Credits Testnet Initial Test Results
Hi everyone. I have been testing the Credits platform since March and promised a lot of you that I would share some results. I think now is a good time, as testing is well underway. I will probably post a regular update every week from now until mainnet release.
First I want to say that it is important to keep in mind we are using a testnet at the moment. The entire idea behind testing is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the platform, and provide valuable feedback for the developers to improve the platform. Our testing and feedback helps improve both the quality of the platform and the speed at which the development team can identify and fix bugs.
The testing process started by selecting about 150 applicants. Almost all of them have experience as coders, developers, or using computer technology. The process admittedly began slowly but now we are moving full speed ahead. The platform is now stable, although it began less-so because of a VPN software that we used to connect to the network. The first VPN software was dropping connections to the network, and so the developers instead began using a better VPN and afterwards the network immediately stabilized. I believe the team plans to remove the necessity of using a VPN upon mainnet release altogether.
Once the network was stabilized, many of us began testing the platform. Transactions send through the network instantly, wallet balances and the monitor are updating, and the Credits consensus model developed is working well. The testing team has made many great suggestions to the development team on these aspects of the platform, and all suggestions have been reported to the developers.
The testing team has identified a number of bugs and possible architectural improvements. The team has already fixed many of the bugs, and implemented a few of the architectural improvements, and continues working hard every day. The testing team has made a clear list of priorities to the development team. Tester priorities are centered a lot on shaping the network to a place where we can test high volume Transactions per Second (“TPS”). There are a few different philosophies on how best to improve the platform to achieve the best results, and it has been an interesting process watching a lot of brilliant testers discuss improvements to the platform.
The development team is now focusing a lot on many aspects of platform improvements such as implementing smart contracts into the next one or two updates, which a lot of testers have been excited to test. The developers have also recently began the process of conducting internal load testing of network TPS, and from what I have seen so far communicating with the developers, the results have been outstanding.
Xela and I (two testers who have been testing the platform since March) have used Xela’s custom-built TPS generator on the testnet on the first stable version. Xela and I sent high volumes of TPS through the network, and the network remained stable throughout our tests. However, because of the testnet’s current setup, we were unable to achieve our targeted TPS results. We are optimistic about the upcoming tests, because the test group has identified the issues needed to increase TPS on the current testnet version, and the team is working on a version where a full load test will provide better results. The issues getting in the way of high TPS are all solvable, and are partly related to testnet server structure that the team is already improving. Future testnet versions (and Credits mainnet) will feature a much stronger server structure to help nodes communicate more efficiently and increase TPS compared the current testnet version.
The testing team has been able to identify most of the issues with the testnet, and many testers have given solutions on how to solve the issues. Every bug I have seen so far is fixable and we found no critical errors that would prevent the team from achieving their long-term goals. I think that the developers must work very quickly in order to reach their time-frame of releasing mainnet this month. Although a June release is possible, there is still quite a lot of work to do. Patience and understanding is important right now. It will benefit the project for us to remain optimistic to help the team succeed in the great challenge of creating such a disruptive and revolutionary distributed ledger technology.
One of my favorite things about the Credits team is the level of their ambitions. They are a proud team, and often they reach high for every goal they set. I remain fully confident in the team and the product. In cryptocurrency markets, the price does not always reflect the strength of the product. I have seen constant improvements to the product since I began testing in March, and now Credits is closing the gap to the finish line.
Hope everyone is having a good day. Thanks for reading.
