Update complete? Ethereum's new system is not very stable yet.

The Ethereum Fork has been implemented in the early days, but this does not mean that the developer can make it clear that the system update is complete.

As one of the big changes in the world's second largest blockchain, Ethereum hard fork is a risky and complex process. In order to successfully complete this transition, all nodes (computers running the system) need to install the update – an Ethereum system transition that occurs simultaneously on a global platform.

But for the Byzantine bifurcation, it's not exactly what it's going to be like.
Since software updates are released a few days before the hard fork, a significant portion of the network has not changed accordingly. In fact, the most popular Ethereum client parity wallet has 25.1% updates, 58.4% of the Geth wallet has been updated, meaning that only about 45% of the network will run the new system.

Such a short test time can also have other effects: for example, if the failure results in a DOS attack on the network, or causes incompatibility between the nodes, the software iteration will be revoked, resulting in a network split.

Therefore, some people will doubt whether the use of Ethereum is still safe, and according to the current developments, this is still a problem. For example, there are several types of software client errors on the market, and there are several even "consensus flaws" that can cause inadvertent creation of multiple ethereum blockchain.

For this reason, Gavin Wood, the main ethereum developer, told CoinDesk that he wanted to "warn" about any major project participants in the Ethereum, and wait until this update is completely stable. risk still exists

In addition to the failed nodes that have been updated, there are still potential security risks in the existing Byzantine system.

The most important and frequent common pitfalls of these pitfalls (as mentioned above), when the nodes are unable to communicate, the blockchain splits into incompatible chains, and the hidden dangers occur. Software developers are running tests to try to identify these risks, and they want to be able to find them before they are activated.

According to Wood, if this flaw does exist in the network, it will actually take some time before it appears. "I don't think anyone believes the Ethereum network will spontaneously ignite on block 4,370,000," Wood said. ”

And if there is a real problem, the next few days will become a lot clearer.
If this happens, wood is confident that the development team can quickly release debugging software to address the vulnerability, thereby avoiding excessive damage to the entire etheric system.
Despite the current system flaws, Martin Holst Swende, chief software Security developer at Ethereum, has shown that there is no need to worry.

If the consensus fork happened because of a system running an older version, he said: "They will easily fall off the chain, then the system investigates and updates the client." ”
Of course, Ethereum will no longer monitor these nodes, so if there is a defect, he will not be visible on any of the blockchain browsers. And will these flaws really be used on the old system? We may not be able to hear the news, except for what Holst Swende said about "The noise on the Reddit forum." "The lessons learned

However, according to Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin on an online forum, further tests of six to 1-2 months are required to ensure that we can assume that the Byzantine fork is completely safe.

It may be a long process for a system like Ethereum to have such a big change, but this is not to say that there is no rigorous security test before the release. Ethereum developer Afir Schoedon said in the Reddit forum that the Byzantine code had been completed a few weeks before the hard fork, and that it had basically passed all the security checks before the code flaws were discovered.

Ethereum has a series of security review processes, but there is not enough network connection time before using the automated inspection system "Fuzzer", and the Fuzzer system can pinpoint the tiniest code flaws.

This is the new Ethereum security detection program, according to the code developer Peter Szilagyi, explaining: "A further run-in and effort is needed to make it part of the workflow process." He continued: "Fuzzer will become a more organic component in the next fork preparation." ”

Fuzzer is now running to ensure the security of the Byzantine fork, and for now, no code errors have been found after the hard fork. While this experience has led some developers to conclude that more careful updating of the code is needed in the future, the Ethereum team does not seem to have re-examined their aggressive behavior with blockchain updates.

As Schoedon said: "We learn from the future of hard fork to experience, perhaps in the future we are just in all clients are ready to implement, determine a block code only." ”