Solana deploys congestion fix on devnet

Solana developers have released a new version of the validator client software to address persistent congestion issues and are urging validators to upgrade immediately.

Anza, a spinoff of Solana Labs, spearheaded the development with the release of version 1.18.11 aimed at mitigating network congestion.

Validator clients, essential in proof-of-stake blockchains like Solana, verify transactions to ensure compliance with network rules and confirm the sender’s fund sufficiency before appending new blocks to the blockchain.

Recently, spam transactions have significantly slowed processing times and increased transaction drop rates on Solana, which uniquely processes transactions directly without a mempool, adding complexity to its congestion issues.

Anza initially deployed the updated software version 1.18.11 on a devnet, and they are now calling for testnet validators to test the effectiveness of these fixes. Anza tweeted on April 12:

“The v1.18.11 release is now deployed to devnet, recommended for use on testnet. Please upgrade ASAP to help us start analyzing the effects of the proposed congestion fixes.”

In response to the congestion, Solana developers are also exploring strategies to enhance network efficiency. These include optimizing computing unit usage, implementing priority fees to improve user experiences, and developing a stake-weighted Quality-of-Service (QoS) system to prioritize transactions more efficiently.

External analyses have highlighted the negative impact of congestion on Solana’s operational performance. The network serves as a significant hub for DeFi activities, which has escalated the congestion problem with increased demand, leading to record-high trading volumes on decentralized exchanges in March.

Austin Federa, Head of Strategy at the Solana Foundation, recently addressed the root causes of these issues in a tweet:

“The issues stem from an implementation of the QUIC protocol and can be attributed to a known issue that suddenly got much worse due to unprecedented demand.”

Teams from Anza, Firedancer, Jito, and other core contributors are actively working to strengthen Solana’s networking stack in response to this demand. Federa remains optimistic about overcoming these challenges, drawing parallels to similar obstacles the network faced in early 2022.

As these developments unfold, the upcoming weeks will be critical in assessing whether the implemented fixes will restore Solana’s efficiency and reliability.

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