Tutorials Archives - Kaspa

Kaspa on Rust: Evolving Testnet 11

N. R. Crowningshield — Sat, 06 Jan 2024 00:30:29 +0000

Breaking New Ground in PoW Efficiency with Rust

Pushing Boundaries… Again!

On the evening of January 7th, at 8 PM UTC, another pivotal chapter in the Kaspa saga will be written in code and history with the second unveiling of Testnet 11 (TN 11). This public release is the second expedition into the new Rust codebase that brings the promise of the impossible 10 blocks per second (10 BPS) on a proof-of-work (PoW) network. The digital experiment provides an arena where developers and enthusiasts will come together to push the envelope, exploring the dynamics of the PHANTOM GHOSTDAG protocol live on the Rust programming language.

Testnet 11 is far more than a proving ground; it’s a digital recreation of the real world. Focused on simulating and stress-testing a miniature version of an entire ecosystem, a world’s worth of transactions, all anxious to settle instantly to buy their favorite snacks. Its evolution on fast-forward, where the protocol endures rigorous trials, loads of simulated throughput, real-world mining and use, all while ensuring efficiency and security against any real-world scenario.

Rusty Kaspa

Rewriting the Kaspa programming language from Go to Rust is an essential development to enhance performance and manage the complexities of the BlockDAG. This transition enables the groundbreaking achievement of 10 BPS, which allows for greater scalability and throughput. By increasing the BPS, the potential transactions per second go upwards to 3,000 TPS, as demonstrated in the highly successful first public release of TN11. The Rust programming language offers advantages such as higher efficiency and improved performance, memory safety, interoperability, error handling, and a growing crypto ecosystem and developer community.

Testnet 11 Updates

Since the first public Testnet 11 captivated the crypto world, several enhancements have been implemented to optimize network efficiency and performance. Improving high BPS Peer-to-Peer (P2P) communication, focusing on fine-tuning and orphan revalidation, is crucial for seamless network functionality under high transaction volumes.

Storage efficiency has also advanced with updates addressing the issue of quadratic writes in high BPS contexts, refining the network’s data processing and storage capabilities. These updates, along with smarter caching through dynamic data tracking and enhancements like parallel processing for block submissions, signify a considerable leap forward for Kaspa, a display of the developers’ ingenuity and insights gathered from the initial experiment. Refer to the Release Notes at the bottom of this article for a comprehensive overview of the updates.

Participating in Testnet 11

Participating in Testnet 11 is straightforward, primarily focusing on software requirements. The essential software needed is Rusty Kaspa, which acts as a portal, seamlessly connecting your system to the network. This enables synchronization with other nodes on TN 11. You have the option to run the node as it is, which is a straightforward way to participate. However, Rusty Kaspa also opens the door to additional testing features if you want to explore further.

CPU mining is the exclusive method for mining in Testnet 11, and it’s a crucial aspect of the process. By participating in CPU mining, you contribute to the TN 11’s computational strength. The advantage here is the simplicity and accessibility: you don’t need any specialized mining software or hardware to get involved. TN 11 comes equipped with its own CPU miner, making it easy for anyone to participate in this capacity. Although transaction simulation using the Rothschild tool is optional, if you decide to mine on TN 11, it’s vital to use CPU mining. This method is the designated approach for mining in the network. This simplifies and democratizes participation, enabling a broader range of users to contribute effectively and interact with the network’s features.

For hardware, a setup with at least 16GB of RAM, an 8-core CPU, and a 128GB SSD drive is recommended to handle the demands of the TN 11 environment efficiently.

Testnet 11 Instructions

Need support? Have feedback?

The Kaspa Discord #testnet channel is your go-to for troubleshooting and discussion. At the same time, #rust-rewrite offers a greater understanding of Rusty Kaspa development and updates.

Redefining the Proof-of-Work Consensus

Testnet 11’s performance is key to shaping Kaspa’s future, especially the shift to 10 BPS speeds on the mainnet. The data from these tests are necessary to tackle any needed optimizations and prepare for the mainnet to operate on Rustlang.

For a deep dive into participating and understanding the Rust rewrite, check out the Rusty Kaspa GitHub page. Remember, TN 11 is an experimental zone — expect some instability as part of the process.

The release of Testnet 11 marks a significant stride in cryptocurrency innovation, offering a unique platform for testing and fortifying the developmental foundation of the Kaspa PHANTOM GHOSTDAG protocol. It’s a critical step in the quest to push the boundaries and achieve the ultimate goal of 100 BPS.

Tip: It’s important to remember that Testnet 11 is a testing environment. It may face instability and occasional downtime due to experimentation processes. Nothing to worry about, and it’s anticipated.

Release Notes

Testnet 11 Updates

Improvement to high BPS P2P:

PRs:

Fine-tuning — https://github.com/kaspanet/rusty-kaspa/pull/356
Orphan revalidation — https://github.com/kaspanet/rusty-kaspa/pull/359
Perfects the P2P at high BPS. Also fixes the long-standing IBD loop.

Improvements to storage efficiency:

PRs:

Reachability refactor: https://github.com/kaspanet/rusty-kaspa/pull/347
Block child relation refactor: https://github.com/kaspanet/rusty-kaspa/pull/325
These PRs together eliminate quadratic writes in higher BPS to their respective storages, allowing the node to store block reachability and child relation data efficiently.

Improvement to caching:

PRs:

https://github.com/kaspanet/rusty-kaspa/pull/351
Caches for dynamic data now track that size and adjust accordingly.
This should prevent Out-of-Memory issues — the caches are limited to what is needed for the node to operate smoothly.

Other Testnet 11 Changes

https://github.com/kaspanet/rusty-kaspa/pull/357 — Parallel submit block processing — Submitting blocks can fill the message queue in higher bps, leading to serialization of processing (defeating the purpose of higher bps). This fixes that.
https://github.com/kaspanet/rusty-kaspa/pull/320 — Various initial fixes from issues found in the internal TN11 experiment
https://github.com/kaspanet/rusty-kaspa/pull/317 — Clear block template only when it’s expired.
https://github.com/kaspanet/rusty-kaspa/pull/311 — Add request and response ID to every p2p message and route messages accordingly.
https://github.com/kaspanet/rusty-kaspa/pull/356/files — Fine-tuning parameters.

Other non-TN11 Rusty Kaspa Update

Improvement to node initialization and overall health:

PRs:

https://github.com/kaspanet/rusty-kaspa/pull/333
https://github.com/kaspanet/rusty-kaspa/pull/345
These initialize the FD limits so that the node will have the resources it needs to run.

Wallet and Metrics Overhaul

PRs:

https://github.com/kaspanet/rusty-kaspa/pull/360
This is the solid foundation on which the new rust-based KNG wallet is based.

Improvements to node reachability via UPnP

PRs:

https://github.com/kaspanet/rusty-kaspa/pull/300
https://github.com/kaspanet/rusty-kaspa/pull/288
These changes introduce UPnP, which allows more nodes to become publicly connectable. The more public nodes there are in the network, the better the interconnectivity of the network becomes.

Other changes

Covered by the release notes in https://github.com/kaspanet/rusty-kaspa/releases/tag/v0.13.0

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Kaspa Workshop: GHOSTDAG 101

N. R. Crowningshield — Wed, 03 May 2023 07:00:25 +0000

Shai (Deshe) Wyborski provided an in-depth look into Kaspa’s consensus layer, GHOSTDAG.

GHOSTDAG 101

In an in-depth workshop hosted on the Kaspa Discord, Shai (Deshe) Wyborski explored the inner workings of GHOSTDAG, the consensus layer driving Kaspa. The session aimed to educate community members on this vital aspect of the Kaspa ecosystem, covering topics such as the blockchain trilemma, the BlockDAG paradigm, GHOSTDAG’s security, speed, rationality, and data pruning techniques.

Wyborski began by introducing the blockchain trilemma, emphasizing the challenge of achieving decentralization, security, and scalability in a blockchain without making sacrifices. Next, he discussed previous attempts to address the trilemma and their shortcomings before presenting the BlockDAG paradigm as a solution.

During the workshop, Wyborski delved into the PHANTOM and GHOSTDAG protocols, focusing on their logic and security features. He discussed GHOSTDAG’s double-spend protection and defense against liveness attacks. Additionally, he explained GHOSTDAG’s rapid confirmation times, outlining the reasons for their superior speed and efficiency compared to traditional blockchain systems.

Wyborski also examined data pruning in blockchains, exploring splitting and climbing attacks on DAG pruning. Finally, he introduced secure DAG pruning methods using objective finality and discussed the security of prunable GHOSTDAG. Concluding the session, he provided a brief overview of DAGKnight, a protocol designed to enhance GHOSTDAG’s efficiency and performance. An innovation that positions Kaspa as the first parameterless cryptocurrency capable of self-adjusting based on the network’s health or latency.

The workshop offered an in-depth and enlightening exploration of GHOSTDAG’s crucial aspects and their importance in defining Kaspa. In addition, Shai Wyborski expertly showcased the revolutionary features that set Kaspa as the future of traditional and digital finance. To stay current and engaged with future events, workshops, and updates, community members are encouraged to join the Kaspa Discord and follow Kaspa on Twitter.

GHOSTDAG: https://eprint.iacr.org/2018/104.pdf

DAGKnight: https://eprint.iacr.org/2022/1494.pdf

Tip: Shai Wyborski, a Quantum & Cryptography Researcher and Ph.D. candidate specializing in developing and implementing consensus protocols like GHOSTDAG, plays a pivotal role in shaping Kaspa’s innovative cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Find me on the Kaspa discord — Bubblegum Lightning

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Kaspa Full Node Tutorial by AvogHadro

N. R. Crowningshield — Thu, 09 Mar 2023 07:00:24 +0000

A tutorial on installing Kaspad on Windows — used for solo mining and participating in the Kaspa network.

Kaspad Full Node

Kaspad is the reference full node program for the Kaspa cryptocurrency network. By running a Kaspad node on your desktop computer, you become an active peer in the Kaspa network. By doing so, you can participate in the validation and propagation of transactions and blocks. In addition to contributing to the network’s security and decentralization, running a Kaspad node allows you to directly mine to it in full solo without relying on mining pools. Running a Kaspad node is a rewarding way to engage with the Kaspa ecosystem and help support its growth and development while giving you access to some exciting features.

While Kaspad can run on various hardware configurations, having at least 4 to 8 GB of RAM, a 4-core CPU, and a good internet network connection is recommended. While some computational work involves processing and verifying transactions and blocks, it’s not very demanding, especially for modern computers with decent processing power. However, the amount of storage space required can be significant. Therefore, having enough disk space to store the blockDAG data is essential. About 50GB should suffice.

To start the process, download the Kaspad full node program from the official GitHub repository (https://github.com/kaspanet/kaspad/releases):

It’s vital to download the latest version of Kaspad so that your node is up to date with the most recent improvements and bug fixes. For this tutorial, we will be using the Windows release. Once you have downloaded the Kaspad .zip file, extract the files to a directory of your choice. For example, it was extracted to a folder named kaspad on my desktop.

Open a command prompt or terminal window. Search for “cmd” in the Start Menu on Windows or by pressing the “Windows key + R” on your keyboard and typing “cmd” in the “Run” dialog box, then hit “Enter.” Alternatively, you can also use PowerShell, which is another command line tool available on Windows.

Navigate to the directory where you extracted the Kaspad binary. You can use the “cd” command followed by the path to the directory. For example, suppose you extracted the files to a folder named “kaspad” on your desktop. In that case, you can navigate to that directory by typing “cd Desktop/kaspad” (assuming your desktop is located in the default location). Typing “dir” will display the contents of this folder:

The output of the “dir” command shows several executables in the directory. To run the Kaspad node, you must execute the “kaspad.exe” file by typing “kaspad.exe — utxoindex.” The additional “— utxoindex” flag enables UTXO indexing, which is necessary for the node to function correctly. When you start the node, you may receive a firewall warning. Click “Allow” to allow Kaspad to run properly.

The node will begin syncing with the rest of the network. This process can take some time, usually around an hour or more, depending on the speed of your internet connection and the specifications of your hardware.

You will know that synchronization is complete when you see messages such as “Accepted block ***** via relay” in the command prompt or terminal window. ***** being the block hash. Once your Kaspad node is fully synced with the network, you can use it in various ways. For example, you can mine directly to your node, create your own CLI wallet to send and receive KAS in command lines, or query the blockchain for transaction data.

That’s it! With these simple steps, you can easily run a Kaspa node on your desktop computer and start exploring the world of Kaspa.

Tip: AvogHadro is a Community Helper in the Kaspa Discord. As an avid Kaspa supporter and crypto enthusiast, AvogHadro‘s knowledge and support is well respected and valued within the Kaspa Community.

Find me on the Kaspa discord — Bubblegum Lightning

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