🧪 Phase #5 Recap – Scaling Toward Testnet Readiness

Phase #5 pushed Cortensor through its most advanced testing so far, focusing on SLA-driven routing, validator scoring, memory-aware orchestration, and ecosystem stress.

🔹 SLA-Based Node Assignment (v1)
- Session creation now supports SLA tiers (Low / Medium / High)
- NodePool selects based on Node Level with fallback logic
- More refinement done during live testing to improve routing fairness

🔹 Validator v1 + Node Level Runtime
- Validator tracked task success/failure across nodes
- Upgrade/downgrade logic applied after 10+ results
- Improved scoring precision and SLA enforcement under load

🔹 CognitiveLevel – Adaptive Node Categorization
- Miner-side logic categorized nodes by runtime performance
- Validator-side SLA enforcement validated routing decisions
- Early foundation for recursive inference and smarter orchestration

🔹 SessionPayment – Tightly Coupled Flow
- Loosely coupled, event-driven payouts validated and stable in Phase #5
- Tightly coupled Session ↔ SessionPayment integration completed
- First end-to-end payments executed directly between modules
- Further testing planned during Phase #6, including delta calculations for charging extra features

🔹 Dual Testnet Setup
- Testnet-0 (Arbitrum Sepolia): full-stack task pipeline validated
- Testnet-1 (L3 COR Rollup): ~100 miners live, L3 stress tests stable

🔹 User Task Mode Flexibility
- Dedicated Nodes: supported multi-model setups (e.g., LLaMA 3.1, DeepSeek-R1)
- Ephemeral Nodes: longer reservations + model switching tested

🔹 NodeSpec Memory Index
- Rolled out across environments, classifying nodes by system/GPU VRAM
- Enables memory-aware task routing by matching sessions to nodes that can actually load the required model
- Will be fully activated in Phase #6 / DevNet7

🔹 Hackathon #1
- Ran in parallel with Phase #5
- Builders delivered live apps: AI assistants, market/sentiment bots, decentralized oracles, Telegram bots, and more
- Entries showcased how Cortensor infra supports real-world decentralized inference

🔹 UX + Dashboard Updates
- Session creation flow updated with SLA configs
- Node stats, L3 interaction, and memory index visibility added

📊 Stats: https://dashboard-devnet6.cortensor.network/stats/heatmap/rank/table

👉 Phase #5 tightened SLA routing, validated memory-aware orchestration, and advanced SessionPayment into tightly coupled mode - all while fostering ecosystem apps via Hackathon #1. With DevNet7 prepped, we now move into Phase #6: the final development phase before Testnet.

https://x.com/cortensor/status/1962103740699398493

https://farcaster.xyz/cortensor/0xc41e7970