Solana Eyes 60M CU Blocks to Enhance Performance: Report

• Solana may raise Compute Unit limits from 48M to 60M to boost transaction capacity.
• Proposals focus only on Max Block Units, leaving other network limits unchanged.
• A gradual increase ensures safer scaling while preserving network performance and stability.

The Solana community is actively discussing proposals to increase the network’s Compute Unit (CU) limit, which plays a role similar to Ethereum’s gas system. CUs limit the number of operations and protect the blockchain functionality. Currently, the maximum cap is 48 million per block. However, recent proposals could increase the cap to 50 million or 60 million CUs.

Proposals Under Review

Two proposals are currently at the centre of the debate. SIMD-0207 suggests a small and safe increase to 50 million CUs, while SIMD-0256 takes a more ambitious approach, targeting a 60 million CU limit. Both aim to expand block capacity, allowing for more transactions without altering other core parameters.

These proposals only suggest increasing the Max Block Units. Limits for Max Writable Account Units (12M), Max Vote Units (36M), and Max Block Accounts Data Size Delta (100MB) remain unchanged..

Increasing the Max Block Units also holds the key to providing an adequate solution to boost the throughput levels exponentially. It allows for the confirmation of a higher number of non-voting transactions per block while maintaining Solana’s high-speed architecture. This may add more value without overburdening validators or aspects of the core architecture.

Related: Solana Expands Consumer Focus with Nikita Bier’s Appointment

Step-by-Step Upgrade

Action plans will initially start with SIMD-0207 and then move onto SIMD-0256. A smaller increase enables the assessment of performance, checking for any deviations, and confirmation of assumptions, which were very helpful in the proposal preparation. If the transition is smooth, a higher limit of 60 million CU could also be adopted. 

Some alternatives were considered during discussions. Maintaining the existing 48 million CU cap would limit performance improvements and leave potential capacity unused. On the other hand, jumping straight to 96 million CUs was seen as too bold, possibly introducing risks to the turbine protocol and existing infrastructure.

If the CU limit is increased, the number of transactions processed in a block will increase, leading to better scalability of the system. Despite this, there may be higher performing times and compatibility difficulties with the old nodes that may not recognize the new block formats. Solana’s developers the community have a long way to go in the journey to transform the vision of scalability.

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