IOST Updated Mainnet Olympus v3.3.2 Official Launch
On February 25, 2019, the IOST mainnet Olympus v1.0 was officially live. IOST is now the most scalable and decentralized public blockchain available for users and developers and is able to support millions of users and thousands of nodes on the network. IOST creates a scalable network with high throughput through the original Proof of Believability (PoB) consensus mechanism.
Since the first mainnet release, IOST has attracted more than 400 partner nodes from more than 20 countries around the world. Over a span of a year, IOST has never stopped working on continuous improvement frequently and multi-directionally. Today, we introduce to you the latest update: Mainnet Version 3.3.2 Is Now Officially Launched!
The IOST mainnet Olympus v3.3.2 further completes the cryptographic library, laying a good development base for cross-chain technology and atomic swap; we have added new tools for cropping block data to reduce disk usage while ensuring the stable operation of nodes, which greatly reduces the threshold for nodes to join IOST. In addition, the IOST dev team optimized the code quality to improve the stability of the mainnet when running programs, improved code testing to ensure security, and designed a better code management.
Below are the detailed updates, new functions and the code optimization of the latest mainnet version:
Two Major Updates
1. Further improvement of the cryptographic library
In the previous version v3.3.1., we had added a new hash function to the on-chain cryptography library: ripemd160.
Cross-chain atomic swaps are an increasingly widely-used requirement. At the moment, the most common implementation of the atomic swap is Hash Time Locked Contracts, being the ripemd160 protocol is one of its most important cornerstones. Projects like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Decred, etc., also make use of ripemd160 for Atomic Swap.
References:
https://github.com/decred/atomicswap
https://github.com/AltCoinExchange/ethatomicswap
After IOST integrates ripemd160, third-party developers will be able to implement atomic swaps with other mainstream chains. Furthermore, a completely decentralized cross-chain exchange will also become a reality.
2. Expired data cleaning
When a new node joins the IOST ecosystem, it is often a requirement to download a blockchain snapshot to start it. The current snapshots are over 200GB which requires massive data traffic and disk storage. This massive data requirement is a potential obstacle to limit new nodes from joining.
In version 3.3.2, we developed a tool for cropping block data that can delete early block data. It can reduce the disk usage by 20 times, from about 240GB to just 13GB, without any side effects to a node’s regular operations.
For nodes that will not produce blocks, it is recommended to use the simplified snapshots to start the blockchain.
Related documents:
https://developers.iost.io/docs/en/4-running-iost-node/Deployment.html#snapshot-with-pruned-history
Three Main Code Quality Improvements
1. Improved program stability at runtime
In the previous mainnet version v3.3.1, we have already fixed a minor but persistent memory leak. This fix improves the stability of the program operation.
2. Test boost
In v3.3.2, we updated the testing and continuous integration of the code. Stronger testing results in better reliability.
3. Better code management
In v3.3.2, we switched the Golang dependency management to Google’s recently launched Go Modules, among other external dependencies that were also upgraded. This will simplify our code and let us implement the improvements proposed by the community more easily. The points described are beneficial for the long-term evolution, bugs fixing, operating efficiency and maintainability of the IOST mainnet.
Future Plans
The short-term focus will be to improve IOST's cross-chain technology with third-party partners.
Specifically, we will implement IOST's light nodes in a well-known cross-chain ecosystem. This requires us to make some corresponding changes to the IOST main chain, such as generating a receipt every time a block producer node is rotated and implementing a progressive Merkel tree to facilitate block verification on light nodes. This may require one to two incompatible version upgrades.
Constant iteration and updates are the solid foundation for IOST mainnet's stable operation. The release of Olympus v3.3.2 is another proof of our continuous development and technological innovation. IOST will keep upgrading the mainnet in conjunction with the Dawn of IOST plan.
From here, we would like to express our gratitude to the IOST development team for your unwavering efforts and welcome all new developers to join our developer community. Happy hacking!
Documents for developers:
https://developers.iost.io
Slack developer community:
https://invite.iost.io
Join The IOST Community!
IOST’s Partner Program is widely praised as the globally leading staking program by numerous blockchain research institutions with attractive returns, low risk and ease of use are some of the key program highlights. To learn more and participate in one of the world’s top staking program, please visit:
https://www.iostabc.com/producers
If you would like to hang out with the IOST community on chat, social media or to discuss product development, we have something for everyone:
- International English Telegram Group: https://t.me/officialios
- IOST Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/IOStoken
- Jimmy Zhong Twitter: https://twitter.com/jimmyzhong_iost
- Slack Developer Community: https://invite.iost.io
- Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/IOStoken
- Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/IOSTofficial/
- Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/IOST-FB-Group
…………………………………………………….
