were implemented for automation:
Live Tests:
With the DEX SC contracts and the NFT contracts deployed on the Ethereum mainnet, the team plans to initiate tests using the tenderly fork RPC to prevent state changes from affecting the mainnet. This precaution is taken because any state changes in the mainnet could influence subsequent tests after the 0chain test network is redeployed. Currently, network setup by the dev team is awaited.
Release Tag and Publish: Tasks pending completion include running the Cypress, deploying demo and manual test apps, reinstalling ffmpeg, and achieving a green run on system tests.
Closed PRs:
- PR#2743: SC owner was allowed to delete authorizer in zcnsc.
- PR#2746: Event conversion error was fixed.
- PR#2751: Replacement issue was fixed.
- PR#2753: gosdk staging was updated.
- PR#2754: Blobber addition issue was fixed.
- PR#2755: Unit tests were fixed.
- PR#1198: Methods in WindSDK were updated.
- PR#1196: Directory in repair was deleted.
- PR#1200: Panic error in windows CLI was resolved.
- PR#1201: Resume upload issue was fixed.
- PR#1203: Download blocks issue in SDK was fixed.
- PR#1204: Multi-upload was refactored.
- PR#1227: Rewrite to tree issue was fixed.
- PR#1230: Phase locking issue was fixed.
To address the chain’s slowdown and stuck issue, a solution will be introduced in PR#2750. The primary problem emerged when miners frequently encountered the “node not found” error due to absent nodes after a period of inactivity. Even though this error is typically harmless, the network may experience delays or come to a halt if a majority of consensus miners are missing substantial states. A worker will be instated to synchronize missing nodes at regular intervals to fix this.
Launch of the Active Set
Thank you to all our dedicated readers for staying updated with the Züs weekly debrief. The launch of the Active Set marks a pivotal moment in our journey, and your continued support and engagement make all the difference. We remain dedicated to transparency, innovation, and shaping the future of blockchain. Stay with us for more advancements, and together, let’s pave the way for a truly decentralized world!
