- Solana has released version 1.17.31, which aims to alleviate congestion and enhance network throughput
- Developers view the release as crucial in addressing challenges from increased network activity
- Further enhancements are planned to make the network more robust
Solana has taken the next step in tackling its congestion issues with a new software release, which it hopes will aid the network’s throughput. Developers hailed the release of version 1.17.31, claiming that it marks a crucial step in addressing recent challenges stemming from heightened activity and demand on the network, particularly during the recent meme coin surge. However, they also acknowledged that more needs to be done to make the network more resistant to usage spikes, with further updates imminent.
Usage Spike Saw Billions in Monthly Transactions
The update was revealed yesterday, with Rex St. John, head of developer relations at Anza, the development team behind it, emphasizing the significance of this release as the first in a series of planned updates to alleviate network congestion.
Validators, the entities tasked with confirming transactions on the Solana network, have been urged to swiftly adopt the new release to mitigate ongoing issues caused by a surge in transaction volumes. These reached as high as $4 billion in March compared to less than $500 million per day in 2023, an increase that has strained the Solana network to breaking point at times.
More Upgrades Coming
While the v1.17.31 release marks a crucial step toward resolving network congestion, Anza underscored that it is not a standalone solution, with further enhancements already planned for the upcoming v1.18 release:
This contains the first round of @solana mainnet congestion updates which everyone has been waiting for from @anza_xyz. There are additional updates coming.
It is important to note this is NOT v1.18, which will have further improvements. https://t.co/gx7ZG6R5GI pic.twitter.com/tkm9DqgxDZ
— Rex St. John (man/let) (@rexstjohn) April 15, 2024
The Solana Foundation has attributed network bottlenecks to the implementation of QUIC, a protocol introduced in 2022 to combat the spam attacks that were thought to be behind previous outages.
With approximately one-third of validators already running the new software, the Solana community will hope that this update and continued enhancements are deployed and rigorously tested in production environments, aiming to restore seamless network functionality.
