Filecoin accelerates upgrades

The Filecoin network was just upgraded to Network Version #15 on March 1. The current highlight is FVM (Filecoiin Virtual Machine), which will be carried out in several steps. The first step, Network Version #16, is scheduled for May 3, 2022. The improvement of the Filecoin network is in rapid expansion, and the pace of upgrades may accelerate.

Filecoin's upgrade on March 1 is called OhSnap, which is mainly used to quickly upload order data to the chain. Through the SnapDeal supported by this version, Storage Provider no longer needs to go through a long Seal process to quickly upload order data to the chain by replacing the existing CC sector data without sacrificing network security and ensuring the integrity of data proof. This is a further improvement and progress of the Filecoin proof system. Like the aggregate proof upgraded last year, this is also the contribution made by the Filecoin research team to the industry in the entire field of zero-knowledge proof.

The upgrade of Network Version#15 also marks the beginning of the transformation of the Filecoin network to support ecological applications. Next, the most important thing is FVM.

FVM upgrade is mainly divided into two major steps

As for FVM itself, since it is a change to the execution layer of the Filecoin chain, the support of FVM is a big deal. The upgrade of FVM is also carried out in steps. In general, it is divided into two steps:

1. Replace the current execution layer with FVM to lay the foundation for the next step of supporting smart contracts

2. Support smart contracts

In other words, at least two versions of updates are needed to support smart contracts and complete the journey towards a public chain.

Towards Network Version #16

The next upgrade we mentioned (Network Version #16) is to achieve the first step. Network Version #16 will specifically include FIP-0030, FIP-0031, and FIP-0032. FIP-0031 is currently in draft status, and FIP-0032 is still in pre-draft status. The plan for NV #16 has been announced, and it is expected to be upgraded on May 3. In other words, the time between the two upgrades is about two months. To implement so much content in NV #16, it will not be possible in just two months, and the preparation work has already begun. From the current chain implementation to NV #16, every Filecoin implementation needs to prepare carefully. Specifically, the following things need to be done:

Complete the replacement of the currently implemented VM to support WASM virtual machine (FVM), and complete the rewrite of the current Actors (system built-in contracts): A reference implementation of the current FVM has been completed; (FIP-0030)

Different implementations introduce FVM to test whether they are compatible with the current chain implementation. That is to say, the existing VM implementation can be replaced by FVM, and the entire consensus will not be affected; (FIP-0031). Currently, Lotus and Venus have completed some tests.

Implement and adopt a new Gas model. (FIP-0032)

Among these steps, the mandatory upgrade of Filecoin nodes is only required in the last step. The previous steps are compatible with the existing network and can be upgraded or not. However, we encourage community developers and node operators to participate in the upgrade and testing of intermediate versions, so that more problems can be reflected and node operators can become familiar with FVM as soon as possible.

Both the Lotus and Venus development teams will release some intermediate reference versions, and everyone can continue to pay attention to the progress.

When will user-written smart contracts be supported?

In other words, when will the second step of the two steps mentioned above be done? Will it be done soon after the first step? In theory, it can be done, but some preparations must be made before that. One of the important reasons for this is that once user-programmable smart contracts are supported, Filecoin's Layer 1 will be relatively fixed, at least the system's built-in contract methods will be relatively fixed, and the architecture will also be relatively fixed, so that even if there are more upgrades in the future, the compatibility of the contract can be guaranteed.

We have said before that the support of smart contract functions can bring great flexibility to the Filecoin network and promote more innovation, including the storage market and the retrieval market. However, the current implementation of the storage market is a system built-in contract, which locks some functions and is not conducive to innovation. Therefore, while implementing user-level smart contract support, we must consider the structure and layering of system-level contracts. This includes separating the storage market and no longer using it as a system built-in contract. In other words, it becomes a user-level contract, so that different teams can write different storage market and retrieval market contracts in the future, compete, and gradually improve the storage and retrieval markets.

This step will involve more changes and take some time, and these changes will be carried out in parallel with the second phase of the FVM implementation. The specific support order and roadmap will be included in the discussion of core developers soon.

All these improvements have only one purpose, which is to better activate the Filecoin ecosystem, increase flexibility for the development of the Filecoin network ecosystem, and remove obstacles. Every small step is a step towards a more perfect network.

The pace of upgrades is accelerating

In addition to the above important things, there are some other proposals, such as increasing the number of beneficiary addresses to activate the fund management of node operators, improving the agreement in the order process, etc. Schedules also need to be scheduled according to priority.

Although Filecoin is a blockchain that has been running for nearly a year and a half, it is still in the early stages of development. There is a lot of room for improvement, and new problems will continue to arise during development. These core development teams, research teams, and the community are all very concerned. To develop rapidly, network upgrades are inevitable. For developers, the best upgrade is to take small steps and avoid major changes. Currently, developers tend to speed up the pace of upgrades appropriately, incorporate new features as soon as possible, and activate the ecosystem. This is why the next upgrade will be two months apart (the original plan was to have a shorter interval, but because there was more content to upgrade, it was postponed to a certain extent).

We hope that the next upgrade will be able to last about 2 months, or even shorter. Decentralized storage is one of the most basic facilities of Web3.0. The development and improvement of Filecoin is crucial to the development of Web3 and is also exciting. We hope that more developers will participate and work together to promote the progress of the network.