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How does Solana (SOL) work?

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kevinnag58
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INTRODUCTION

Of all the blockchains currently in operation in the cryptosphere, Solana stands out as the most technologically advanced of all. Solana's network has the potential to deliver transaction speeds exceeding those presently achieved by the current large payment processors. In so providing this scalability solution by using many new technological advances, Solana has not overly compromised decentralization or security, bringing it one step closer to solving the blockchain trilemma.

*HOW DOES SOLANA (SOL) WORK?

The usual conversation of how a cryptocurrency coin/token works begins and ends with a discussion concerning consensus. But with Solana, this is simply not the case. While consensus is part of the inner workings of Solana, other new and innovative technologies are at work here and must be addressed in the simplest fashion possible (absent all the techno-babble).

  • CONSENSUS MECHANISM (DPoS):

The consensus mechanism utilized by Solana is Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS). Validators are utilized within the Solana protocol to process the system's transactions, and are chosen based upon their network holdings. Validator's earn compensation for processing system transactions and adding those transactions to the blockchain. However, any ordinary holder of SOL tokens may delegate their holdings to any one of the Validators, earning the holder an easy percentage of the Validator's profit. By allowing this delegation, everyone with any interest in Solana may take part in network security, and, more importantly, the holders of any interest in Solana have a say in which node(s) are best to validate transactions for the network.

The DPoS consensus system used by Solana has been found to be much faster than its regular PoS counterpart. Currently the Solana system processes blocks every 2.34 seconds, but bench tests have demonstrated block approval times are possible at 1.60 seconds. Each Ethereum block is generated at a rate of 1 per approximately every 13 seconds, so Solana is demonstrably faster, showing the reasoning for the growing interest in the DPoS consensus model.

  • PROOF OF HISTORY:

In an effort to make it's blockchain more decentralized, Solana employs a Proof of History (PoH) system whereby transactions are timestamped to assist in proving the prior events processed before the latest state is broadcast to the network. As the transaction entries are timestamped sequentially, time is saved as the transaction moves through the system as revalidation of each hash function is no longer required in each stage of the processing function. Within the Solana system, this function is known as 'Verifiable Delay Function'.

  • TOWERBFT:

Validators vote on ledger accuracy prior to finalization of the state of the ledger before entry to the blockchain. Once a validator votes, that vote is locked and timestamped. At that point, Validators can not make a different vote on a subsequent blockchain version that does not show the records of previous votes. TowerBFT (which is Solana's proprietary version of PBFT - Practical Byzantine Fault Toleration system found in other DPoS blockchains.) allows consensus to be reached absent transactional latency (time it takes for a transaction to move through the system, start to finish). As well, as communication between the nodes and the system chain is necessary to reach consensus, the TowerBFT system reduces messaging overhead in the system as timestamping renders the same moot.

In the simplest format, Tower BFT is a mechanism which records all prior consensus votes allowing Validator's to reference them instead of having to run the whole transaction chain thereby speeding up the validation process.

  • GULF STREAM:

Gulf Stream eliminates the need for an in chain mempool. [For further information on Mempools, See: Nagoda, K. "What is a MEMPOOL and Why is it Important?". (Accessed August 15, 2021). Gulf Stream functions so as to permit transactions to be forwarded to Validators prior to finishing the current block approval.

  • TURBINE:

Turbine is a blockchain broadcasting program that functions to break down data into smaller pieces. These smaller 'packets' of data may then be transmitted to the various nodes more quickly and with a corresponding saving of bandwidth.

  • SEALEVEL:

Sealevel permits the Solana protocol to execute smart contracts running in parallel. Multiple smart contracts that are similar in content may be leveraged within the same protocols. This running of similar contracts in parallel allows for simultaneous execution with minimal negative network effects.

  • PIPELINING:

Pipelining works to improve block validation times within the system by assigning different streams to input data to different system hardware based on specifications. By operating in this fashion, blocks are quickly validated and reproduced across the various system nodes.

  • ARCHIVERS

Archivers is a data storage protocol used by the Solana system. All of the information contained on the Solana blockchain may be reproduced by each node limited only by the node's hardware constraints. Archivers then download the validator's data and make the data available systemwide.

  • CLOUDBREAK

In essence, Cloudbreak constitutes the systems account database. Details on this innovation are quite confusing so simply put, Cloudbreak allows the system to improve previous data duplications by allowing the data to be read and written at the same time.

*CONCLUSION

As seen in the above diagram, the Solana blockchain is moving closer to an optimum solution to the blockchain trilemma. While Solana has not fully solved the trilemma, the nine proprietary systems set forth herein working in tandem have produced remarkable throughput with minimal negative effects on security and decentralization.

Final word:

There are multiple pain points in the market that Solana attempts to rectify. The network’s architecture was structured to be expandable and resilient to censorship. This trustless and distributed blockchain tackles both transaction settlement speed concerns and bandwidth via this design.

[Hamilton, D. "Investing In Solana (SOL) – Everything You Need to Know". (Accessed August 15, 2021)].

For those interested in a more technical view of the above mentioned nine system technologies, a starting point would be the Solana whitepaper which may be accessed here.

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