We are thrilled to announce a major milestone in our ongoing commitment to the Polkadot ecosystem! After months of dedicated development and successful operation as a full node, we have now completed the implementation of the next critical phase: transforming our project into an authoring node. What makes this achievement even more special is that our entire implementation is written in Java, positioning it as another unique contribution to the ecosystem. You can also see the codebase in our GitHub repository.
A Journey of Milestones Achieved
This achievement is the culmination of focused effort over the past months. Building upon the foundation of our initial full node, we worked through a series of critical milestones to reach this authoring capability. It is important to highlight that we also included a lot of vital improvements to the full node (the previous phase of the project) to stabilise the current authoring node. This foundational work was crucial for the success of this next step.
Our key completed milestones for the authoring node phase include:
- Block execution improvements: Enhancing the efficiency and reliability of how blocks are processed.
- BABE implementation: Successfully integrating Polkadot’s block production algorithm.
- GRANDPA implementation: Integrating the network’s finality gadget.
- BEEFY implementation: Enabling bridge finality capabilities.
- Upgrades to the Full Sync: Optimizing the process for our node to synchronize with the entire blockchain.
- Upgrades to wasmer-java: Ensuring our WebAssembly runtime (via wasmer-java) is up-to-date and performing optimally.
- Compatibility, monitoring and Docker: Ensuring our node works seamlessly across different environments, establishing robust monitoring, and providing Docker support for ease of deployment.
- Rigorous Testing: Implementing comprehensive testing throughout all stages of development.
During this journey, particularly in the testing phase, we also addressed and resolved numerous underlying challenges. These included merkle tree reworks and fixes, alongside substantial improvements to the way our node gets updates from the runtime, and many other refinements that ensure the stability and performance of our current authoring node. The successful delivery of these authoring capabilities on schedule is a testament to our team’s dedication and expertise.
Next Steps:
The Java Host Authoring Node has been deployed on GCP, while connectivity was tested locally on the Polkadot, Kusama and Westend networks. Recently we have encountered some unexpected issues and we are working together with Parity’s engineers on potential fixes. Significantly, this deployment will mark the only Java implementation of an authoring node on Westend, offering a new dimension of technological diversity to the testnet and showcasing the versatility.
What This Means for the Polkadot Ecosystem
Becoming an authoring node, particularly a Java-based one, significantly deepens the project’s integration and contribution to the Polkadot network. The new possibilities this opens up are exciting, and the project looks forward to continuing its journey as a key contributor to the Polkadot ecosystem. Stay tuned for updates from the Westend connectivity!