- Solana’s recent network outage was caused by a software bug.
- However, updates and new customers have improved Solana’s performance.
In a recent interview on a YouTube podcast called ‘Unchained’, crypto journalist and host Laura Shin had an in-depth discussion about Solana [SOL] with Lucas Bruder, the CEO of Jito Labs.
Their discussion mainly revolved around a recent outage in Solana’s blockchain network, which lasted five hours.
Solanas The outage caused performance issues, marking a rare interruption in what had been a year of stable operations.
What’s behind Solana’s recent breakdown?
The cause, as explained by Bruder, was a bug in the customer’s software related to a “translator” feature that was essential for maintaining the status of program translations within the network’s validators.
???? The CEO of Jito Labs, @buffalu__says that despite #SolanaAfter the recent outage, the blockchain has done a lot lately to reduce computation requirements, which could improve performance.
Listen now: https://t.co/HEhO8lQUzw pic.twitter.com/oVwwOBLwbB
— Unchained (@Unchained_pod) February 9, 2024
This bug essentially froze the validators, halting block production.
To demystify the technical jargon, the “translator” refers to a program cache mechanism designed to speed up operations by avoiding repetitive translations of program instructions.
This is a process that is crucial for efficient network functionality.
To give the public a better understanding of the incident, Bruder simplified the breakdown in the interview. He said,
“There’s a bug that kept putting things in the cache and kicking them out. The whole process got stuck in a loop. The post-mortem of the incident will be out quite soon, but that’s what I understand.’
This incident is highlighted as a departure from common blockchain challenges such as network congestion, but instead points to a specific software bug unique to Solana’s infrastructure.
Is Solana facing quality control issues?
Such technical nuances underscored the need for sophisticated quality control and testing within the blockchain development lifecycle.
The discussion revolved around the broader implications for network reliability. It also included essential measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Solana Labs and the Anza team are now charged with improving quality assurance practices to ensure such bugs are identified and fixed before they are deployed to the mainnet.
However, Bruder agreed that quality control measures need to be stricter. He noted:
“If it only takes one bug for an outage like this to happen, I think more quality control and testing is needed across the network.”
Some improvements have been made
Despite the setback, the interview reflected a positive outlook on Solana’s progress and resilience.
The network saw a significant improvement in network performance, especially with the transition from version 116 to 117.
These upgrades significantly reduced the memory and computing resources required to run the network and fixed numerous bugs.
The introduction of alternative clients, such as Fire Dancer, was expected to further improve test coverage and network robustness.
Still a glimmer of optimism?
Optimism around the Solana network also remained strong at the time of writing. When asked about his confidence in Solana, Bruder noted:
“I think I still have a lot of confidence in the team’s capabilities and that improvements are still happening within the network, which keeps me optimistic about the Solana network.”
Disruptions are undeniably setbacks. However, continued advances in performance, testing, and network optimization are signs of a maturing platform.