The update features a licensing scheme, a new data crawler, anchoring functionality and other critical improvements.

The most recent network update from Waves Enterprise features several major enhancements.

Licensing

Firstly, we are introducing licensing for Waves Enterprise proprietary technologies. Any newly-created private network will be able to operate in test mode without a license until reaching block height 30,000, which roughly corresponds to a two-week period. After that, a license must be purchased to continue operation.

The following types of license are available:

• Trial license for testing the platform and technology
• Commercial license
• Non-commercial license
• Mainnet license, valid only for use of technology on the Waves Enterprise mainnet. This is free but requires the node to hold a certain amount of WEST tokens in its balance.

Licenses can be purchased for a one- or two-year period, as well as for indefinite use. In future, the option of renting a license for the period of use will also be added. Upon license expiration, the node will no longer be able to create transactions, but will still be able to read data.

Dramatic increase in containerized smart contract speeds

Version 1.2 also sees an updated protocol for communication between a node and a container holding a smart contract. The REST communication protocol has been replaced with binary gRPC, enabling an increase in contract execution speeds of up to 70 times. As a result, business processes involving an industrial load of billions of transactions per year can now be served.

Data crawler

Another element of the update is a new data crawler — a tool responsible for transporting data from the blockchain to another service. Thanks to a revamped engine, the new crawler works faster and is more stable and user-friendly. Detailed description of errors facilitates deployment and adjustment of the data crawler.

Private data exchange in the client

Waves Enterprise corporate client now fully supports working with private data within the interface. Previously, this functionality was available only through node API. Private data exchange with the blockchain can now be conducted via a convenient interface, which also facilitates the creation and editing of groups for sending/receiving private data. The private data exchange option is available only to node owners.

Anchoring

The update also features anchoring functionality, which enables interconnection of two or more networks, so that data written to one blockchain can be copied to others. As a result, the level of decentralization increases, thereby increasing data security.

Our solution offers anchoring between Waves-like networks, such as Waves Platform and Waves Enterprise, and private networks based on Waves technology, facilitating higher transaction speeds than Bitcoin-powered anchoring solutions.

Anchoring functionality can be turned on in the configuration file of any node, as well as in the Waves Enterprise client app. You can find out more about the anchoring interface here.

Other improvements

Version 1.2 also sees a revamped admin interface for the authorization service. User addition and account creation are now available in a single interface. Integration of user management systems has also become more convenient.

In addition, the node nucleus has been optimized, including mechanisms for block creation and network layer operation. The level of resources required for maintaining the same throughput has consequently been cut in half. In turn, this will lead to reduced operational costs and hardware requirements.

Finally, we have updated our documentation, making the versioning option available.