Worklog. August results

Hello everyone! In the extended version of the worklog, we share the latest achievements in the development of the Cellframe Network. August was truly eventful, and now we'll tell you all about it.

Web Development

The main event of this month is the launch of the Cellframe Shop website. Here, users can purchase exclusive Cellframe merchandise and pre-order hardware nodes.

At the same time, our team continues to work on the Cellframe Bridge website. We have migrated it to updated smart contracts to improve stability and security, and we’ve ensured the bridge site is compatible with version 5.3 of the node for stable cross-chain transactions. We also worked on the UX of the site: input behavior is now more accurate, and wallet address handling on the Ethereum network has been improved.

Cellframe Dashboard

This month, we completed beta testing and released the new version of Cellframe Dashboard (3.0-52). The key update is that the installation process for Cellframe Dashboard and Cellframe Node has changed. We’ve separated the applications at the installer level, allowing them to be updated and installed individually. The new build also includes many other options:

● Transaction Queue: previously, when sending two or more transactions simultaneously, the blockchain would reject the second and subsequent transactions until the first was processed. Now, they can be queued for sending.

● Simplified Cellframe DEX mode: we’ve added a new, simpler panel for token operations. The approach to selecting token pairs and entering data has changed. The previous panel version is still available, so users can choose the option that suits them best.

● Updated mechanism for Cellframe Dashboard’s interaction with the node: this has reduced the load on the user's device and increased application performance.

● Masternode launch tab: previously, this required command line skills, but now the launch process is much easier and more user-friendly.

● You can now manage the node service via the Settings tab.

In addition, we have updated the Web3 API for working with the node. The Web3 API is the interface used for interaction between the blockchain network and the internet, in our case, between the node and the dashboard. To improve system performance, we added new commands and functions:

● The GetQueueHash command allows you to get the transaction hash using the queue ID, even if it's already in the mempool. This helps track transaction statuses and perform deferred operations.

● The RemoveItemQueue command takes the queue ID as input and returns the transaction hash if it’s already in the mempool.

● A function for error output when sending conditional transactions via Web3 API allows users to quickly identify and fix problems.

● The StakeLockTake command now executes stably.

The Cellframe development team has begun working on combining the service and GUI in Cellframe Dashboard. Our goal is to create a unified and intuitive management system. Once the integration and debugging are complete, we plan to integrate the Cellframe Wallet management interface into the dashboard.

Additionally, we have optimized the number of requests the dashboard sends to the node. Previously, excessive requests reduced its performance. We have also stabilized the operation of the DEX tab.

Cellframe Node 5.3

In August, we released the long-awaited Node 5.3 update, which includes many important improvements, with the most notable being:

● Implementation of new node synchronization mechanisms: a synchronization state machine and epidemic update distribution.

● Transition to a cluster architecture, which is the first step toward the future implementation of two-level sharding.

● Introduction of an automatic fork resolution mechanism to stabilize the blockchain network.

● Update of the quantum-safe Kyber 512 protocol in the DAP SDK.

We’ll provide more detailed information about the Cellframe Node 5.3 updates in one of our upcoming articles.

We have already completed an internal security audit of Cellframe Node 5.3 and have handed the code over for an external audit by independent experts to verify system security.

Our global task is to maximize the portability of the Cellframe platform across different devices. We are constantly working on this, and August was no exception. This month, we released a special noopt build to support devices without AVX2 (Advanced Vector Extensions).

We also introduced secure iterators for working with serialized data. Iterators are objects that allow you to sequentially retrieve elements of a collection, such as an array or list, without knowing their internal structure.

For GDB groups, we added filters that automatically remove incorrect records during the calculation of the current information hash. This functionality has significantly improved the fault tolerance and stability of masternodes.

To prevent potential attacks related to conditional transactions, we implemented security checks in verifiers. This measure has enhanced protection against possible threats.

Conditional transactions are a unique feature of the Cellframe Network. They help organize interactions between the customer and service provider and record the result on the blockchain. As the name suggests, these transactions include conditions that must be met for the transfer of funds to the other party. In blockchain terms, the transaction output can only be used if certain conditions are met.

We refactored the sorting process, which plays a significant role in node synchronization — this has increased its speed by 2.5 times. Users can now receive up-to-date information more quickly.

We also added a cross-platform logrotate mechanism to control the size of log files. Log files are records that are kept on the blockchain, tracking user connections, transaction confirmations, block updates, and errors. These logs are essential for system analysis and diagnostics, but over time, they can take up too much disk space, leading to storage overflow and reduced system performance. The logrotate mechanism optimizes log management and prevents disk space overflow.

Furthermore, we addressed the issue of log spam. Now, logs contain only useful information for diagnostics and monitoring. The effectiveness of technical support has also improved.

The Cellframe Network has grown significantly, so we implemented chain mapping in memory. This approach significantly reduces the resource requirements for blockchain nodes, decreases memory usage, and thus improves network performance.

Python Plugins

Each time we update or expand the functionality of Cellframe Node, we make corresponding changes to PythonSDK, an auxiliary plugin that simplifies interaction with the node.

In August, we optimized the work of the emission center, responsible for token issuance in our network, specifically by implementing a new consensus algorithm for bridge nodes.

We also improved the mechanism for detecting active nodes, which determines which nodes are currently ready to participate in consensus. The update increased the speed and stability of the network.

Additionally, we worked on consensus threshold determination mechanisms, establishing the minimum number of nodes required to make decisions about token issuance.

At the same time, we continued the refactoring of the staking plugin:

● We optimized and accelerated the algorithm that calculates rewards for all staking groups.

● We updated the staking history parser, which organizes information. It now processes staking and unstaking transactions more effectively. We managed to reduce transaction processing time and improve its performance.

With the release of Cellframe Node 5.3, we needed to adapt the previous staking plugin and its verifiers for compatibility with the new version.

Lastly, we configured the emission center settings for the Backbone and KelVPN networks. As a result of this work, token issuance mechanisms were significantly improved.

Follow Cellframe news on our social media. See you next month!