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Solana Network Outage: What Happened?
Written by
Mantas Ciuksys
February 7, 2024
2
min. read
Table of Contents
The Solana network experienced a significant outage on February 6, 2024, which lasted for approximately 5 hours. This disruption was attributed to a software issue related to the network's upgrade mechanism. The problem was specifically linked to a complication with the Berkeley Packet Filter, a key component used for deploying upgrades and executing programs on the Solana platform. The outage was resolved after collaborative debugging by Solana’s engineers and validators, leading to a network restart and the resumption of operations following a software upgrade to version 1.17.20.
This incident marked Solana's first major outage in over 350 days, showcasing both the technical complexities involved in maintaining a large-scale blockchain network and the community's capacity to address and resolve critical issues promptly. Despite the temporary setback, the SOL token showed signs of resilience, recovering in value shortly after network operations resumed. The Solana Foundation has committed to conducting a thorough analysis to identify the root cause of the outage to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The outage also highlighted ongoing efforts within the Solana ecosystem to enhance network reliability and build trust among users and developers. As the network returned to normal operations, stakeholders remained optimistic about its ability to overcome blockchain challenges and continue its growth within the DeFi ecosystem.
Developers can take several proactive steps to ensure their applications remain operational, even during blockchain network outages or disruptions like the one experienced by Solana. Here are some strategies:
- Build Crosschain Leverage multiple blockchain networks or layers to mitigate the risk of complete service disruption when one network goes down. Building a multi-chain application can provide a fallback option.
- Error Handling and Monitoring: Develop robust error handling and monitoring systems that can detect network issues in real-time and trigger alerts or automated responses to maintain service continuity.
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