Solana’s mainnet beta network encountered a significant outage, halting block production for over an hour. The issue, attributed to an unidentified fault, resulted in various crypto exchanges like Upbit suspending deposits and withdrawals of Solana-based tokens.
On February 6, 2024, at 3:54 PM UTC, the Solana mainnet beta network experienced an outage that is still ongoing as of February 6, 2024, at 10:22 PM UTC. This has resulted in a significant impact on users and applications that rely on the Solana blockchain network. Reports suggest that some cryptocurrency exchanges have suspended deposits and withdrawals of Solana-based tokens due to this outage.
Engineers from across the Solana ecosystem are investigating the issue and working on a fix. A new validator software release (v1.17.20) has been prepared and is being distributed to validators. Once validators upgrade and restart the network, block production will resume.
It is worth noting that the Solana mainnet beta network is a separate network from the Solana mainnet network. The mainnet beta network is used for testing new features and functionality before they are deployed to the mainnet network. Unfortunately, this is the eleventh outage that the Solana mainnet beta network has experienced in the past two years.
Responding swiftly, Solana engineers and validators collaborated to diagnose and address the problem. A new validator software release (v1.17.20) containing a patch was prepared and distributed for implementation. After validators upgraded and restarted the network, block production resumed, marking an end to the outage.
Here’s a timeline of the event:
- February 6th, 10:00 UTC: Block production on Mainnet-Beta halts.
- Investigation commences: Engineers work to diagnose the issue and develop a solution.
- Patch released: Version v1.17.19 of the validator software is made available.
- Validators update and restart: Network participants implement the patch and resume operations.
- Block production resumes: Mainnet-Beta returns to normal functionality.
This incident marks the eleventh outage for Solana’s mainnet beta in two years, raising concerns about the network’s stability and reliability. Critics often point to these previous disruptions, questioning the blockchain’s suitability for large-scale adoption. However, Solana developers remain committed to improving network resilience and have made continuous efforts to enhance stability through upgrades and fixes.
Not so long ago, the PolygonScan blockchain explorer reportedly suffered an outage due to a bug on February 22. The PolygonScan outage event caught the attention of the Cryptoverse on Twitter. In spite of the robustness of blockchain technology, such outages happen occasionally disrupting blockchain production.
