A RocksDB-based database that stores raw shreds and block metadata on the validator's disk. Blockstore indexes shreds by slot and shred index, enabling block reconstruction and historical queries. It is separate from AccountsDB—Blockstore holds the ledger history while AccountsDB holds the current state.
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A RocksDB-based database that stores raw shreds and block metadata on the validator's disk. Blockstore indexes shreds by slot and shred index, enabling block reconstruction and historical queries. It is separate from AccountsDB—Blockstore holds the ledger history while AccountsDB holds the current state.
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Think of it as part of the chain machinery that keeps ordering, execution, or consensus moving.
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Consensus, leader rotation, slots, epochs, and the runtime.
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Blockstore (blockstore) Category: Core Protocol Definition: A RocksDB-based database that stores raw shreds and block metadata on the validator's disk. Blockstore indexes shreds by slot and shred index, enabling block reconstruction and historical queries. It is separate from AccountsDB—Blockstore holds the ledger history while AccountsDB holds the current state. Related: Block, Shred, Ledger
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A set of entries produced by a leader during a single slot. A block contains transactions bundled into entries, each with a PoH hash proving ordering. Blocks are broken into shreds for network propagation via Turbine. Maximum block size is limited by compute units (48M CU cap per block) rather than byte size.
The smallest unit of block data propagated through the network via Turbine. Blocks are split into shreds of up to 1,228 bytes each (fitting in a single UDP packet). Shreds are Reed-Solomon erasure coded—typically 32 data shreds produce 32 recovery shreds—so blocks can be reconstructed even if up to half the shreds are lost.
The complete ordered history of all transactions processed by the Solana cluster. The ledger is composed of sequential blocks (one per slot), each containing entries of transactions ordered by PoH. Validators store the ledger locally in Blockstore, and warehouse nodes or Bigtable archives provide long-term historical access.
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A set of entries produced by a leader during a single slot. A block contains transactions bundled into entries, each with a PoH hash proving ordering. Blocks are broken into shreds for network propagation via Turbine. Maximum block size is limited by compute units (48M CU cap per block) rather than byte size.
An in-memory representation of the accounts state at a specific slot. Each slot gets its own Bank that inherits from its parent slot's Bank. The Bank processes transactions, updates account balances, and tracks execution results. Once a slot is complete, the Bank is frozen and can be snapshotted or used as a parent for the next Bank.
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A set of entries produced by a leader during a single slot. A block contains transactions bundled into entries, each with a PoH hash proving ordering. Blocks are broken into shreds for network propagation via Turbine. Maximum block size is limited by compute units (48M CU cap per block) rather than byte size.
The smallest unit of block data propagated through the network via Turbine. Blocks are split into shreds of up to 1,228 bytes each (fitting in a single UDP packet). Shreds are Reed-Solomon erasure coded—typically 32 data shreds produce 32 recovery shreds—so blocks can be reconstructed even if up to half the shreds are lost.
The complete ordered history of all transactions processed by the Solana cluster. The ledger is composed of sequential blocks (one per slot), each containing entries of transactions ordered by PoH. Validators store the ledger locally in Blockstore, and warehouse nodes or Bigtable archives provide long-term historical access.
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A clock mechanism that cryptographically proves the passage of time between events. PoH uses a sequential SHA-256 hash chain where each output becomes the next input, creating a verifiable ordering of events without requiring consensus. The leader produces ~400,000 hashes per slot (~400ms), and any validator can verify the sequence in parallel, enabling Solana's high throughput by removing the need for validators to agree on time.
Solana's custom BFT consensus algorithm built on top of Proof of History. Tower BFT uses PoH as a clock to reduce communication overhead in traditional PBFT from O(n²) to O(n). Validators vote on forks with exponentially increasing lockout periods—each consecutive vote doubles the lockout, making rollbacks progressively more expensive. A fork is finalized when it reaches supermajority (66.7%+ of stake).
A time window during which a designated leader validator can produce a block. Each slot lasts approximately 400 milliseconds. Slots are numbered sequentially from genesis and grouped into epochs of 432,000 slots (~2-3 days). Not every slot produces a block—a skipped slot means the leader was offline or too slow.
A set of entries produced by a leader during a single slot. A block contains transactions bundled into entries, each with a PoH hash proving ordering. Blocks are broken into shreds for network propagation via Turbine. Maximum block size is limited by compute units (48M CU cap per block) rather than byte size.