Node Operators Guide to Upgrading and Key Changes in Archway v6.x

[emperorjm]

This guide aims to equip node operators with the most accurate information to make the transition to Archway v6.x. A number of updates have been made to the protocol which have caused some breaking changes that node operators should be aware of.

NOTE: One important reminder is to back up the private keys of your nodes. Some migrations could affect these keys, so it's crucial to ensure you can reimport your keys if any issues arise.

You should refer to the following document https://docs.archway.io/validators/becoming-a-validator/chain-upgrade for the general steps required for upgrading your node.

Keyring Migrations

The keyring holds the private/public keypairs used to interact with your node. The keyring has been refactored as of Cosmos SDK v0.46. This refactoring will require migrating your current Keyring to the newly improved solution. The migration will happen when the upgrade is executed.

NOTE: Please make sure you backup your private keys before attempting this upgrade.

Other Major Changes

Fast Index

IAVL v0.19.0 introduces a new "fast" index. It allows for faster queries and iterations. The first time the chain is started after the upgrade, this index is created. The creation process might take time. While the index is being created, node operators can observe the following in the logs: "Upgrading IAVL storage for faster queries + execution on the live state. This may take a while". The message is printed for every module that has a non-transient store. As a result, it gives a good indication of the progress of the upgrade.

Data Export

You can now export selective modules and not have to rely on exporting the entire chain. Look at archwayd export -h for more details.

Commands restructuring

There are some commands that have been restructured:

• The gentx validation cli cmd is now available under archwayd genesis validate-gentx
• The cli argument --broadcast-mode block has been removed. You can use -b sync and then archwayd q tx <txhash> to get the response.

Rosetta

The Rosetta API, as outlined in the Cosmos SDK documentation, is an open-source standard developed by Coinbase for blockchain integration. This API simplifies user interactions with blockchains, enables quicker blockchain integration by exchanges, and reduces both costs and efforts in building cross-blockchain applications, such as wallets and dapps.

Rosetta is now enabled at the protocol level.

Governance, Staking and API Changes

There are a number of API changes, along with modifications to the Governance module and some notable changes to staking. You can find these changes in the Developer Upgrade Guide.