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Iris v3.0.0 is Here: What You Need To Know About RSK Upcoming Network Upgrade

UPDATE: Block activation heights for Iris were communicated on the RSK community call held on July 16th. This article has been updated to reflect this.

Summary

The RSK network will be undergoing a planned network upgrade at block number 3,614,800. This is expected to occur on Thursday, August 19th 2021 at 12:00 UTC. This blogpost shares all the relevant information users need to know to successfully upgrade their RSK nodes to this new version.

What is a network upgrade?

A network upgrade is a set of changes to the protocol consensus rules, which are activated at a defined block number. All nodes in the network need to run a compatible client version implementing these new consensus rules to work properly. As a consequence, if you adhere to these changes, you will need to upgrade to the new client version before the network upgrade is activated. Otherwise, the non-updated nodes will remain on an incompatible chain.

When will the network upgrade happen?

Network upgrade activation for RSK Mainnet will happen at block number 3,614,800. According to the current conditions of the network, this is expected to occur on Thursday, August 19th, 2021. 

In the case of RSK Testnet, the upgrade will happen at block number 2,060,500, expected to occur on Wednesday, August 4th, 2021.

How do I upgrade to version 3.0.0?

Users need to download and update their RSKj node to this new version before the upgrade is activated. This release is already available in our Github repository and can be done from any previous version.

What changes are included in Iris v3.0.0?

These are the most relevant consensus changes included in this version:

  • Add BLAKE2 compression function F precompile (RSKIP153)
  • Enable 2WP peg-in transactions to any RSK address (RSKIP170).
  • Flyover protocol consensus changes (RSKIP176).
  • BTC-RSK timestamp linking protection (RSKIP179).
  • Enable refunds for 2WP peg-out transactions with invalid amounts (RSKIP185)
  • Time-locked emergency multisignature (RSKIP201).
  • Reduced 2WP peg-in and peg-out minimum amounts (RSKIP219).
  • Open Bitcoin blockchain oracle (RSKIP220).

These are the most relevant non-consensus improvements included in this version:

  • Improvements and compatibility fixes at the JSON-RPC interface (#1481, #1482, #1483, #1451, #1352, #1299, #1339, #1284)
  • New “rewind” feature added to CLI tool (#1443)
  • Block propagation enhancements (#1326)
  • Node performance improvements (#1327)
  • Use native library for public key recovery in signatures (#1258)
  • Add Java11 support (#1252)

For a detailed description of the consensus changes introduced in this network upgrade, please refer to RSKIP 187 Network Upgrade: Iris. You can also find a complete list of the changes introduced in the corresponding Github milestone.

RSKj Iris 3.0.0’s sha256 sum is 8c975d8489599dbe551e90f96b450ec8a2589385c3176e4ce6ced9d44b09782b rskj-core-3.0.0-PAPYRUS-all.jar. See Reproducible Build guide for further details.

Is there anything I need to consider when upgrading to Iris 3.0.0?

This version does not require any special consideration apart from updating your node before the network upgrade activation happens at the defined block number.

How do I report problems with this version?

It’s really important for us to know any problem you may have while running Iris 3.0.0. Please reach out on RSK Open Slack or directly through creating issues in RSK Github repository.

How do I report security vulnerabilities?

If you find a security issue, please contact us at security@rsk.co, or report it through our bug bounty program. We reward security experts, software developers and hackers who dedicate time and effort to improve and protect the RSK platform.

Do you have further questions?

Please contact us through our RSK Open Slack for technical questions and support. 

You can also reach out with any feedback you would like to share with us through our social media channels and forums:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSKsmart

Telegram: https://t.me/RSKsmart

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/rootstock/

BitcoinTalk: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3189777.0

If you are new to RSK, you may want to check RSK Developers Portal to find out how to start building on the RSK platform.

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