Ethereum Berlin Upgrade Announcement
The Berlin Upgrade: A New Era for Ethereum
After months of planning and collaboration, the Ethereum community is finally ready to deploy the Berlin upgrade, a significant improvement to the Ethereum protocol. This upgrade, which follows the Istanbul and Muir Glacier upgrades, is scheduled to go live on the Ethereum mainnet at block 12 244 000, expected to happen around Wednesday, April 15, 2021. But before the mainnet upgrade, the Berlin upgrade will be deployed on the Ropsten, Goerli, and Rinkeby testnets.
Why "Berlin"?
The name "Berlin" was chosen after Istanbul, the previous upgrade, as the community ran out of names for their planned network upgrades. It was suggested to use Devcon city names for upgrades, and they stuck with it! Berlin is where Devcon 0 took place, and the next upgrade will be called London, where Devcon 1 happened.
What's New in Berlin?
The Berlin upgrade introduces several key changes to the Ethereum protocol, including:
- EIP-2565: ModExp Gas Cost: This EIP lowers the cost of the ModExp (0x00..05) precompile, making it more efficient for certain types of transactions.
- EIP-2929: Gas cost increases for state access opcodes: This EIP increases the gas cost for SLOAD, CALL, BALANCE, EXT, and SELFDESTRUCT when used for the first time in a transaction, making it more expensive to access state data.
- EIP-2718: Typed Transaction Envelope: This EIP introduces a new transaction type that is an envelope to enable easier support for multiple transaction types.
- EIP-2930: Optional access lists: This EIP adds a transaction type which contains an access list, a list of addresses and storage keys that the transaction plans to access, mitigating some of the gas cost increases introduced by EIP-2929.
Client Versions
To be compatible with the Berlin upgrade, node operators will need to upgrade the client version that they run. The versions, listed below for each client, support Berlin across all Ethereum networks, both testnets and mainnet.
- go-ethereum (geth): 1.10.1
- OpenEthereum (f.k.a. Parity): 3.2.0
- Nethermind: 1.10.58
- Besu: 21.1.1 (Note: Besu users should upgrade to version 21.1.2 due to a bug in the 21.1.1 release)
- EthereumJS VM: v5.2.0
What Happens If I Don't Upgrade?
If you are using an Ethereum client that is not updated to the latest version (listed above), your client will sync to the pre-fork blockchain once the upgrade occurs. You will be stuck on an incompatible chain following the old rules and you will be unable to send Ether or operate on the post-upgrade Ethereum network.
What is a Network Upgrade in Ethereum-land?
A network upgrade is a change to the underlying Ethereum protocol, creating new rules to improve the system. The decentralized nature of blockchain systems makes a network upgrade more difficult. Network upgrades in a blockchain require cooperation and communication with the community, as well as with the developers of the various Ethereum clients in order for the transition to go smoothly.
What Happens During a Network Upgrade?
After the community comes to an agreement concerning which changes should be included in the upgrade, changes to the protocol are written into the various Ethereum clients, such as geth, Open Ethereum, Besu and Nethermind. The protocol changes are activated at a specific block number. Any nodes that have not been upgraded to the new ruleset will be abandoned on the old chain where the previous rules continue to exist.
Conclusion
The Berlin upgrade is a significant improvement to the Ethereum protocol, introducing several key changes to make the network more efficient and secure. Node operators should upgrade their clients to the latest version to ensure compatibility with the new protocol. The decentralized nature of blockchain systems makes network upgrades more difficult, but the Ethereum community has come together to make this transition as smooth as possible. As the Ethereum network continues to evolve, it's essential to stay up-to-date with the latest developments and upgrades to ensure a seamless experience.
Forward-Looking Thoughts
The Berlin upgrade is just the beginning of a new era for Ethereum. As the network continues to grow and evolve, we can expect to see more significant upgrades and improvements in the future. The Ethereum community is committed to making the network more efficient, secure, and accessible to everyone. With the Berlin upgrade, we're one step closer to achieving this vision.
Source: https://blog.ethereum.org/en/2021/03/08/ethereum-berlin-upgrade-announcement
