Alpenglow Upgrade: Status, Timeline and Impact
Alpenglow is Solana’s next major consensus upgrade, replacing Tower BFT with two new protocols: Votor (voting) and Rotor (block production and propagation).
What changes
- Votor replaces Tower BFT for vote-based consensus
- Rotor handles block production and propagation
- Target: sub-200ms finality (down from current ~12 seconds)
Impact on developers
Developers using RPC methods related to consensus (vote accounts, slot subscriptions) should monitor for API changes. Transaction confirmation times will improve significantly.
FAQ
When is Alpenglow launching? TODO(verify): Check solana.com for the latest timeline.
Do I need to change my code? Most application code will not need changes. The RPC interface remains compatible. Bots relying on specific confirmation timing should test against the new finality speed.
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