Welcome to the first eth2 quick update of 2020! This is going to be an exciting year.
tldr;
- Release of v0.10.0 specification as a stable target for multi-client test networks and security reviews
- The @paulhauner and @sigp_io team hard at work flagship building
- RELAUNCH of Prism Test Networknow with aggregators and mainnet configuration
- A new proposal for an accelerated merger of eth1+eth2 (aka Phase 1.5)
Release of v0.10.0 for security reviews and multi-client test networks
v0.10.0 — 404 not found was released last week. Read the release notes for the technical details (IETF BLS integration, simpler eth1 caching, etc.), but what does this actually mean for eth2?
v0.10.0 is the culmination of the changes introduced in the Phase 0 specification after the thaw following deVcon as well as the integration of the new IETF BLS standards. For some time now, these new specification changes have disrupted the smooth development cycle of the eth2 client teams and delayed the release of the testnets which were imminent. With the release of v0.10.0we now find a gentle rhythm.
New and updated resources
With the release of v0.10.0we once again have a very stable focus for both customer test networks as well as third party audits and security reviews.
To that end, we’ve recently updated a number of onboarding resources (and created a few new ones). If you’re looking to better understand the eth2 Phase 0 specs, you should definitely take a look!
Audits in progress
The Least Authority launched its security review on Monday and is currently investigating further. We have high expectations and are excited to work with a team of such caliber!
More exciting news comes in the form of a Phase 0 cryptoeconomy audit and formalization led by a new EF team – Robust Incentives Group (RIG).
RIG built a cadCAD environment to simulate eth2 business models and explore a wide range of attacks: including timing attacks, potential effects of cartels of different sizes, and much more!
Check the heart of their work in the form of an easy to understand python notebook.
What’s next?
Although I’ll just give you an overview here, I promise to go into more detail in subsequent articles.
Alongside ongoing audits, clients will code up to v0.10.0integrate new BLS standards and operate stable test networks. Once initial stability in v0.10.0 is reached, multi-client activity will begin.
Regarding this activity, I initially expect a small number of multi-client tests on largely single-client test networks. What I mean by this is that I expect to see some clients joining what were previously single-client test networks – as minority nodes – to test initial interoperability.
Once we succeed here, we will orchestrate a shared genesis with 2+ clients from the start. I expect some level of chaos and a lot of learning in this phase. Ambiguities in the specification may become apparent with minor clarifying changes incorporated. We might even discover that something was broken, which we previously thought was correct: large testnets are their own form of auditing.
Once audit results start coming in in February, we plan to make a wave of changes to the Phase 0 specifications. The scale of these changes and the implications they could have on customer development and the deadlines remain to be determined. Anyway, a post-audit v0.11.0 the release will fall around the beginning of March.
If the changes are minor, customers will integrate the changes, patch the testnets, and move on. If deeper, integrations may take longer, require additional testing and complete reboots of existing networks. After enough time in a stable v0.11.xa final v1.0.0 will be cut for mainnet exit: the exact duration will depend on the depth of the changes.
This is a high-level overview of the months to come. I will keep you posted and provide more details as they come.
Spotlight on an optimization tear
Although Sigma Prime has remained relatively quiet since removed their first public testnetthe team worked hard! The head of Lighthouse, Paul Hauner, has just released a exciting tweet storm filled with juicy details about recent optimizations and wins on their eth2 client.
Apparently they ran a not so publicized public testnet over the last 4 weeks, making impressive gains on everything from BLS to block processing to database reads/writes. Pull it down and try it yourself!
Oh, and if you have some front-end skills and want to get involved, Sigma Prime just released a RFP for Lighthouse UI. This type of work is important to ensure that validation is easily accessible to all types of users.
Prysmatic testnet relaunched with mainnet setup and aggregators
Prysmatic Labs recently restarted their public testnet now with mainnet configuration and attestation aggregation strategy! As noted in previous articles, the mainnet configuration has larger caches, longer epochs, and is generally a bit heavier than the minimum configuration initially used. Operating a stable testnet with this setup and tens of thousands of validators is an important milestone that Prysmatic is currently working on.
If you want to get your hands dirty, become a validator Or join the conversation on discord.
Oh, and they hire! Working remotely with Prysm is a great opportunity for an experienced developer. Help us build the future!
Phase 1.5
During the holidays, Vitalik posted a new proposal on how we could accelerate the eth1+eth2 merger and start reaping the benefits of the new eth2 infrastructure much sooner. This proposal suggests migrating eth1 to a shard of eth2 after adding phase 1 infrastructure (shard data chains), but before a full phase 2 (including extensible EEs and all the bells and whistles between fragments) – so phase 1.5!
A 1.5 phase has many potential benefits for the Ethereum protocol as well as its developers and users.
- Eth1 living inside eth2 allows native access to the scalable sparse data layer. Some of the most interesting constructs built on Ethereum today are layer 2 protocols that scale to the amount of data available to layer 1. These will pair beautifully with eth2, even with a single chain with native compute (i.e. eth1 as fragment). Generally speaking, these constructions are called “rollups”. There are many variations of this and I expect this general design space to continue to expand and be successful.
- Migrating Eth1 to an eth2 shard eliminates PoW from the protocol, significantly reducing emissions and stopping energy-intensive mining on Ethereum once and for all.
- Finally, integrating eth1 into eth2 earlier reduces the number of moving parts – thus unifying the system, community, and core protocol development. Although the eth2 infrastructure will first be developed alongside the existing Ethereum chain, earlier integration of eth1 into eth2 (beyond simple technical gains) helps ensure that the protocol developer community Applications, random contributors and end users remain united. within a single and coherent Ethereum.
Based on initial discussions and feedback, developers and community members are excited about this proposal. Phase 1.5, as it currently stands, relies largely on the success of two independent components: eth2 phase 1 and Stateless Ethereum on eth1. The timelines for each of these components will indicate how and when this proposal could come to fruition. Over the coming months, we will be doing our due diligence to improve the specifications and understand the technical challenges ahead so that we are ready to move forward in this area if/when the time is right 🚀.
