September 13, 2018 9:57 PM
ChainSafe and folks from Parity Technologies are advocating for a new proof of authority testnet that would be easier to use across clients. The algorithm chosen to back it may prove contentious.
On September 13, Afri Schoedon of Parity Technologies posted a call[1] for participation to create a more universal testnet. The idea seems to have arisen at the recent ETHBerlin hackathon where Schoedon worked alongside members of the ChainSafe team. In his proposal, he notes that the existing testnets do not adequately support all clients and aren't "robust enough to guarantee consistent availability and high reliability."
He proposes the community come together to build Görli[2], a public Ethereum test network.
Schoedon's preferred specifications are that clients choose a proof-of-authority (PoA) engine, such as Aura or Clique, and implement it. As it stands, Parity and Geth already use PoA testnets for efficiency's sake. The existing proof-of-work testnet, Ropsten, is technically compatible with both Parity and Geth, but has had reliability issues[3]. PoA chains do not require as much participation or hash power (or any hash power at all, for that matter), making them the more reliable choice.
At the moment, Parity and Geth use different testnets with different PoA algorithms. However, if the two can agree to one algorithm and implement it, then the community could "bootstrap a new Görli proof-of-authority testnet based on the available implementations that mimics main network conditions."
In accordance to the protocol for Ethereum development, progress on Görli would begin with the creation of an Ethereum improvement proposal to specify the PoA engine clients should implement to then build the testnet around. Regardless of which is chosen, clients hoping to use the Görli testnet would need to implement it.
Schoedon
