Skip to main content

Node Upgrades Guide

Keeping the Stability Blockchain Client up-to-date is essential for maintaining the efficiency and utility of the ecosystem. As such, validators must periodically upgrade their nodes to continue participating in the network effectively.

Types of Upgrades​

There are two primary types of upgrades in the blockchain ecosystem:

  • Runtime Upgrade: This type of upgrade modifies the consensus rules of the blockchain, impacting the definition of a valid block. An example would be the introduction of a new EVM opcode.

  • Node Upgrade: This affects how users—whether they are validators or general blockchain users—interact with the blockchain's consensus rules. For instance, adding a new parameter to the blockchain client to allow validators to customize their Prometheus configuration.

Managing Runtime Upgrades​

Stability utilizes the Substrate framework. This allows runtime upgrades on Stability to be seamless, requiring no manual intervention from validators. These upgrades are facilitated through the pallet_upgrade_runtime, which is governed by the pallet_tech_committee. This committee functions as a multi-signature system, approving runtime upgrades only when a majority of its members consent. Additionally, an EVM interface exists for this purpose, though it adheres to the same consensus requirements.

For more information on Runtime Upgrades, please consult the Substrate Documentation.

Managing Node Upgrades​

Node upgrades require active participation from validators to ensure their nodes remain in sync with the network. Each upgrade produces a new Docker image, you can view the Docker Image here on Github. This image can be deployed by following this tutorial.

To stay updated with each node upgrade, validators must download the latest Docker image and restart their nodes, thus ensuring they are running the most current version of the software.