Efficient consensus requires rapid data propagation. The DuskDS upgrade integrates enhancements to the Kadcast protocol, a structured overlay network designed for efficient broadcasting.
Kadcast Optimization
Unlike unstructured gossip protocols where nodes randomly exchange messages (often leading to redundancy), Kadcast uses a structured routing table based on Kademlia. The latest optimization achieves a 25-50% reduction in bandwidth usage while maintaining 100% reachability.
Block Production Pipeline: The upgrade refines the Succinct Attestation consensus. By decoupling the transaction dissemination from the block agreement phase, the network ensures that block proposers have immediate access to the memory pool.
Technical Specifications:
Block Time: ~10 seconds average
Maturity Period: 4320 blocks (approx. 12 hours) for stake maturation and finality assurance.
Stability Under High Private Transaction Volumes
Private transactions (Phoenix transactions) are computationally heavier than public ones due to the generation and verification of ZK-proofs. Prior to DuskDS, spikes in private transaction volume could lead to variable block times.
Load Balancing and Queue Management: The new protocol implements a priority queue that intelligently orders transactions based on computational weight rather than just gas fees. This prevents "verification jams" where a sequence of complex private contracts delays simple transfers.
Stress testing results from the Rusk Testnet prior to mainnet deployment indicated that the network maintains sub-10-second block production even when 80% of the block is filled with complex private smart contract interactions.
