The recent network upgrade from version 1.13 to 1.14, which hindered block finalization, is related to the problem.
Solana network encountered a setback in block production on Feb. 25 following the upgrade in the validator source code. Transactions were interrupted as a result of the incident, and validators attempted to improve network throughput by downgrading the program.
The technical problem first appeared at 6:00 AM (UTC), which prompted validators to downgrade to version 1.13 in an effort to get the network’s transactions back online. However, the downgrade was insufficient to get Solana back to normal, necessitating the decision to restart the network on v1.13.6.
“The network experienced a significant slowdown in block production that coincided with an upgrade to validator software. Engineers are still conducting a root cause analysis,” noted the compass webpage of Solana.
The upgrade from 1.13 to 1.14, which hindered block finalization, is related to the problem. The Solana network is now rebooting, and 80% of active stake online is required for operations to resume:
“As more validators complete their restart this number will rise in line with the amount of stake they have delegated: this means larger validators such as CEX have an outsized impact on restart times.”
The incident’s resolution was discussed among Solana’s validators for a few hours after it occurred. The incident, according to infrastructure supplier Chorus One, “demonstrated how really decentralized the network is,” the company wrote on Twitter. Chorus One went on to say:
“Without all these debates, we would be back up in an hour. But, every decision along the way – whether to downgrade, whether to restart, when to switch from downgrade approach to restart approach – is debated. Voting happens. We end up taking 8-10 hours to recovery, instead of 1.”
A layer-1 open source blockchain is Solana. Smart contracts and the development of decentralized applications (DApps) are made possible thanks to the network architecture of its third generation. The ICO craze of 2017 saw the creation of the Solana blockchain. The project’s internal testnet went live in 2018, and then there were numerous testnet phases before the main network was formally deployed in 2020.