Solana's Latest Updates: Governance, Performance Improvements, and New Developer Tools

In the latest Solana Changelog, Nick and Jacob from the Solana Foundation DevRel team discuss significant updates and improvements to the Solana ecosystem. From governance proposals to performance optimizations and new developer tools, this episode covers a wide range of topics that are shaping the future of Solana.

Governance Proposal: Full Priority Fee Rewards for Validators

One of the most notable discussions in this changelog revolves around a governance proposal to reward validators with full priority fees. This proposal is a continuation of an accepted improvement that aims to distribute all priority fees to validators responsible for packing blocks.

Nick explains the significance of this proposal:

"This governance proposal is actually kind of a continuation of one of the accepted proposals on distributing all priority fees to the validators that are actually packing the blocks. I thought this was really cool to talk about how the process actually goes to get this fully accepted and fully implemented."

Jacob further elaborates on the process:

"Part of the process for general changes on Solana is first you kind of talk about the idea. That's considered the idea stage within the SIMD process. When you draft a SIMD, you get it reviewed. Then for some changes that affect economics, like this change, which is specifically SIMD 96 if you want to read more about it, this affects economics on the network. It has to be voted on by the validators."

This proposal highlights the democratic nature of Solana's governance system, where significant changes, especially those affecting network economics, require validator consensus. The proposal is currently locked behind a feature gate and will be put up for a vote based on stake weight. If quorum is achieved, the feature will be activated in the near future.

SIMD-149: Migrating Snapshot Epoch Stakes

Another significant development discussed in the changelog is SIMD-149, which focuses on migrating snapshot epoch stakes. This improvement document addresses the need for versioning in snapshots and introduces a new field for epoch stakes.

Jacob explains the purpose of this SIMD:

"The way this is that there's a current snapshot version that needs some changes. This is thinking ahead of like, hey, if I ever need to make changes to the snapshot version or the snapshot structure and we have multiple clients on the network, I need to be able to have versioning on it."

This forward-thinking approach ensures that Solana can accommodate future changes to snapshot structures while maintaining compatibility across multiple clients. The addition of epoch stakes to snapshots will also improve the process of rebooting from a snapshot during new rewards distribution periods.

Performance Optimizations

A significant portion of the changelog is dedicated to discussing recent performance improvements that have been merged into the Solana codebase. Nick highlights the contributions of Alessandro, who has implemented several optimizations:

"There were some really interesting ones. Shout out to Alessandro making all sorts of performance improvements this week that got merged in. There are two big ones. This first one is program cache and basically the way that the runtime would do the right locks for some things that was less than ideal, less than optimal."

These optimizations have led to impressive performance gains:

"With these new performance improvements that Alessandro has already merged in, it reduces replay performance by about 20 to 25%, which is pretty significant."

Additionally, Alessandro's work on deserialization has further enhanced performance. These improvements are particularly noteworthy as they benefit the entire validator set, contributing to the overall efficiency and scalability of the Solana network.

Load Balancing Improvements

The changelog also mentions ongoing work on the 118 scheduler, which aims to improve load balancing based on compute units (CUs). Jacob explains:

"Currently, it has four threads to do all the work. In the new scheduler, it will do four threads for distributing and then they will make it in order in a single thread. Doing that load balancing to figure out which CU should go into that single thread, this is being done in this PR."

This enhancement will allow validators to handle high traffic more efficiently, distributing the workload more evenly across available resources.

Vote Program Robustness

An interesting commit by Richie from the Firedancer team addresses a crash in the vote program during testing. Nick clarifies:

"Specifically, just as a note, as he takes here, this is not a security bug. It's just a crash that happens whenever you do testing. This is to the vote program. They don't add it away to just make sure it doesn't panic whenever you reach a specific type of state."

This improvement, discovered through fuzz testing, demonstrates the ongoing efforts to enhance the robustness of Solana's core programs and internal validator tools.

SolFuzz: A New Fuzz Testing Library

The Firedancer team has introduced a new fuzz testing library called SolFuzz, which is already proving valuable in identifying and fixing potential bugs in the Solana runtime. Jacob explains the significance of this tool:

"They've been using this within the Solana runtime to catch a bunch of different bugs and fix them so that they can one, figure out bugs that might happen in the future and two, make sure that they can test multiple clients run times at the same time."

SolFuzz is particularly useful for comparing different runtime implementations, ensuring consistency and robustness across various Solana validator clients.

Create Solana Dapp Update

The popular Create Solana Dapp tool has received a significant update, now incorporating Anchor version 0.30.0. Nick highlights the benefits of this update:

"When you use the Create Solana DAP CLI tool, generate a scaffold for your application, the anchor programs that get generated from that now use anchor 0.30 by default, which means you can benefit from all of those ideal improvements that Acaron and the rest of the anchor team has been working so very hard about shipping those out."

This update streamlines the process of creating Solana applications, allowing developers to leverage the latest improvements in the Anchor framework.

Triton's Cascade: Improving Transaction Delivery

Brian Long from Triton has introduced a new transaction delivery network called Cascade. Nick explains its purpose:

"He's created something called was a cascade that is a new transaction delivery network to fix a lot of the outstanding issues around stake-weighted quality service."

This development aims to enhance the reliability and efficiency of transaction processing on the Solana network, particularly benefiting program deployment processes.

Anchor i11n: Instruction Introspection

Dean McLittle has created a new crate called Anchor i11n, which provides instruction introspection capabilities. Nick describes its functionality:

"It's actually introspection, instruction, introspection done by Dean McLittle. This is basically a way for you to look at instructions that are within your transaction. It's a bunch of helper macros without having to run your own distills and get it done very quickly."

This tool simplifies the process of analyzing transaction instructions, providing developers with a convenient way to introspect their code.

Stack Exchange Contributions

The changelog concludes with a shout-out to active contributors on the Solana Stack Exchange. Nick emphasizes the importance of these contributions:

"Keep helping us out on Stack Exchange. It helps out any developer in the future."

This recognition highlights the collaborative nature of the Solana developer community and the ongoing efforts to build a comprehensive knowledge base for developers working with the platform.

Conclusion

This Solana Changelog provides a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in the Solana ecosystem. From governance proposals and performance optimizations to new developer tools and community contributions, it's clear that Solana continues to evolve and improve at a rapid pace.

The governance proposal for full priority fee rewards demonstrates Solana's commitment to aligning validator incentives with network performance. The various performance optimizations, including improvements to the program cache and deserialization processes, showcase the ongoing efforts to enhance Solana's scalability and efficiency.

New tools like SolFuzz and Anchor i11n, along with updates to existing resources like Create Solana Dapp, highlight the ecosystem's focus on empowering developers and improving the overall development experience on Solana.

As Solana continues to grow and mature, these updates and improvements play a crucial role in maintaining its position as a leading blockchain platform for decentralized applications and financial services. The active involvement of the developer community, as seen in the Stack Exchange contributions, further reinforces Solana's strength as an open and collaborative ecosystem.

With each changelog, it becomes increasingly clear that Solana is not just keeping pace with the rapidly evolving blockchain landscape, but is often at the forefront of innovation and improvement in the space.

Facts + Figures

• A governance proposal is under consideration to reward validators with full priority fees for packing blocks
• SIMD-149 introduces versioning for snapshots and adds a new field for epoch stakes
• Performance optimizations by Alessandro have reduced replay performance by 20-25%
• The 118 scheduler is being improved to better load balance by compute units (CUs)
• A crash in the vote program during testing has been addressed, improving robustness
• The Firedancer team has introduced SolFuzz, a new fuzz testing library for the Solana runtime
• Create Solana Dapp now incorporates Anchor version 0.30.0 by default
• Triton has introduced Cascade, a new transaction delivery network to improve stake-weighted quality of service
• Anchor i11n, a new crate for instruction introspection, has been created by Dean McLittle
• Active contributors on Solana Stack Exchange include Drew from the Tiny Dancer team, Jimmy, and Stevie

Questions Answered

What is the governance proposal for validator rewards?

The governance proposal aims to reward validators with full priority fees for packing blocks. This proposal is a continuation of a previously accepted improvement and is currently locked behind a feature gate. If approved through a validator vote based on stake weight, it will change the economics of the network by distributing all priority fees to validators responsible for block production, rather than burning half of them.

How does SIMD-149 improve Solana's snapshot system?

SIMD-149 introduces versioning for Solana's snapshot system and adds a new field for epoch stakes. This improvement allows for future changes to the snapshot structure while maintaining compatibility across multiple clients. It also enhances the process of rebooting from a snapshot during new rewards distribution periods, making the system more flexible and future-proof.

What performance optimizations have been recently implemented in Solana?

Recent performance optimizations include improvements to the program cache and deserialization processes. These changes, implemented by Alessandro, have resulted in a 20-25% reduction in replay performance. Additionally, work is ongoing to improve the 118 scheduler for better load balancing based on compute units (CUs), which will help validators handle high traffic more efficiently.

What is SolFuzz and how does it benefit Solana development?

SolFuzz is a new fuzz testing library introduced by the Firedancer team. It is used to identify and fix potential bugs in the Solana runtime by generating random test cases. SolFuzz is particularly useful for comparing different runtime implementations, ensuring consistency and robustness across various Solana validator clients. This tool contributes to making Solana's core programs and validator tools more robust and reliable.

How has the Create Solana Dapp tool been updated?

The Create Solana Dapp tool has been updated to incorporate Anchor version 0.30.0 by default. This update allows developers to benefit from the latest improvements in the Anchor framework when scaffolding their Solana applications. It streamlines the process of creating Solana dapps and ensures that new projects start with the most up-to-date and optimized foundation.

What is Triton's Cascade and how does it improve Solana's transaction processing?

Cascade is a new transaction delivery network created by Brian Long from Triton. It aims to address issues related to stake-weighted quality of service in transaction processing. By improving the reliability and efficiency of transaction delivery, Cascade enhances the overall performance of the Solana network, particularly benefiting program deployment processes and high-traffic scenarios.

What functionality does Anchor i11n provide to Solana developers?

Anchor i11n is a new crate created by Dean McLittle that provides instruction introspection capabilities for Solana developers. It offers a set of helper macros that allow developers to easily examine instructions within transactions without the need for complex custom implementations. This tool simplifies the process of analyzing and debugging transaction instructions in Solana programs.

How is the Solana community contributing to developer resources?

The Solana community actively contributes to developer resources through platforms like Stack Exchange. Contributors such as Drew from the Tiny Dancer team, Jimmy, and Stevie have been recognized for their efforts in answering questions and sharing knowledge. These contributions help build a comprehensive knowledge base for developers working with Solana, fostering a collaborative and supportive ecosystem.