Monthly Development Update – December 2023

The December release of Bee 1.18.2 upgrades the previous version by improving sync intervals for nodes to collect missing chunks and stabilises CPU usage. Additionally, it features various bug fixes, UX improvements, enhanced dashboards for better network observability, and a detailed write-up of Swarm specifications to aid in understanding and possible new client development.

The Research Track successfully concluded Phases 3 and 4 of the storage incentives roadmap, enhancing system security and network decentralisation. Erasure codes are currently in the testnet phase, with plans for a mainnet release.

The UI in the Fairdrive Web App has been updated, with a separation between the main and development login methods. The main app now uses Metamask authentication for new users, while the development app retains full functionality.

Swarm also has a new website and there’s a new dedicated subpage for Swarm Research Papers.

The documentation includes a new section on erasure coding and a new guide on starting a blog on Swarm. In addition, four new blogs are available for reading, including the recap of the Swarm 2.0 event.

Don’t forget that the next Swarm Community Call is on 25 January at 17:00 CET. Save the date and stay on track with all the latest news in Swarm.

Tracks

Bee Track

• Release 1.18.2 is out, building upon the previous release:
  • The sync intervals are re-synced so that nodes can collect any potentially missing chunks from the network.
  • The initial syncing a node performs to collect missing chunks from peers (historical syncing) is now rate limited to lower and stabilise CPU usage.
  • Puller historical syncing is now rate-limited to not exceed 500 chunks/second.
  • Other various bug fixes & UX improvements.
• Dashboards have been enhanced, providing better network observability regarding data & network availability, and latency.

Research Track

• Ph3 and Ph4 are released and after some weeks are continuing to perform as expected, which brings about a new level of security and decentralisation to the system.
• The Swarm specifications have been delivered and published which bring us another step closer to being able to independently recreate and understand Swarm.
• The erasure codes are on the testnet and we will be gearing up for the 2.0 release to mainnet after we get community testing feedback and due process.

JS Track

Bee-JS

• Released 6.7.0
  • Adds Utils function for calculating effective capacity
• Staged erasure coding support

Swarm-CLI

• Staged erasure coding support

Bee Dashboard

• Released 0.25.0
  • Improves UX on postage stamp creation screen
  • Improves UX for stamp dilute and top-up

Swarm Desktop

• Released 0.36.0
  • Updates to Bee 1.18
  • Updates to Bee Dashboard 0.25.0
  • Adds Etherjot as a demo application

Gateway Proxy

• Released 0.10.0
  • Adds address remapping (REMAP) feature
• Released 0.11.0
  • Adds CID support to allowlist feature

Ecosystem

Fair Data Protocol

Fairdrive Web App

• UI improvements such as search bar, in-folder sort & list button
• Now the main and development apps have a different login method. The main app only uses Metamask authentication for newcomers, and the development app has the full functionality.
• Other changes and enhancements.

fdp-storage

• New release with v0.17.0.

Create account page

• Added zkEVM as a network option.
• Other activities.

Fairos-dfs

• Updates and improvements.
• Release candidates are strong, a new version coming soon.

Fdp-contracts

• New js library release: fdp-contracts-js-lib: v3.10.0

DevOps

• Deployed Bee 1.18.2 to testnet and mainnet.
• Released multiple versions of Beekeeper (latest 0.15.1).

DevRel

General

• The new ethswarm.org website has been published.
• The new Swarm Research Papers subpage was published.
• Swarm Network Dashboard, showcasing vital insights into key metrics, was published.

Docs update

• New section on erasure coding has been added to the documentation explaining the key concepts and usage of this newly added feature.
• The /bzz and /bytes endpoints in the API reference docs have been updated with the changes related to erasure coding.
• A new section on how to start a blog on Swarm has been published.

Workshops

• Decentralise Your Blog: A Guide to Censorship-Resistant Blogging
• How to set up a private Swarm gateway

Content

• Swarm Community Call, 30 November – Recap
• Monthly Development Update – November 2023
• State of the Network: November
• Swarm 2.0: Swarm is production ready, time to build

People & Culture team:

• Join the team creating the future of decentralised storage and communication. The Swarm Foundation currently has multiple open positions. We are hiring a Software Engineer (Go, blockchain), Senior Software Engineer (Go, blockchain), QA Engineer (Go, blockchain) and a Grant Manager
• Find out more on our career page https://www.ethswarm.org/jobs or simply drop us a message: talent@ethswarm.org!

Events:

Swarm 2.0 - #generate freedom: the annual winter solstice event

• The Swarm 2.0 virtual event was held on 21 December, unveiling the production ready network. You can read a recap blog post about the event here.

Upcoming events

Swarm Community Call – 25 January 2024

• The first Swarm Community Call of the year is coming up on 25 January – add to calendar. Join us for our monthly call on Discord to stay fully informed! You may also submit your questions for the AMA segment upfront here.