What’s New in Alpha-5: Diva’s Latest Testnet Update
As we continue our march towards Mainnet, the Diva Staking Testnet is being periodically updated. The latest build brings us even closer to visualizing the final version that will be deployed on the Ethereum Mainnet. With this particular upgrade, it’s time to say farewell to the Alpha-3 release and welcome our latest and greatest Testnet yet: Alpha-5.
Bigger, Better, Alpha-5
If you’ve been participating in the Diva staking testnet, you’ll already have an idea of what to expect during this critical phase of project development. It’s where you can try all the features and functions within a sandboxed environment — the Goerli Testnet to be precise — before deployment on Mainnet. Using the Diva Testnet, you can stake, unstake, and wrap ETH or install a Diva node to get a first taste of DVT in action.
While casual users may not be overly concerned with the optimizations that are implemented between Testnets, it’s important that these changes are documented — particularly for the benefit of more serious users. If you’re an Ethereum developer, are currently running a Diva testnet node, or are considering incorporating Diva into your own staking solution, you’ll want to pay close attention.
We’ll list the minor changes to the Diva testnet in a moment, but in terms of the big stuff, the tl;dr is that with Alpha-5, everything’s faster. This is because, where the previous version was using a single thread for executing multiple operations, Alpha-5 makes use of concurrency. This makes for a client that’s much faster and lighter.
What Else Is New?
With Alpha-3, there were occasionally issues with the client becoming unresponsive after a certain period. That’s something else we’ve solved with Alpha-5. In addition, we’ve written the fetching code for the smart contract logs from scratch.
The new design guarantees that every single event is processed once (and once only), and in the correct order.
Other Improvements
New CLI commands for importing/exporting/migrating
This command is specifically designed to facilitate database operations, including the import, export, and migration of data. While currently unavailable, we have ensured compatibility with the Alpha-5 release. This strategic decision ensures that when Alpha-6 is rolled out, users will have the functionality to seamlessly migrate databases, perform backups, and manage nodes efficiently. The future release promises enhanced technical capabilities for database management within the Diva ecosystem.
Integration with the Kurtosis framework for testing
In a significant stride toward enhancing testing capabilities, Diva has seamlessly integrated with the Kurtosis framework. Kurtosis is a robust package designed to orchestrate a private Ethereum Testnet, leveraging Docker or Kubernetes with multi-client support. Notably, Diva’s kurtosis package has undergone updates to align with the latest Alpha-5 version, ensuring optimal compatibility. This integration brings forth valuable features, including the ability to create multiple validators within a single set during launch, streamlining the deployment of devnets for testing purposes with fewer nodes. Moreover, the kurtosis package offers parameterization, enabling the independent deployment of various Diva components within an Ethereum network, encompassing bootnodes, coordinators, Diva clients, smart contracts, Ethereum clients, and a variable number of validators. Notably, the nimbus version supported by Diva facilitates seamless operation with the verifying web3signer, further enhancing the versatility and efficiency of the testing environment.
Added config verification, which prevents the client from running in the event a user attempts to execute an unsafe command
We’ve implemented a crucial enhancement by introducing config verification in our latest update. This feature acts as a safeguard, preventing the client from executing if a user attempts to run an unsafe command. Specifically, it blocks any changes to critical parameters related to the node’s state, such as network configurations, fork IDs, genesis settings, and other essential elements. This addition ensures a more secure and stable operation, minimizing the risk of unintended modifications to key aspects of the node’s functionality.
Observability improvements (logs, traces, metrics, etc.)
In this Alpha-5 release, we’ve prioritized observability enhancements, bolstering the monitoring capabilities of the Diva client node. Notably, our telemetry features have undergone significant improvements, enabling us to closely monitor critical aspects such as node latency, downtime durations, and other performance metrics. This heightened visibility provides valuable insights into the network’s behavior. Furthermore, users keen on contributing to the Testnet can voluntarily submit their logs and traces. Additionally, we’ve incorporated more metrics to gauge the node’s status comprehensively. These metrics will play a pivotal role in upcoming UI updates, synergizing with ongoing developments to offer users an even more robust and informative experience in future releases.
Improved pool resiliency through implementing basic aggregator rotation
We’ve significantly enhanced pool resiliency with the introduction of basic aggregator rotation. This innovative feature enables the dynamic change of the node responsible for aggregating the signatures within the pool. The primary advantage lies in mitigating the impact of a node failure, ensuring that the entire validator doesn’t go offline unless a substantial portion of the set is affected. While the current implementation is a straightforward rotation, providing visibility into the status of each node in the set, it’s a crucial step toward maintaining operational continuity. In this setup, each node serves as an aggregator in a different slot, and if the selected node is down in a specific slot, the validator abstains from attesting. Looking ahead, future releases will introduce a consensus protocol designed to proactively prevent any downtime, further solidifying the robustness of the system.
The release of the Alpha-5 Testnet brings us to within touching distance of the Diva Mainnet. This is an exciting time for the entire ETH staking community, particularly those of you who’ve been experimenting with the Diva Testnet over the last few months.
As always, we rely on the feedback from our Testnet users to iron out any kinks and to make further optimizations. Should you encounter any unexpected issues when running the Alpha-5 Testnet client, reach out to us and relate the problem. The second quarter of the year remains the tentative date for the Diva Mainnet launch. Until then, keep calm and carry on testing!
