The Graph Indexer Office Hours #136

TL;DR: Zac from Edge & Node shared more information on Horizon, a new design for The Graph protocol that promises improved trust, efficiency, direct indexing fees, a larger addressable market, and greater simplicity. The article also covers updates on various protocols and repositories.

Welcome to another edition of Indexer Office Hours!

Today is December 5, and this is Indexer Office Hours 136.

Opening remarks

Welcome, and introduction shout out to indexer, Stake Machine, for being interviewed on the GRTiQ podcast. Congratulations!

Repo watch

The latest updates to important repositories

Execution Layer Clients

• Erigon v2.0 New release v2.55.0 :
  • Fix outstanding know header==nil errors + reduce bor heimdall logging.
  • Flags: bump default value of db.size.limit to 12TB.
  • Existing nodes whose MDBX page size equals 4kb must add –db.size.limit=8TB flag. Otherwise, you will get MDBX_TOO_LARGE error. To check the current page size, you can use make db-tools && ./build/bin/mdbx_stat datadir/chaindata.
• Nethermind: New release v1.23.0 :
  • Nethermind can now be an execution client for OP Stack chains, including Optimism and Base mainnets.
  • The OP Stack network has EL and CL concepts similar to Ethereum’s. Nethermind works as an EL client; refer to optimism docs for how to run op-node as your CL client.
  • Reduced memory usage spikes when a node is overloaded with CL requests.
  • There is now support for initializing the Nethermind database from a .zip snapshot file.
• Avalanche: New release v1.10.17 :
  • Added avalanche_{chainID}_blks_build_accept_latency metric
  • Added avalanche_{chainID}_blks_issued{source} metric with sources:
    • pull_gossip
    • push_gossip
    • put_gossip which is deprecated
    • built
    • unknown
  • Added avalanche_{chainID}_issuer_stake_sum metric
  • Added avalanche_{chainID}_issuer_stake_count metric
  • Fixed duplicated operation on provided value error when executing atomic operations after state syncing the C-chain
  • Added:
    • -consensus-frontier-poll-frequency
  • Removed:
    • -consensus-accepted-frontier-gossip-frequency
  • Deprecated:
    • -consensus-accepted-frontier-gossip-validator-size
    • -consensus-accepted-frontier-gossip-non-validator-size
    • -consensus-accepted-frontier-gossip-peer-size
      • Updated the default value to 1 to align with the change in default gossip frequency
    • -consensus-on-accept-gossip-validator-size
    • -consensus-on-accept-gossip-non-validator-size
    • -consensus-on-accept-gossip-peer-size
  • This version is backward compatible with v1.10.0. It is optional but encouraged.
• Arbitrum-nitro: New release v2.2.0-alpha.5 :
  • This release adds backup transaction forwarding and feed URLs, improves batch poster reliability, especially for L3 chains, and fixes a go-ethereum triedb issue compared to the last alpha release.

Consensus Layer Clients

Information on the different clients

• Prysm: No new releases ( last v4.1.1 )
  • This patch release includes two cherry-picked changes from the develop branch to resolve critical issues affecting a few users.
• Teku: No new releases ( last 23.11.0 )
  • Teku 23.11.0 is an optional update containing bug fixes, performance improvements, and security fixes.
• Nimbus: New release v23.11.0 :
  • Nimbus v23.11.0 is a low-urgency upgrade bringing enhanced support for the Obol DVT middleware, further profit optimizations for the Nimbus validator client, and a simplified and safe alternative to the trusted node sync.
• Lighthouse: No new releases ( last v4.5.0 )
  • This low-priority release primarily contains the Holesky re-launch configurations. Some minor features and fixes are also available for mainnet and testnet users.

Graph Stack

• Graph Node: No new releases ( last v0.33.0 )
• Indexer Service & Agent: No new releases ( last v0.20.23 ) The version of indexer components was bumped from v0.20.15 to v0.20.16, but no code has changed. The release notes are the same as before to encourage users to pick v16 over v15.
• POI-Radio: No new release ( last v0.4.0 )
  • !!This repo has been archived in favor of Subgraph-radio.
• Subgraph-radio new releases:
  • get 0.1.11-alpha.2
  • get 0.1.11-alpha.3
    • Switch to SQLite instead of JSON for state persistence

Graph Orchestration Tooling

Join us every other Wednesday at 5 pm UTC for Launchpad Office Hours and get the latest updates on running Launchpad. The next one is on December 20. Bring all your questions!

Blockchains Operator Upgrade Calendar

Introducing your one-stop solution for tracking hard forks and scheduled maintenance across various protocols in The Graph ecosystem.

Specifically for node operators:

• Timely reminders for keeping your node up-to-date.
• Customize notifications for the chains/protocols you support.
• Stay informed about all major protocol events.
• Simplify your upgrade process and avoid missed deadlines.

Add the calendar to your schedule, and special thanks to @maoueh (Matthieu Vachon) for this valuable tool!

Protocol watch

The latest updates on important changes to the protocol

Forum Governance

• Add support for OP Mainnet
• Add support for LightLink
• GIP-0052: Timeline and requirements to increase rewards in L2
• GIP-0058: Replacing Bonding Curves with Indexing Fees
• Statement of clarification about failing subgraph due to grafting

Forum Research

• [Proposal: seeking feedback] Optimizing the experience for Subgraph Developers through user research

Contracts Repository

• feat: subgraph availability manager contract #882 (open)
• chore: convert repo into a yarn workspaces monorepo and add sdk package #888 (open)
• fix: add gns and staking counter part addresses when configuring bridge #889 (open)
• chore: remove cli #890 (closed)

Network Subgraphs

• Core network subgraph: Fix delegation params not updating correctly (v0.22.1)
• Analytics subgraph: Exponential rebates and Sepolia support (v0.22.0)
• Billing subgraph: No new releases since the last IOH

Open discussion

Topics:

• Discussion about the latest updates in the indexer ecosystem, including the Upgrade Indexer,  an amendment to GIP-0058, and the remaining 5% of L2 indexing rewards.
• Zac’s presentation on Horizon, including its goals, benefits, and risks.
• Q&A session with the audience, covering various aspects of Horizon.

Key points:

• Horizon:
  • Aims to improve The Graph protocol and expand its capabilities.
  • Introduces warranties, where indexers stake tokens to guarantee accuracy and avoid slashing.
  • Enables permissionless participation and new data services beyond subgraphs and GraphQL.
  • Is more efficient than the current protocol, removing inefficient mechanisms like allocations and rebates.
• Benefits:
  • Improved trust between consumers and providers.
  • More competitive and valuable protocol.
  • Direct indexing fees for indexers.
  • The larger addressable market for The Graph.
  • Greater simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and permissionlessness.
• Risks:
  • Potential security vulnerabilities.
  • Unforeseen consequences of the new design.
• Discussion:
  • Concerns about the economic inefficiencies of the current protocol.
  • The role of the AdvocatesDAO in education and outreach.
  • The Horizon roadmap and timeline.
  • The boundary between Horizon core and data services.
  • The API and the role of non-permissionless roles.
  • Future discussions on Horizon.

Action items:

• Claim your POAP before the deadline.
• Attend future discussions on Horizon.

Next steps

Please join us for the next Indexer Office Hours on December 12.