- Ethereum developers have urged node operators to upgrade their clients to Dencun-supported versions.
- The call comes as part of final preparations ahead of the upgrade’s activation on the mainnet.
- The Dencun upgrade combines consensus layer and execution layer changes.
As the mainnet launch date for the Ethereum Dencun upgrade nears, preparations have kicked off in earnest. In the latest instance, developers have called on node operators to upgrade their clients to ensure the upgrade runs smoothly.
Final Ethereum Dencun Preparations Begin
On Thursday, February 8, Ethereum developers disclosed that the long-awaited Ethereum Dencun mainnet upgrade would occur at 13:55 UTC on March 13, 2024. While the upgrade requires no changes from end users, node operators have a critical role ahead of its activation.
Ethereum nodes refer to computers running software that can verify transaction data on the network. These software are what are known as clients. For a computer to be an Ethereum node, it must run at least two clients: an execution layer and a consensus layer client.
In a blog post on Tuesday, February 27, the Ethereum Foundation called on node operators to upgrade their clients to the latest versions supporting Dencun.
List of updated consensus layer clients. Source: Ethereum Foundation The recently released list of updated clients included consensus layer clients like Prysm v5.0.0 and Teku v24.2.0 and execution layer clients like Besu v24.1.2, Geth v1.13.13, and Nethermind v1.25.4.
As highlighted by struggles faced during the Goerli Dencun fork, high network participation is required for the upgrade to achieve finalization smoothly. This benchmark, however, can only be reached if node operators upgrade their clients to the latest version.
A Multi-Layered Upgrade
Like the Shapella upgrade in April 2023, the Dencun upgrade combines changes to the consensus layer and the execution layer, in this case, code-named Deneb and Cancun, respectively.
The most anticipated feature of the upgrade is EIP-4844, or proto-danksharding, which marks the first step in Ethereum’s sharding vision and promises to drastically reduce fees on Layer 2 chains with the introduction of blobs .
On the Flipside
- Developers initially scheduled the Dencun upgrade for Q4 2023.
Why This Matters
The Dencun upgrade promises to bring Ethereum closer to solving scaling challenges. The call for node operators to upgrade their clients suggests that preparations are in full swing ahead of the upgrade’s activation date.
Read this for more on the Ethereum Dencun upgrade:
Ethereum Dencun Upgrade Nears Launch, Developers Target March
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