The Graph Core Dev Call #29

:information_source: The 29th Core Dev call is happening next Thursday 2024-03-28T16:30:00Z.

Join us!

:point_right: Launch Meeting - Zoom

This is a recurring call where team contributors discuss major updates from different working groups and brainstorm about active R&D tracks.

:calendar: Please subscribe to The Graph Foundation’s Ecosystem Calendar, so you don’t miss any of the upcoming calls!


:notebook: Tentative agenda:

TO BE CONFIRMED:
* :x: Postponed Upcoming Graph Node features [Alex Paka, Edge & Node]

:person_raising_hand: Got something to present and discuss?
Feel free to propose any new topic by replying to this thread.

:tv: The recording will be uploaded here.


:rocket: The Graph Core R&D Workspace

As The Graph is being built in public and in a decentralized way, we’ve put together a new publicly accessible The Graph Core R&D Workspace . You can use this page to follow along with each working group’s progress on significant workstreams and access meeting notes and recordings.

:crystal_ball: Monthly Core Dev updates

Core development teams are now posting monthly updates in this forum section Core Team Updates - The Graph.
Soon, you’ll also find regular updates from all Working Groups and Task Forces on all major components of The Graph stack. Stay tuned!


See you Thursday! :astronaut:

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Table of Contents

GraphSeer Unveiled (4:49)

  • Introduction
  • Features and Benefits
  • APR Details
  • Community Feedback

The Graph’s Sunrise Update (16:23)

  • Billing and Payments
  • Pricing Transparency
  • Indexer and Network Enhancements
  • UI Improvements
  • Next Phase: Sunbeam

Introducing GIP-0065 Subgraph Availability Manager (30:56)

  • Overview
  • Decentralization Strategy
  • Impact and Governance

StreamingFast | Native Tracer (41:50)

  • Project Background
  • Tracer Integration and Benefits
  • Future Plans

GraphSeer Unveiled (4:49)

GraphSeer Introduction

Core Dev Call #30 started with the unveiling of GraphSeer, developed by GraphOps. This innovative tool is designed to serve as a comprehensive protocol explorer, integrating both on-chain and off-chain data analytics, with the ambition to enhance Indexer operations and the broader community’s understanding of the ecosystem.

Features and Benefits

Among its extensive features, GraphSeer includes detailed analytics on indexing performance, protocol metrics, and critical quality of service metrics such as query success rates, Indexer latency, and average blocks behind. It offers an intricate breakdown of Annual Percentage Rates (APRs), crucial for Indexers and Delegators to understand the potential returns from their activities. These APRs encompass:

  • Gross Total APR
    The overall annualized return from both rewards and query fees before any deductions.
  • Gross Rewards APR
    The annualized return specifically from rewards, excluding query fees.
  • Gross Query Fees APR
    The annualized return from query fees alone, excluding rewards.
  • Indexer Total APR
    The total annualized return for the Indexer, including both rewards and query fees.
  • Indexer Rewards APR
    The specific annualized return from rewards for the Indexer.
  • Indexer Query Fees APR
    The annualized return from query fees for the Indexer.
  • Delegator Total APR
    The total annualized return for a Delegator, encompassing both rewards and query fees.
  • Delegator Rewards APR
    The specific annualized return from rewards for a Delegator.
  • Delegator Query Fees APR
    The annualized return from query fees for a Delegator.

These APRs are calculated using data from the last 90 days to provide accurate and relevant insights, helping both Indexers and Delegators make informed decisions about their participation in The Graph Network. The unveiling of GraphSeer marks a useful addition in resources available to stakeholders within The Graph ecosystem. By offering a deep dive into Indexing performance and broader protocol metrics, it empowers Indexers and Delegators to optimize their operations, contributing to a more dynamic and user-centric ecosystem.

Links

Beta
Username: thegraph
Password: graphops

GraphOps is actively seeking community feedback on GraphSeer:

  • What should we do next on GraphSeer?
  • What do you like the most and the least?
  • If you could magically add a new feature to GraphSeer, what would it be?

To provide feedback, please visit this form GraphSeer Feedback Form.


The Graph’s Sunrise Update | Billing, Upgrade Indexer, Upgraded UI Flow, Supported Networks & Studio Pricing Page (16:23)

The Graph Ecosystem witnessed significant advancements with the completion of The Graph Sunrise’s first phase, dubbed Sunray, underlining a pivotal progression in its development roadmap. These updates have been instrumental in enhancing the utility, accessibility, and overall user experience for developers and data consumers engaged with The Graph.

Billing

A cornerstone of these developments is the introduction of a new, free plan that provides 100,000 queries for all subgraph developers and data consumers, reflecting The Graph’s commitment to fostering an accessible and inclusive ecosystem. Complementing this, a revamped billing system now accommodates card and debit payments with recurring options through Stripe, alongside the flexibility to pay in cryptocurrency or GRT. This move not only broadens payment flexibility but also introduces a predictable pricing model set at $40 per million queries, aimed at offering transparency and ease of budgeting for users.

In parallel, the launch of a Subgraph Studio pricing page marks a significant stride towards enhancing communication and transparency about pricing. The page not only clearly lays out the pricing structure but also features testimonials and key performance indicators (KPIs), providing users with a comprehensive understanding of the value proposition offered by The Graph.

Upgrade Indexer & Network Support

Further enhancing user experience, the introduction of the Upgrade Indexer marks a significant technical leap. It enables support for over 40 chains within The Graph Network. This feature is necessary in broadening The Graph’s reach and interoperability across multiple chains, solidifying its position as a versatile and comprehensive ecosystem for blockchain data indexing and querying.

Upgraded UI Flow

Moreover, the optimized UI/UX for the upgrade flow exemplifies The Graph’s dedication to simplifying the transition of subgraphs from the hosted service to The Graph Network. Designed to be both simple and efficient, this UX improvement streamlines the process, making it accessible and manageable for developers at various levels of expertise.

What’s Next

The Sunbeam phase follows the initial Sunray phase in The Graph’s development, featuring a 60-day upgrade window for developers to migrate their hosted service subgraphs to The Graph Network, leveraging prior improvements. Post-upgrade, hosted subgraphs will cease query operations.

These updates collectively represent a substantial evolution in The Graph Ecosystem, driven by a focus on accessibility, user experience, and comprehensive support for a wide array of blockchain networks. Through these initiatives, The Graph continues to solidify its foundation, catering to the burgeoning needs of the web3 community and paving the way for further innovations in the decentralized space.


Introducing GIP-0065 Subgraph Availability Manager (30:56)

Next, Miguel, of Edge & Node, presented on GIP-0065 Subgraph Availability Manager, a new smart contract aimed at bolstering the protocol’s decentralization. This initiative springs from the role played by the Subgraph Availability Oracle (SAO) in verifying the availability and validity of subgraphs on The Graph Network. Historically operated as a single instance, the SAO performs checks every five minutes to ascertain subgraph files’ status and, if necessary, directing the RewardsManager contract to deny indexing rewards for non-compliant subgraphs.

Concept Breakdown
Subgraph Availability Oracle (SAO)

The SAO works like a quality checker in a factory. Its job is to inspect each product (in this case, subgraphs) to ensure they meet the standards. If a product doesn’t pass the inspection, it doesn’t go out for delivery. Similarly, if a subgraph isn’t up to mark, the SAO signals that it shouldn’t receive rewards.

Changes

The enhancement proposed through this GIP centers on diversifying the SAO’s operation by introducing five distinct oracle operators. This decentralization effort mandates a consensus mechanism where a minimum of three affirmative votes are necessary before any significant actions are taken, thereby ensuring a collective decision-making process. The Subgraph Availability Oracle Operator Charter, integral to this proposal, outlines the roles, responsibilities, and operational guidelines for these oracle operators, establishing a clear framework for participation and governance.

In addition to ensuring operational consistency and security, the charter emphasizes the importance of software uniformity among the oracle operators. All operators are to utilize the same software version from The Graph’s Subgraph Oracle repository, ensuring alignment in their assessments across the network. This uniformity extends to the commitment to testing environments, with operators required to maintain a presence on the Arbitrum Sepolia testnet, mirroring their operational setup on mainnet to facilitate comprehensive testing and verification processes.

Deployed exclusively on the Arbitrum One network, the Subgraph Availability Manager will serve as an intermediary between the oracle operators and the RewardsManager contract. It introduces a vote aggregation system requiring a threshold of three votes to effectuate any changes in a subgraph’s deployment status within the RewardsManager contract. This system’s efficacy hinges on the honesty and operational integrity of at least three oracle instances, a safeguard to ensure the network’s resilience and reliability.

Concept Breakdown
Voting Aggregation System

This system is like a voting booth where each of the five members submits their vote on whether a subgraph meets the standards. A change only happens if at least three votes agree. This ensures that decisions are made collectively rather than by a single member.

The governance of the Subgraph Availability Manager contract rests with the council, which retains the authority to orchestrate oracle operators and modify operational parameters, such as the voteTimeLimit. This time frame is critical for ensuring the timeliness of votes and their relevance to the network’s current state, with an initial setting slightly surpassing the SAO’s operational rhythm.

Impact

This GIP not only presents a strategic move towards decentralizing The Graph’s core components but also reflects a commitment to enhancing protocol integrity through collective governance and operational transparency. The oracle operators, appointed by The Graph Council, are expected to uphold a high standard of performance and accountability.

Links

Subgraph Oracle Repository - Github
GIP-0065 Subgraph Availability Manager
Implementation - Github


StreamingFast | Native Tracer (41:50)

Lastly, Matthieu, of StreamingFast, presented on the culmination of project spanning 1.5 years in collaboration with the Geth team. This initiative originated from a meeting between the Streaming Fast and Geth team at a ETHBogata, with the objective to incorporate Streaming Fast’s tracer, honed over four years of development, directly into Geth.

This collaboration culminated in the creation of a live tracer, a sophisticated tool designed to operate in tandem with the blockchain, processing transactions in real-time. Its granular design enables the detailed tracking of blockchain operations, thereby significantly enhancing the capacity for precise blockchain change tracing. A key aspect of this development was the addition of hooks within the native tracer, designed to meticulously capture all alterations in the blockchain landscape, including but not limited to, changes in account balances, code updates, and storage modifications. These enhancements facilitate a comprehensive recording of blockchain activities, thus supporting advanced debugging and introspection capabilities.

An important achievement of this integration is its backward compatibility with the existing Firehose tracer, albeit with a minor exception following the removal of an “on new account” hook. Despite this, the initiative has succeeded in maintaining a high degree of compatibility, ensuring a smooth transition and integration process.

The benefits of the native tracer integration extend beyond technical enhancements, promising significant reductions in maintenance costs by streamlining updates and minimizing conflicts. Moreover, this development opens new avenues for the support of additional chains that utilize Geth forks, thereby broadening the ecosystem’s scope and accessibility. Plans are in place to standardize the tracing interface between Geth and Erigon, an effort that aims to provide uniform tracing capabilities. This forward-looking approach not only signifies a step towards greater interoperability, but also reinforces The Graph’s position at the forefront of blockchain data indexing and querying, setting a new standard for technological excellence and ecosystem expansion.

Future Plans

Within the innovative scope of the native tracer integration into Geth, the introduction of Firehose Snap Sync emerges, poised to significantly enhance the efficiency and trustworthiness of blockchain data synchronization for Indexers. This feature would allow for the rapid and secure downloading of verified blockchain data files. By enabling Indexers to quickly bootstrap with verifiable Firehose data, Firehose Snap Sync would dramatically streamline the indexing process, bolstering the scalability and responsiveness of The Graph’s ecosystem.


Stay Tuned!

Join us next month for Core Devs Call #30!

Keep up to date by joining discussions in the forum, following The Graph on X/Twitter or joining the Discord server!

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