Pactus PIP-19 Explained; what is availability score?
Have you ever seen a field called PIP-19 score or availability score while you were viewing your validator information on Explorer or your wallet?
Do you find yourself asking what this number represents and why it’s important?
Today, I am going to explain what PIP-19 is, why we have incorporated it, how it benefits the Pactus protocol, and what actions you should take regarding this.
What Is PIP-19?
PIP-19 is a Pactus Improvement Proposal that defines a score for each validator ranging from 0 to 1. According to the Pactus consensus model (SSPoS), when you enter the committee, you are responsible for participating in the validation of blocks. If it is your turn, you must propose your block, and if it is another validator’s turn, you must validate and vote it. Based on this model, if your validator is slow in validating and voting for blocks, your availability score will decrease, approaching 0 from 1. This score calculation occurs on other validator nodes, beyond your control.
Once your score drops below 0.9 and you are the proposer on the committee, other validators will reject your proposed block and initiate a change-proposer phase, resulting in you losing rewards (not stakes) due to your low score. It is important to note that if your validator does not enter the committee for 60,000 blocks (1 week), your score will reset to 1.
Also, you have to know your stake amount won’t affect this score.
Why did we add it and how did it help the Pactus network?
As you know, Pactus nodes are lightweight and easy to run. You can run a node with a low-spec device without deep technical skills. However, in our test-net 2 phase 2, we encountered some network issues that caused our consensus to halt. After analyzing the network, we discovered that there are some nodes with extremely low-spec devices or internet connections that do not meet the minimum requirements, which are already low. Also, someone was able to intentionally stop voting on the committee, causing this issue to resurface.
A part of PIP-19:
“ For example, at the time of writing this proposal, only 50% of validators have signed more than 90% of blocks in one week. Considering that validators have a 10-second window to validate the block and broadcast their votes ”
The PIP-19 score will determine the availability of this validator with a number, and prevent this validator from proposing blocks on the committee and getting rewards.
What do you have to do as a node runner?
By the way, there are minimum and recommended specs for a system running a Pactus node, which are not high. At the first level, you need to make sure you follow them.
Also, you need to ensure you have a stable internet connection and no network issues, especially if you are running a node with a PC.
Another important aspect is to regularly update your node version with the latest stable release of your node software as this update often enhances network connectivity.
If you fail to update your node while others do, you may experience slower performance and you can’t propose blocks in a good time.
Lastly, ensure your node is well-configured and able to participate effectively in the network.
