After months of preparations, Track 3 of Testworld Mission 2.0 begins today — are you ready?
Testworld Mission 2.0 is the next step towards Mina’s major upgrade that will bring easier zkApp programmability to the Mina mainnet. It is divided into four tracks, and track 3 will specifically focus on thoroughly testing network performance with the new improvements and features slated for the upgrade.
Key features of the upcoming upgrade, voted on by the Mina community, include:
- Removal of supercharged rewards
- Upgrade to Kimchi, a new proof system
- Easier zkApp programmability with o1js
In essence, Track 3 is a public testing network inviting the Mina community to rigorously test the network, replicating the forthcoming upgrade’s features in a simulated real-world environment. Through this testing, the community will actively ensure the robustness and efficiency of the upcoming major upgrade, playing an integral role in advancing the Mina Protocol.
Progress Updates
Progress has been steady, with Tracks 1 and 2 complete and Tracks 3 and 4 underway, happening in parallel.
1/ Another step closer to Mina’s upcoming mainnet upgrade – Track 2 (External Security Auditing) is now closed!
During Track 2 network vulnerabilities were identified and addressed, leading to a more secure and robust Mina blockchain! 🌐⛓️
Some findings from Track 2 👇 pic.twitter.com/lD41YPzhyc
— Mina Protocol 🪶 (@MinaProtocol) August 30, 2023
Pre-Track 3 testing has been successful, including internal cluster testing, bug fixes, and much more.
Test Plan Overview
250 Block Producers, 20 Load Testers, 10 SNARK Workers, and 4 Archive Nodes are now geared up to engage in testing. The test plan goals are ambitious and aimed at pushing the network to its limits to ensure robustness and reliability.
Network outages and pauses for experimentation can be expected, and the track will last at least 3 epochs (about 45 days) or until full confidence in the network is achieved. The focus is on simulating mainnet-like conditions through:
- testing transaction generation and inclusion to blocks
- testing brand new zkApp functionality
To effectively test the network, various experiments will be conducted, carefully analyzing the results of each. These experiments will test different variables, including transaction per second (TPS) numbers, transaction types, number of nodes, and more.
For smooth experimentation, there is robust tooling in place. The testnet control server orchestrates experiments by communicating with nodes through a tool called Orchestrator, regulating the transmission of transactions based on predefined parameters, effectively “orchestrating” the testing process, and sending transactions through the network.
Monitoring tools such as uptime service, node status and error collection, Grafana dashboards, and internal trace logging will provide insights into transaction rates, latencies, and more. This will ensure optimal security and performance analysis and allow for improvements based on community feedback.
For a detailed timeline overview and test plan, please read the program details.
Are you Ready for the Next Steps?
If you are one of the selected network testers for Track 3, please review the updated program details.
Partway through Track 3, existing zkApp developers will be invited to join in testing higher loads and scalability by building and deploying their smart contracts to the test network. Builders will be notified when it’s time, but make sure to stay tuned for more updates.
In preparation for the major upgrade, Track 4 is also actively advancing. This involves engineering the upgrade mechanism, notifying ecosystem builders and exchanges, and preparing node quick start guides. The next upgrade will be here before you know it, so sign up to be notified about when the upgrade goes live and other key progress updates.
Join the Testworld 2.0 Mission
We invite you to join in this exciting journey toward the next major upgrade. Together, let’s ensure the Mina network is strong, reliable, and ready for the easier zkApp programmability on mainnet.
About Mina Protocol
Mina Protocol is being incubated by O(1) Labs, the leader in zk-SNARKs and verifiable computation. Mina Protocol, the world’s lightest blockchain, provides a foundation for the decentralized digital economy (Web 3.0), by affording all participants fully P2P, permissionless access to the chain, from any device. By utilizing recursive zk-SNARKs, the Mina blockchain always stays the same size — about 20 kilobytes (the size of a few tweets). Recursive zk-SNARKs allow nodes to rapidly share and update proof of the correct blockchain state across the network. This breakthrough application of zk-SNARKs solves the issues of scalability and high barrier to entry for nodes that have plagued legacy blockchains to-date. By making it easier for nodes to participate, Mina improves decentralization and therefore security of the network. The Mina blockchain can be easily accessed from any device, including phones and browsers, and can be seamlessly integrated into new decentralized applications (dapps).
