Ethereum Core Developers Reveal Insights On Pectra Upgrade, What’s In Store?

Ethereum developers convened on August 8, 2024, for the 139th All Core Developers Consensus (ACDC) call. The bi-weekly meeting, chaired by Ethereum Foundation researcher Alex Stokes, covered significant updates regarding the ongoing Pectra upgrade. This included discussions on network stability, upcoming development networks, and key improvements to the consensus layer of Beacon Chain.

Ethereum Pectra Devnet 2 Stability & Alpha Release

EF Researcher Hsiao Wei Wang is set to release the alpha.4 version of Pectra consensus layer specifications, which incorporates various fixes. Developer Operations Engineer Barnabas Busa reported that Pectra Devnet 2 has achieved 85% network participation, indicating a stable environment. However, bugs remain in execution layer (EL) clients, particularly in EthereumJS and Erigon.

Busa also mentioned a minor issue with the Prysm client that requires further investigation. Additionally, Parithosh Jayanthi, another Ethereum Foundation DevOps Engineer, noted a need for further investigation into issues affecting Lighthouse, Teku, and Besu node.

Communication & Coordination for Devnet 3

A communication lapse during the launch of Devnet 2 was highlighted by Prysm developer Kasey Kirkham, who mentioned being unaware of the network’s startup. To avoid such issues in the future, developers agreed to establish a weekly meeting series focused on Pectra testing updates. Hence, the meetings, scheduled for Mondays, will last between 15 to 30 minutes.

Moreover, these meets aim to keep all client teams informed about devnet activities, including those related to PeerDAS and EOF. Regarding Devnet 3, developers confirmed that it will replicate the setup of Devnet 2, with the addition of the updated EIP 7702 design.

However, Gajinder Singh from Lodestar flagged issues encountered with EIP 7251, MaxEB, on Devnet 2. This specifically surrounds consolidating validator staked ETH deposit balances. While these issues have been debugged, they will undergo further testing in the upcoming devnet.

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Mplex Deprecation & New Protocol Transition

The discussion also covered the transition away from Mplex. It’s a protocol used by CL clients for data stream multiplexing, which has been deprecated. Phil Ngo of Lodestar mentioned that their client has completed testing for yamux, a new multiplexer. He suggested transitioning fully to yamux to avoid overhead from maintaining both protocols.

Meanwhile, Etan Kissling from Nimbus indicated that his team is still testing yamux. Thus, Ethereum developers agreed to revisit the topic after more client teams complete their testing.

EIP 7688 & Pectra Upgrade Concerns

The inclusion of EIP 7688 in the Pectra upgrade was debated. The proposal introduces a forward-compatible data structure for smart contracts, ensuring compatibility as the EL transitions from RLP to SSZ. However, Stokes expressed reservations about adding the EIP to Pectra, labeling the upgrade as already extensive.

Jayanthi suggested that the earliest feasible time for testing EIP 7688 would be Devnet 5. While client teams from Lodestar, Prysm, Teku, and Lighthouse supported its inclusion, Stokes and Beiko recommended stabilizing existing Pectra EIPs before considering new additions. Kissling agreed and sought guidance on when to revisit the discussion. Hence, developers are likely to reconsider EIP 7688 closer to the launch of Devnet 5.

PeerDAS Implementation

Updates on PeerDAS implementation were shared by the Prysm team. It sparked a debate on the necessity of the “blobsidecar” Engine API request. Stokes suggested addressing these concerns in the next PeerDAS breakout call.

Additionally, a proposal to remove sampling from PeerDAS was discussed. They also raised concerns about how this change could complicate future upgrades. EIP 7742, which proposes uncoupling the blob gas limit between the EL and CL, was also mentioned, with developers agreeing to revisit this topic in an upcoming call.

Ethereum Node Distribution

Three research topics were discussed, including edge cases in validator staked ETH balance consolidation under EIP 7251. Developers were advised to leave the current design unchanged, despite potential issues with sync committee responsibilities. Networking layer changes, particularly the addition of a “quic ENR entry,” were also discussed. They suggested a pull request to detail the exact modifications.

Finally, blockchain analytics firm ProbeLab presented data on Ethereum node distribution. The statistics noted that out of 8,335 nodes 42% are running on the Lighthouse client, with 36% of nodes based in the U.S. Notably, a higher number of Lighthouse nodes are hosted in data centers than are self-hosted. Stokes attributed this to the preferences of institutional users.

Moreover, the call concluded with Prysm developer “Potuz” urging developers to review his proposed changes to the execution payload structure. He also emphasizing the need for a prompt decision to allow adequate time for consensus layer specification updates.

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