Ethereum is set to interrupt its largest test network, Holeky, after it encountered challenges in testing the upcoming pectra upgrade.
The Ethereum Foundation (EC) said in a blog post on Tuesday that the network-controlled environment for testing Ethereum infrastructure and upgrades-will start to run, with a full shutdown expected on September 30. The recently launched Hood Test Network, which was deployed on Monday, will serve as Holeky’s replacement.
Depreciation plan comes after Holeky fell offline due to February’s defective test of Ethereums Upcoming pectra update. Developers took weeks to restore Holeky, who came back online in March, but suffered from remaining damage-so-called “inactivity leaks” that clogged Holeky’s entire validator apparatus.
“[E]Xited Validators would take about a year to fully be removed from the Validator set, “the EC explained in their blog posts.” The size of the output queue prevents Holeky from being used to test the full validator life cycle within a reasonable timeframe. “
Ethereum is running test nets so that developers can run code changes before bringing them to Ethereum’s main network (mainnet). Test networks repeat essentially Ethereum Mainnet, and they allow developer teams and infrastructure providers to test new software before being launched in a more high-stakes environment.
Holeky was specifically intended for testing Ethereum’s Validator Ecosystem – Stackers and Node Operators, which keeps the Ethereum network going. It was built to model close to real network conditions with its support for a huge 1.4 million validators-more than Goerli or even the real Ethereum network.
Currently, Holesky is used by validators and poor suppliers, but the similarly constructed hoodi network will serve this feature that goes on. Hood went live earlier this week, planning to test the pectra upgrade on March 26. Should this test continue smoothly, developers intend to push Pectra on Ethereum’s mainnet 30 days later.
“Stackers, this is your new test space,” said Tim Beiko, the Protocol Support Management at the EC, in a post on X.
Read more: Hi, Hood: Ethereum welcomes a new test network
