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Ethereum 2.0 needs another “Dress Rehearsal”

The intentionally short-lived Ethereum testnet for Eth2 genesis, Spadina, ran into some problems in its recent launch.

Because of that, Ethereum 2.0 will need at least one more trial launch, the developer Danny Ryan said, spearheading the testnet efforts.

Spadina is a short-term testnet, particularly for sampling genesis – or creating the first block – on Ethereum 2.0. The second-largest blockchain network is stirring from proof-of-work consensus to proof-of-stake, and along with it, hypothetically, to a less-congested blockchain with lower gas fees.

Spadina is different from the Medalla testnet. In contrast, Spadina replicates the beginning of the new network. But first testing out its creation is vital because the proof-of-stake chain can get up and run at least 16,384 “validator” nodes must run the system and collectively put down over a half a million ETH.

Fortunately, the testnet has been proved useful; it displayed some areas for improvement.

Although the testnets are less used than full-fledged blockchains by nature, as they lack much utility for non-developers, Ryan continued,

“Small errors in the client release process [greatly] exacerbated this problem, resulting in ~1/3 participation in the first few epochs.”

Because of it, the blockchain didn’t start correctly.

Prysm is saying that there should be no problem to deal with. “The issue with finality was not a critical bug nor a consensus error, but rather something due to configuration parameters which can be fixed with a release,” it reported.

After the failed attempt, everybody needs to head back and try again. Therefore, Ryan and the others in charge of Eth2 testing have scheduled the next trial, known as Zinken, last week.

For it to be successful, Ryan stated that testnet participants would need to up their game: “As this is a dress rehearsal, we ask you to take genesis seriously. Only make deposits for vals you intend to run, and if at all possible, be attentive in the 24 hours leading to genesis — upgrading your node if necessary.”

Otherwise, if Ethereum devs are persuaded that the actual product will be a hit, they can always do another dress rehearsal.

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