Automate & Optimize: Discover Our Validator Tool Set For An Enhanced KYVE Experience
With KYVE ever-evolving to take on new data sets, our Development Team is constantly looking into new ways to enhance the KYVE consensus and protocol validator experience to ensure a secure, efficient, and healthy network.
Along this journey, we have brought forward essential validator tools for our network, such as KYSOR and Supervysor; as well as provided resources around installing Cosmos’ Cosmovisor and a Docker Image for fast native node creation.
In this article, we’re taking a closer look at each of these tools, shedding light on their impact on KYVE’s network, as well as some positive results and feedback from our community.
Implementing Cosmos SDK’s Cosmovisor:
Shortly after the launch of KYVE’s Layer 1 Cosmos SDK-based blockchain, our Development Team provided resources around Cosmovisor, an existing validator tool for Cosmos SDK application binaries. By recommending its use, consensus validators are able to efficiently manage binary upgrades, enabling seamless transitions to newer versions and avoiding unnecessary slashes.
Cosmosvisor is also helpful for protocol validators. In order to have a reliable data source for checking the validity of uploaded data in KYVE pools, protocol validators should run a native node on the chain in question. Cosmovisor is a great implementation to keep that native node up to date and not cause any issues in providing data.
KYSOR: Automated Protocol Validator Updates
Slightly mirroring Cosmovisor on the consensus layer, we created our own custom version for the protocol layer validators dubbed KYSOR, which is currently used by the majority of KYVE protocol validators.
The challenge that KYSOR tackles stems from KYVE’s protocol structure, which includes separate runtimes for distinct data types. While this design choice has brought about significant advantages for our decentralized data validation and archival process, it has occasionally led to difficulties, such as slashing for not updating their binaries promptly.
KYSOR’s core objective is to eliminate these hurdles by automating the node update process. Moreover, with KYVE’s implementation of inter-pool security, KYSOR introduces a unified approach to running protocol validators across different pools. It automates the installation of protocol binaries for every pool, thereby preventing potential slashing due to outdated software.
“Running a KYVE protocol validator can be demanding sometimes, especially keeping track of all the updates that are coming out frequently. For that, we are happy to recommend KYSOR — a tool that makes your life as a protocol validator easier by automatically upgrading your node and keeping track of config files. KYSOR is only one example where we strive to make KYVE as simple to use as possible.” — KYVE’s Lead Protocol Developer, Troy.
Supervysor: Enhancing Resource Efficiency and Data Management
As mentioned previously, when participating as a KYVE protocol validator, it’s important to have a node operating on the original chain. This node serves as the validator’s primary source of accurate data, cross-referencing uploaded information to prevent unnecessary slashing. For instance, in the case of KYVE’s Osmosis data pool, validators require a node within the Osmosis chain.
However, the Osmosis node syncs faster from Genesis than KYVE due to the fact that KYVE has its decentralized archiving and validation process, leading to an excess of stored data within the node. This surplus data not only strains resources but also incurs additional costs.
Naturally, KYVE is committed to avoiding undue financial burdens and inefficiencies in data management within its network. To address this challenge and mitigate the associated storage and management costs, KYVE’s Development Team has recently introduced Supervysor.
Supervysor acts as a process manager, effectively facilitating the node syncing process by closely monitoring the status of the KYVE data pool. By tracking the block height of the data pool and pruning already validated blocks accordingly, as well as stopping the node from syncing too far ahead, Supervysor ensures that the node stays in sync with the data pool’s progress. This aligns the node’s pace with that of the data pool and its validators and helps avoid any extra storage costs.
As further detailed by Christopher, a core KYVE developer, “Supervysor’s primary purpose is to enhance the efficiency of the KYVE validation process, with a particular focus on optimizing storage requirements for all Protocol Validators. As we move forward, our goal for Supervysor is to continue supporting various node types essential for a KYVE pool while enhancing overall efficiency.”
Launch A Native Node With Just One Command
On top of Supervysor, the KYVE Development Team wanted to take it a step further in easing the overall protocol onboarding process. Now, for those wanting to join a data pool but not already running a node on the targeted native chain, they can use our Docker Image to launch a node in minutes with just one command!
At the moment, you can do so for the Osmosis chain and Archway chain. More chains will be added according to the next data pools launching on KYVE’s mainnet.
More Initiatives On The Horizon
These are just a few of the many initiatives our team is working on in order to enhance the overall user experience on KYVE. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with our dedicated community in bringing KYVE to its full potential for all.
Want to join KYVE in making trustless data a public good? Start running your own protocol validator today!
