Later this week, Ethereum is set to unveil its fresh testnet, Holesky, which will provide an avenue for stepping up the testing capacities within the ecosystem and mark the end of the service of the largest existing Ethereum testnet, Goerli. Currently featuring two testnets – Sepolia and Goerli – Ethereum operates these as replicas of the original chain, purposed primarily for new application tests and transaction simulations.
While these mini networks are managed by a smaller group of validators than the primary Ethereum chain, a arising concern among developers points towards a potential scaling issue. The objective, as stressed by Parithosh Jayanthi from the Ethereum Foundation, is to firstly identify potential scaling glitches through the testnet, which then necessitates a testnet larger than the main Ethereum chain.
Taking its name after a train station in Prague, the ambitious Holesky aims to be more substantial than the Ethereum mainnet, promising a larger assembly of validators operating the new network in future. By amplifying Holesky’s size, developers could theoretically experiment with and enhance infrastructure and upgrades in more strenuous environments, implying that the mainnet would be less prone to unexpected obstacles if trials on Holesky go off without a hitch.
While Sepolia remains the primary network for Ethereum-based application tests, Holesky is tailored to replace Goerli as the leading ground for testing Ethereum infrastructure and core protocol upgrades. Goerli’s limitations becoming apparent with the growth of Ethereum’s developer community and the incessant demand for complex infrastructure and upgrade testing.
The most noticeable issues with Goerli concern Goerli ETH (goETH), the native token for the test network. With goETH being analogous to play money used for low-stakes test runs and having a hard cap set in 2019, features that have now become problematic when facing high network demand. The testnet’s evolving architecture and unforeseeable activities led to supply constraints, creating a significant setback for developers by increasing test costs further.
While there were efforts to scale goETH supply, this fundamental issue would have been most effectively mitigified by initiating a new and improved testnet. The launch of Holesky testnet is expected to accommodate an approximate total of 1.4 million validators – far exceeding the current validator counts of the Ethereum mainnet and Goerli combined, providing a realistic network condition for developers and infrastructure providers to conduct trials.
The new Holesky testnet is scheduled to be launched on Sept. 15 to commemorate the first anniversary of the Merge – the significant shift of Ethereum from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake network. However, Jayanthi forewarns this does not mean the end of Ethereum’s testing environment advancements, particularly with the projected support end for Holesky in 2028. Yet, it indeed marks a significant stride towards creating an optimized network that aims to meet developer and user demands meticulously.
Source: Coindesk
