"Accelerator" Update: TON is transitioning to a new architecture

We are pleased to announce the completion of the "Accelerator" update, designed to ensure the stable operation of the TON blockchain under high and peak loads.

With this release, the TON technology reaches the final architecture described in the original whitepaper.

The update follows a series of recent optimizations that reduced operation finalization times to 3–5 seconds under low and moderate loads.

What has been done

Over the past six months, we have consistently finalized and tested all key stages of the update:

— Introduced partial nodes that track only part of the blockchain, rather than the entire network.

— Optimized the data transfer protocol between validators.

— Introduced a new node type: the collator.

— The test network was completely migrated to the new architecture.

The update of the main network validators is scheduled for July 28.

Key changes

— Optimization of shardchain tracking: Nodes can now track specific shardchains and the masterchain, rather than the entire network. This significantly reduces the load on the node and increases its performance.

— Separation of validator roles: A validator can be divided into two components:

1) Collator — collects transactions and forms candidate blocks;

2) Validator — verifies and confirms blocks;

This separation allows these tasks to be performed in parallel, which also improves performance.

Key benefits

— Increased overall blockchain performance — the network is capable of handling higher loads. This update does not reduce the execution time of a specific operation, but increases the overall throughput.

— Stability under high load — more stable operation execution times are expected during peak loads.

— Fast and efficient reading from the blockchain — the ability to monitor only the necessary shardchains speeds up data access and reduces resource consumption.

What's next

On July 28, validators on the main network are proposed to switch to new code that allows new functionality to be activated at any time.

Some mainnet validators are already working with a collator node, but widespread use of collators is not yet required — the blockchain is successfully handling the current load with a single shardchain.

When the load reaches a level where the mainnet will be permanently split into multiple shardchains, validators will be proposed to activate collators.