* replace optimisticRoots table with field in BlockRef
* copyright year
* mark finalized blocks as verified on load
* Update beacon_chain/consensus_object_pools/block_dag.nim
Co-authored-by: Etan Kissling <etan@status.im>
* expand non-optimistic block checking to all pre-merge blocks; refactor markBlockVerified to use BlockRef rather than block root and remove superfluous caller in newPayload path replaced by addResolvedHeadBlock BlockRef construction
* don't treat finalized block specially; VALID status is sticky
---------
Co-authored-by: Etan Kissling <etan@status.im>
When doing sync for blocks older than
MIN_EPOCHS_FOR_BLOB_SIDECARS_REQUESTS, we skip the blobs by range
request, but we then pass en empty blob sequence to
validation, which then fails.
To fix this: Use an Option[Blobsidecars] to allow expressing the
distinction between "empty blob sequence" and "blobs unavailable". Use
the latter for "old" blocks, and don't attempt to run blob validation.
`SyncCommitteeMsgPool` grouped messages by their `beacon_block_root`.
This is problematic around sync committee period boundaries and forks.
Around sync committee period boundaries, members from both the current
and next sync committee may sign the same `beacon_block_root`; mixing
the signatures from both committees together is a mistake. Likewise,
around fork transitions, the `signing_root` changes, so those messages
also need to be segregated.
* Incremental pruning
When turning on pruning the first time the current pruning algorithm
will prune the full database at startup. This delays restart
unnecessarily, since all of the pruned space is not needed at once.
This PR introduces incremental pruning such that we will never prune
more than 32 blocks or the sync speed, whichever is higher.
This mode is expected to become default in a follow-up release.
* Kzg: Load trusted setup
* scripts/launch_local_testnet.sh: set FIELD_ELEMENTS_PER_BLOB
* Use right setup file for mainnet/minimal
* Force rebuild
* Add comment explaining why build with -f
Post-Deneb, when the request manager receives a missing block from a
peer, it needs to check if the corresponding blobs are available, and
if so pass them along. If they aren't available, the newly-fetched
block must be put in blobless quarantine (while the blobs are
retrieved, coming in next commit).
The consensus-spec-tests already cover the scenarios of our custom test
runner, so the custom tests can be removed. Also cleans up unused config
flags and related unreachable logic.
* allow trusted node sync based on LC trusted block root
Extends `trustedNodeSync` with a new `--trusted-block-root` option that
allows initializing a light client. No `--state-id` must be provided.
The beacon node will then use this light client to obtain the latest
finalized state from the remote server in a trust-minimized fashion.
Note that the provided `--trusted-block-root` should be somewhat recent,
and that security precautions such as comparing the state root against
block explorers is still recommended.
* fix
* workaround for `valueOr` limitations
* reduce magic numbers
* digest len > context len for readability
* move `cstring` conversion to caller
* avoid abbreviations
* `return` codestyle
Just the variable, not yet `lcDataForkAtStateFork` / `atStateFork`.
- Shorten comment in `light_client.nim` to keep line width
- Do not rename `stateFork` mention in `runProposalForkchoiceUpdated`.
- Do not rename `stateFork` in `getStateField(dag.headState, fork)`
Rest is just a mechanical mass replace
* Update sync to use post-decoupling RPCs
blob_sidecars_by_range returns a flat list of sidecars, which must
then be grouped per-slot.
* Add test for groupBlobs
* createBlobs: convert proc to func
* Support for driving multiple EL nodes from a single Nimbus BN
Full list of changes:
* Eth1Monitor has been renamed to ELManager to match its current
responsibilities better.
* The ELManager is no longer optional in the code (it won't have
a nil value under any circumstances).
* The support for subscribing for headers was removed as it only
worked with WebSockets and contributed significant complexity
while bringing only a very minor advantage.
* The `--web3-url` parameter has been deprecated in favor of a
new `--el` parameter. The new parameter has a reasonable default
value and supports specifying a different JWT for each connection.
Each connection can also be configured with a different set of
responsibilities (e.g. download deposits, validate blocks and/or
produce blocks). On the command-line, these properties can be
configured through URL properties stored in the #anchor part of
the URL. In TOML files, they come with a very natural syntax
(althrough the URL scheme is also supported).
* The previously scattered EL-related state and logic is now moved
to `eth1_monitor.nim` (this module will be renamed to `el_manager.nim`
in a follow-up commit). State is assigned properly either to the
`ELManager` or the to individual `ELConnection` objects where
appropriate.
The ELManager executes all Engine API requests against all attached
EL nodes, in parallel. It compares their results and if there is a
disagreement regarding the validity of a certain payload, this is
detected and the beacon node is protected from publishing a block
with a potential execution layer consensus bug in it.
The BN provides metrics per EL node for the number of successful or
failed requests for each type Engine API requests. If an EL node
goes offline and connectivity is resoted later, we report the
problem and the remedy in edge-triggered fashion.
* More progress towards implementing Deneb block production in the VC
and comparing the value of blocks produced by the EL and the builder
API.
* Adds a Makefile target for the zhejiang testnet
* Remove use of beacon_block_and_blobs_sidecar topic
This topic goes away with decoupled blocks and blobs.
* remove use of getBeaconBlockAndBlobsSidecarTopic from test
* update nimbus_light_client.nim
This commit removes ForkySignedBeaconBlockMaybeBlobs and all
references. I tried to pull that thread only as little as was needed
to get rid of it. Left a placeholder BlobSidecar array (in lieu of
Opt[BlobsSidecar]) in a few places; this will be used as we rebuild
the decoupled implementation.
* Local sim impovements
* Added support for running Capella and EIP-4844 simulations
by downloading the correct version of Geth.
* Added support for using Nimbus remote signer and Web3Signer.
Use 2 out of 3 threshold signing configuration in the mainnet
configuration and regular remote signing in the minimal one.
* The local testnet simulation can now use a payload builder.
This is currently not activated in CI due to lack of automated
procedures for installing third-party relays or builders.
You are adviced to use mergemock for now, but for most realistic
results, we can create a simple builder based on the nimbus-eth1
codebase that will be able to propose transactions from the regular
network mempool.
* Start the simulation from a merged state. This would allow us
to start removing pre-merge functionality such as the gossip
subsciption logic. The commit also removes the merge-forcing
hack installed after the TTD removal.
* Consolidate all the tools used in the local simulation into a
single `ncli_testnet` binary.
* restore doppelganger check on connectivity loss
https://github.com/status-im/nimbus-eth2/pull/4398 introduced a
regression in functionality where doppelganger detection would not be
rerun during connectivity loss. This PR reintroduces this check and
makes some adjustments to the implementation to simplify the code flow
for both BN and VC.
* track when check was last performed for each validator (to deal with
late-added validators)
* track when we performed a doppel-detectable activity (attesting) so as
to avoid false positives
* remove nodeStart special case (this should be treated the same as
adding a validator dynamically just after startup)
* allow sync committee duties in doppelganger period
* don't trigger doppelganger when registering duties
* fix crash when expected index response is missing
* fix missing slashingSafe propagation
Other changes:
Renamed the `EIP_4844_FORK_*` config constants to `DENEB_FORK_*` as
this matches the latest spec and it's already used in the official
Sepolia config.
While syncing the finalized portion of the chain, the execution client
cannot efficiently sync and most of the time returns `SYNCING` - in this
PR, we use CL-verified optmistic sync as long as the block is claimed to
be finalized, only occasionally updating the EL with progress.
Although a peer might lie about what is finalized and what isn't,
eventually we'll call the execution client - thus, all a dishonest
client can do is delay execution verification slightly. Gossip blocks in
particular are never assumed to be finalized.
Extends fork choice state to also track slot numbers to improve accuracy
of `/eth/v1/debug/fork_choice` endpoint. Autoenable this API on devnet,
and disable some extra checks on devnet to aid focused testing efforts.
Align fork choice pruning logic with API based on checkpoints vs root.
* exit/validatorchange pool includes BLS to execution messages; REST
support for new pool
* catch failed individual futures
* increase BLS changes bound and keep BLS seen consistent with subpool
* deque capacities should be powers of 2
* Refactor block/blobs types
Use type system to enforce invariant that a pre-4844 block cannot have
a sidecar.
* Update beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim
Co-authored-by: tersec <tersec@users.noreply.github.com>
* review feedback
Co-authored-by: tersec <tersec@users.noreply.github.com>
By enabling the validator monitor, more precise information about the
lifecycle of an attestation is logged at the higher `NOTICE` log level
while current `sent` messages are logged at `INF` instead, since they
are less interesting.
In particular, missed attestations and those that vote for the wrong
head are now detected and logged at NOTICE.
In addition to logging, this feature enables rich metrics around
attestation and sync committee performance - by default, validators are
tracked in aggregate but a detailed mode exists as well
This feature has been available since early Nimbus days, but it has now
been tuned and optimised such that it is safe to enable by default, even
for large setups.
* enable automatic validator monitoring by default
* replace `--validator-monitor-totals` flag with
`--validator-monitor-details` - the detailed mode is disabled by default
* lower "sent" log level to `INF` for several messages - in particular
those that are traced by the validator monitor
This is a retake on #3531 which was later reverted in #3578.
Distinguish between those code locations that need to be updated on each
light client data format change, and those others that should generally
be fine, as long as a valid light client object is processed.
The former are tagged with static assert for `LightClientDataFork.high`.
The latter are changed to `lcDataFork > LightClientDataFork.None` to
indicate that they depend only on presence of any valid object.
Also bundled a few minor cleanups and fixes.
Also add `Forky` type for `LightClientStore` and minor fixes / cleanups.
In a future fork, light client data will be extended with execution info
to support more use cases. To anticipate such an upgrade, introduce
`Forky` and `Forked` types, and ready the database schema.
Because the mapping of sync committee periods to fork versions is not
necessarily unique (fork schedule not in sync with period boundaries),
an additional column is added to `period` -> `LightClientUpdate` table.
Introduce (optional) pruning of historical data - a pruned node will
continue to answer queries for historical data up to
`MIN_EPOCHS_FOR_BLOCK_REQUESTS` epochs, or roughly 5 months, capping
typical database usage at around 60-70gb.
To enable pruning, add `--history=prune` to the command line - on the
first start, old data will be cleared (which may take a while) - after
that, data is pruned continuously.
When pruning an existing database, the database will not shrink -
instead, the freed space is recycled as the node continues to run - to
free up space, perform a trusted node sync with a fresh database.
When switching on archive mode in a pruned node, history is retained
from that point onwards.
History pruning is scheduled to be enabled by default in a future
release.
In this PR, `minimal` mode from #4419 is not implemented meaning
retention periods for states and blocks are always the same - depending
on user demand, a future PR may implement `minimal` as well.
With https://github.com/status-im/nimbus-eth2/pull/4420 implemented, the
checks that we perform are equivalent to those of a `SYNCING` EL - as
such, we can treat missing EL the same as SYNCING and proceed with an
optimistic sync.
This mode of operation significantly speeds up recovery after an offline
EL event because the CL is already synced and can immediately inform the
EL of the latest head.
It also allows using a beacon node for consensus archival queries
without an execution client.
* deprecate `--optimistic` flag
* log block details on EL error, soften log level because we can now
continue to operate
* `UnviableFork` -> `Invalid` when block hash verification fails -
failed hash verification is not a fork-related block issue
When backfilling, we only need to download blocks that are newer than
MIN_EPOCHS_FOR_BLOCK_REQUESTS - the rest cannot reliably be fetched from
the network and does not have to be provided to others.
This change affects only trusted-node-synced clients - genesis sync
continues to work as before (because it needs to construct a state by
building it from genesis).
Those wishing to complete a backfill should do so with era files
instead.
Trigger ANSI art on upgrade to Capella, similar to the merge.
Future extension could log blinking art when user successfully managed
to get BLS to Execution change included into a block for a validator.
Art created by http://beatscribe.com/ (beatscribe#1008 on Discord)
* fix REST liveness endpoint responding even when gossip is not enabled
* fix VC exit code on doppelganger hit
* fix activation epoch not being updated correctly on long deposit
queues
* fix activation epoch being set incorrectly when updating validator
* move most implementation logic to `validator_pool`, add tests
* ensure consistent logging between VC and BN
* add docs
Other changes:
* More optimal search for TTD block.
* Add timeouts to all REST requests during trusted node sync.
Fixes#4037
* Removed support for storing a deposit snapshot in the network
metadata.
* Initial commit.
* NextAttestationEntry type.
* Add doppelgangerCheck and actual check.
* Recover deleted check.
* Remove NextAttestainEntry changes.
* More cleanups for NextAttestationEntry.
* Address review comments.
* Remove GENESIS_EPOCH specific check branch.
* Decrease number of full epochs for doppelganger check in VC.
Co-authored-by: zah <zahary@status.im>
We currently use `BlockError` for both beacon blocks and LC objects.
In light of EIP4844, we will likely also use it for blob sidecars.
To avoid confusion, renaming it to a more generic `VerifierError`,
and update its documentation to be more generic.
To avoid long lines as a followup, also renaming the `block_processor`'s
`BlockProcessingCompleted.completed`->`ProcessingStatus.completed` and
`BlockProcessingCompleted.notCompleted`->`ProcessingStatus.notCompleted`
This PR removes a bunch of code to make TNS aware of era files, avoiding
a duplicated backfill when era files are available.
* reuse chaindag for loading backfill state, replacing the TNS homebrew
* fix era block iteration to skip empty slots
* add tests for `can_advance_slots`
* move duty tracking code to `ActionTracker`
* fix earlier duties overwriting later ones
* re-run subnet selection when new duty appears
* log upcoming duties as soon as they're known (vs 4 epochs before)
Currently, we require genesis and a checkpoint block and state to start
from an arbitrary slot - this PR relaxes this requirement so that we can
start with a state alone.
The current trusted-node-sync algorithm works by first downloading
blocks until we find an epoch aligned non-empty slot, then downloads the
state via slot.
However, current
[proposals](https://github.com/ethereum/beacon-APIs/pull/226) for
checkpointing prefer finalized state as
the main reference - this allows more simple access control and caching
on the server side - in particular, this should help checkpoint-syncing
from sources that have a fast `finalized` state download (like infura
and teku) but are slow when accessing state via slot.
Earlier versions of Nimbus will not be able to read databases created
without a checkpoint block and genesis. In most cases, backfilling makes
the database compatible except where genesis is also missing (custom
networks).
* backfill checkpoint block from libp2p instead of checkpoint source,
when doing trusted node sync
* allow starting the client without genesis / checkpoint block
* perform epoch start slot lookahead when loading tail state, so as to
deal with the case where the epoch start slot does not have a block
* replace `--blockId` with `--state-id` in TNS command line
* when replaying, also look at the parent of the last-known-block (even
if we don't have the parent block data, we can still replay from a
"parent" state) - in particular, this clears the way for implementing
state pruning
* deprecate `--finalized-checkpoint-block` option (no longer needed)
In optimistic mode, Nimbus will sync optimistically even when the
execution client is offline / not available.
An optimistic node is less secure because it has not validated block
transactions via the execution client and can thus not be used for
validation duties.
* Allow chain dag without genesis / block
This PR enables the initialization of the dag without access to blocks
or genesis state - it is a prerequisite for implementing a number of
interesting features:
* checkpoint sync without any block download
* pruning of blocks and states
* backfill checkpoint block
Allow config of deployment phase via config instead of attempting to
derive from genesis content (when running relevant testnets), so that
we don't have to keep maintaining the list inside the binary.
The `eth1_monitor` check to require engine API from bellatrix onward
has issues in setups where the EL and CL are started simultaneously
because the EL may not be ready to answer requests by the time that the
check is performed. This can be observed, e.g., on Raspberry Pi 4 when
using Besu as the EL client. Now that the merge transition happened, the
check is also not that useful anymore, as users have other ways to know
that their setup is not working correctly (e.g., repeated exchange logs)
Since these files may have been created in a previous run or manually,
we want to keep loading them even on nodes that don't enable the
keystore API (for example static setups)
Other changes:
* log keystore loading progressively (#3699)
* print initial fee recipient when loading validators
* log dynamic fee recipient updates
* more efficient forkchoiceUpdated usage
* await rather than asyncSpawn; ensure head update before dag.updateHead
* use action tracker rather than attached validators to check for next slot proposal; use wall slot + 1 rather than state slot + 1 to correctly check when missing blocks
* re-add two-fcU case for when newPayload not VALID
* check dynamicFeeRecipientsStore for potential proposal
* remove duplicate checks for whether next proposer
When the BN-embedded LC makes sync progress, pass the corresponding
execution block hash to the EL via `engine_forkchoiceUpdatedV1`.
This allows the EL to sync to wall slot while the chain DAG is behind.
Renamed `--light-client` to `--sync-light-client` for clarity, and
`--light-client-trusted-block-root` to `--trusted-block-root` for
consistency with `nimbus_light_client`.
Note that this does not work well in practice at this time:
- Geth sticks to the optimistic sync:
"Ignoring payload while snap syncing" (when passing the LC head)
"Forkchoice requested unknown head" (when updating to LC head)
- Nethermind syncs to LC head but does not report ancestors as VALID,
so the main forward sync is still stuck in optimistic mode:
"Pre-pivot block, ignored and returned Syncing"
To aid EL client teams in fixing those issues, having this available
as a hidden option is still useful.
The optimistic sync spec was updated since the LC based optsync module
was introduced. It is no longer necessary to wait for the justified
checkpoint to have execution enabled; instead, any block is okay to be
optimistically imported to the EL client, as long as its parent block
has execution enabled. Complex syncing logic has been removed, and the
LC optsync module will now follow gossip directly, reducing the latency
when using this module. Note that because this is now based on gossip
instead of using sync manager / request manager, that individual blocks
may be missed. However, EL clients should recover from this by fetching
missing blocks themselves.
* Fixes a segfault during block production when the Keymanager API
is disabled. The Keymanager is now disabled on half of the local
testnet nodes to catch such problems in the future.
* Fixes multiple potential stalls from REST requests being done
without a timeout. From practice, we know that such requests
can hang forever if not cancelled with a timeout. At best,
this would be a resource leak, at worst, it may lead to a
full stall of the client and missed validator duties.
* Changes some Options usages to Opt (for easier use of valueOr)
* Keymanager API for the validator client
* Properly treat the 'description' field as optional when loading Keystores
* Spec-compliant serialization of the slashing data in Keymanager's DeleteKeys response ()
Fixes#3940Fixes#3964Closes#3884 by adding test
* MEV validator registration
* add nearby canary to detect new beacon chain forks
* remove special MEV graffiti
* web3signer support
* fix trace logging
* Nim 1.2 needs raises Defect
* use template rather than proc in REST JSON parsing
* use --payload-builder-enable and --payload-builder-url
* explicitly default MEV to disabled
* explicitly empty default value for payload builder URL
* revert attestation pool to unstable version
* Use final `v1` version for light client protocols
* Unhide LC data collection options
* Default enable LC data serving
* rm unneeded import
* Connect to EL on startup
* Add docs for LC based EL sync
* track the SyncCommittee period in slot end logs
* Update beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim
Co-authored-by: Etan Kissling <etan@status.im>
Co-authored-by: Etan Kissling <etan@status.im>
Whether new blocks/attestations/etc are produced internally or received
via REST, their journey through the node is the same - to ensure that
they get the same treatment (logging, metrics, processing), this PR
moves the routing to a dedicated module and fixes several small
differences that existed before.
* `xxxValidator` -> `processMessageName` - the processor also was adding
messages to pools, so we want the name to reflect that action
* add missing "sent" metrics for some messages
* document ignore policy better - already-seen messages are not actaully
rebroadcast by libp2p
* skip redundant signature checks for internal validators consistently
The justified and finalized `Checkpoint` are frequently passed around
together. This introduces a new `FinalityCheckpoint` data structure that
combines them into one.
Due to the large usage of this structure in fork choice, also took this
opportunity to update fork choice tests to the latest v1.2.0-rc.1 spec.
Many additional tests enabled, some need more work, e.g. EL mock blocks.
Also implemented `discard_equivocations` which was skipped in #3661,
and improved code reuse across fork choice logic while at it.
* merge LC db into main BN db
To treat derived LC data similar to derived state caches, merge it into
the main beacon node DB.
* shorten table names, group with lc prefix
* optimistic sync
* flag that initially loaded blocks from database might need execution block root filled in
* return optimistic status in REST calls
* refactor blockslot pruning
* ensure beacon_blocks_by_{root,range} do not provide optimistic blocks
* handle forkchoice head being pre-merge with block being postmerge
* re-enable blocking head updates on validator duties
* fix is_optimistic_candidate_block per spec; don't crash with nil future
* fix is_optimistic_candidate_block per spec; don't crash with nil future
* mark blocks sans execution payloads valid during head update
* persist LC data across restarts
With the Altair spec `LightClientUpdate` structure taking its final form
it is finally possible to persist LC data across restarts without having
to worry about data migration due to spec changes. A separate `lcdataV1`
database is created in the `caches` subdirectory to hold known LC data.
A full database with default settings (129 periods) uses <15 MB disk.
* extend LC data DB rationale
* wording
* add `isSupportedBySQLite` helper and explicit return
* remove redundant `return`
Separate LC initialization options from the main ChainDAGRef options to
allow ChainDAGRef to treat them as opaque and reduce risk for conflicts
when extending those options in the future.
* remove web3 url prompt in launcher script
The interactive prompt for web3 has outlived its utility as we now load
url:s from command line params and config files, preventing the prompt
from correctly detecting when it's needed.
Also, after the merge, a JWT secret will (likely) be needed.
* log notice when web3 url is missing
* fix docs to not mention default that doesn't exist
* fix scripts to properly quote arguments
Adds a `--light-client-data-max-periods` option to override the number
of sync committee periods to retain light client data.
Raising it above the default enables archive nodes to serve full data.
Lowering below the default speeds up import times (still no persistence)
Combines the LC data configuration options (serve / importMode), the
callbacks (finality / optimistic LC update) as well as the cache storing
light client data, into a new `LightClientDataStore` structure.
Also moves the structure into a light client specific file.
* Initial commit
* Make `events` API spec compliant.
* Add `Eth-Consensus-Version` in responses.
* Bump chronos to get redirect with headers working.
* Add `is_optimistic` field and handling to syncing RestSyncInfo.
* adopt LC REST API with v0 suffix (without proofs)
Adopts the light client data REST API used by Lodestar as defined in
https://github.com/ethereum/beacon-APIs/pull/181 with a v0 suffix.
Requests:
- `/eth/v0/beacon/light_client/bootstrap/{block_root}`
- `/eth/v0/beacon/light_client/updates?start_period={start_period}&count={count}`
- `/eth/v0/beacon/light_client/finality_update`
- `/eth/v0/beacon/light_client/optimistic_update`
HTTP Server-Sent Events (SSE):
- `light_client_finality_update_v0`
- `light_client_optimistic_update_v0`
More work is needed to adopt the proofs endpoint, it is not included.
* initialize event queues
* register event topics
For consistency with other options, use a common prefix for light client
data configuration options.
* `--serve-light-client-data` --> `--light-client-data-serve`
* `--import-light-client-data` --> `--light-client-data-import-mode`
No deprecation of the old identifiers as they were only sparingly used
and all usage can be easily updated without interferance.
Adds a `LightClient` instance to the beacon node as preparation to
accelerate syncing in the future (optimistic sync).
- `--light-client-enable` turns on the feature
- `--light-client-trusted-block-root` configures block to start from
If no block root is configured, light client tracks DAG `finalizedHead`.
Introduces a new library for syncing using libp2p based light client
sync protocol, and adds a new `nimbus_light_client` executable that uses
this library for syncing. The new executable emits log messages when
new beacon block headers are received, and is integrated into testing.
* remove deprecated JSON-RPC server
* keep the command-line options around as no-ops, temporarily
* service -> server; JSON-RPC is still used elsewhere
Incorporates the latest changes to the light client sync protocol based
on Devconnect AMS feedback. Note that this breaks compatibility with the
previous prototype, due to changes to data structures and endpoints.
See https://github.com/ethereum/consensus-specs/pull/2802
* `gnosis-chain` -> `gnosis`
Use same name as LH/Teku throughout
* fixes#3504
* fixes large stack temporary that can cause crashes during genesis
detection
Some upstream repos still need fixes, but this gets us close enough that
style hints can be enabled by default.
In general, "canonical" spellings are preferred even if they violate
nep-1 - this applies in particular to spec-related stuff like
`genesis_validators_root` which appears throughout the codebase.
* era: load blocks and states
Era files contain finalized history and can be thought of as an
alternative source for block and state data that allows clients to avoid
syncing this information from the P2P network - the P2P network is then
used to "top up" the client with the most recent data. They can be
freely shared in the community via whatever means (http, torrent, etc)
and serve as a permanent cold store of consensus data (and, after the
merge, execution data) for history buffs and bean counters alike.
This PR gently introduces support for loading blocks and states in two
cases: block requests from rest/p2p and frontfilling when doing
checkpoint sync.
The era files are used as a secondary source if the information is not
found in the database - compared to the database, there are a few key
differences:
* the database stores the block indexed by block root while the era file
indexes by slot - the former is used only in rest, while the latter is
used both by p2p and rest.
* when loading blocks from era files, the root is no longer trivially
available - if it is needed, it must either be computed (slow) or cached
(messy) - the good news is that for p2p requests, it is not needed
* in era files, "framed" snappy encoding is used while in the database
we store unframed snappy - for p2p2 requests, the latter requires
recompression while the former could avoid it
* front-filling is the process of using era files to replace backfilling
- in theory this front-filling could happen from any block and
front-fills with gaps could also be entertained, but our backfilling
algorithm cannot take advantage of this because there's no (simple) way
to tell it to "skip" a range.
* front-filling, as implemented, is a bit slow (10s to load mainnet): we
load the full BeaconState for every era to grab the roots of the blocks
- it would be better to partially load the state - as such, it would
also be good to be able to partially decompress snappy blobs
* lookups from REST via root are served by first looking up a block
summary in the database, then using the slot to load the block data from
the era file - however, there needs to be an option to create the
summary table from era files to fully support historical queries
To test this, `ncli_db` has an era file exporter: the files it creates
should be placed in an `era` folder next to `db` in the data directory.
What's interesting in particular about this setup is that `db` remains
as the source of truth for security purposes - it stores the latest
synced head root which in turn determines where a node "starts" its
consensus participation - the era directory however can be freely shared
between nodes / people without any (significant) security implications,
assuming the era files are consistent / not broken.
There's lots of future improvements to be had:
* we can drop the in-memory `BlockRef` index almost entirely - at this
point, resident memory usage of Nimbus should drop to a cool 500-600 mb
* we could serve era files via REST trivially: this would drop backfill
times to whatever time it takes to download the files - unlike the
current implementation that downloads block by block, downloading an era
at a time almost entirely cuts out request overhead
* we can "reasonably" recreate detailed state history from almost any
point in time, turning an O(slot) process into O(1) effectively - we'll
still need caches and indices to do this with sufficient efficiency for
the rest api, but at least it cuts the whole process down to minutes
instead of hours, for arbitrary points in time
* CI: ignore failures with Nim-1.6 (temporary)
* test fixes
Co-authored-by: Ștefan Talpalaru <stefantalpalaru@yahoo.com>
During operation as a light client, the chain DAG is not available.
As a preparation, the beacon node initialization logic is divided into
parts depending on the presence of the chain DAG, and parts that are
always available (including a future light client mode).
This is a pure code move without semantic changes.
When transitioning from light client to full node the chain DAG will be
loaded separately from the rest of the beacon node initialization.
Extracting chain DAG loading to a separate function will allow reusing
a lot of the existing code. This code move doesn't change semantics.
This file is not actually used / useful - should metadata persistence
support be added in the future, it needs to be done with a new file such
that downgrades, that have the TODO logic unimplemented, don't break.
One more step on the journey to reduce `BlockRef` usage across the
codebase - this one gets rid of `StateData` whose job was to keep track
of which block was last assigned to a state - these duties have now been
taken over by `latest_block_root`, a fairly recent addition that
computes this block root from state data (at a small cost that should be
insignificant)
99% mechanical change.
* fewer deps on `BlockRef` traversal in anticipation of pruning
* allows identifying EpochRef:s by their shuffling as a first step of
* tighten error handling around missing blocks
using the zero hash for signalling "missing block" is fragile and easy
to miss - with checkpoint sync now, and pruning in the future, missing
blocks become "normal".
Light clients require full nodes to serve additional data so that they
can stay in sync with the network. This patch adds a new launch option
`--import-light-client-data` to configure what data to make available.
For now, data is only kept in memory; it is not persisted at this time.
Note that data is only locally collected, a separate patch is needed to
actually make it availble over the network. `--serve-light-client-data`
will be used for serving data, but is not functional yet outside tests.