Enforce parallel evm via flag (#1425)

* (feat): implement --parallelevm.enforce to force using block-stm

* core: debug log

* docs: update docs with new flag

* update all config files

* core: modify chain import test to enforce parallel processing

builder/files/config.toml

@@ -179,6 +179,7 @@ syncmode = "full"
 # [parallelevm]
   # enable = true
   # procs = 8
+  # enforce = false
 
 # [pprof]
 #   pprof = false

core/blockchain.go

@@ -281,6 +281,7 @@ type BlockChain struct {
 	processor                    Processor // Block transaction processor interface
 	parallelProcessor            Processor // Parallel block transaction processor interface
 	parallelSpeculativeProcesses int       // Number of parallel speculative processes
+	enforceParallelProcessor     bool
 	forker                       *ForkChoice
 	vmConfig                     vm.Config
 	logger                       *tracing.Hooks
@@ -551,7 +552,7 @@ func NewBlockChain(db ethdb.Database, cacheConfig *CacheConfig, genesis *Genesis
 }
 
 // NewParallelBlockChain , similar to NewBlockChain, creates a new blockchain object, but with a parallel state processor
-func NewParallelBlockChain(db ethdb.Database, cacheConfig *CacheConfig, genesis *Genesis, overrides *ChainOverrides, engine consensus.Engine, vmConfig vm.Config, shouldPreserve func(header *types.Header) bool, txLookupLimit *uint64, checker ethereum.ChainValidator, numprocs int) (*BlockChain, error) {
+func NewParallelBlockChain(db ethdb.Database, cacheConfig *CacheConfig, genesis *Genesis, overrides *ChainOverrides, engine consensus.Engine, vmConfig vm.Config, shouldPreserve func(header *types.Header) bool, txLookupLimit *uint64, checker ethereum.ChainValidator, numprocs int, enforce bool) (*BlockChain, error) {
 	bc, err := NewBlockChain(db, cacheConfig, genesis, overrides, engine, vmConfig, shouldPreserve, txLookupLimit, checker)
 
 	if err != nil {
@@ -569,6 +570,7 @@ func NewParallelBlockChain(db ethdb.Database, cacheConfig *CacheConfig, genesis
 
 	bc.parallelProcessor = NewParallelStateProcessor(chainConfig, bc, engine)
 	bc.parallelSpeculativeProcesses = numprocs
+	bc.enforceParallelProcessor = enforce
 
 	return bc, nil
 }
@@ -604,7 +606,12 @@ func (bc *BlockChain) ProcessBlock(block *types.Block, parent *types.Header) (_
 		parallel bool
 	}
 
-	resultChan := make(chan Result, 2)
+	var resultChanLen int = 2
+	if bc.enforceParallelProcessor {
+		log.Debug("Processing block using Block STM only", "number", block.NumberU64())
+		resultChanLen = 1
+	}
+	resultChan := make(chan Result, resultChanLen)
 
 	processorCount := 0
 
@@ -631,7 +638,7 @@ func (bc *BlockChain) ProcessBlock(block *types.Block, parent *types.Header) (_
 		}()
 	}
 
-	if bc.processor != nil {
+	if bc.processor != nil && !bc.enforceParallelProcessor {
 		statedb, err := state.New(parent.Root, bc.stateCache, bc.snaps)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, nil, 0, nil, 0, err

core/blockchain_test.go

@@ -195,11 +195,14 @@ func testBlockChainImport(chain types.Blocks, blockchain *BlockChain) error {
 func TestParallelBlockChainImport(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 
-	testParallelBlockChainImport(t, rawdb.HashScheme)
+	testParallelBlockChainImport(t, rawdb.HashScheme, false)
-	testParallelBlockChainImport(t, rawdb.PathScheme)
+	testParallelBlockChainImport(t, rawdb.PathScheme, false)
+
+	testParallelBlockChainImport(t, rawdb.HashScheme, true)
+	testParallelBlockChainImport(t, rawdb.PathScheme, true)
 }
 
-func testParallelBlockChainImport(t *testing.T, scheme string) {
+func testParallelBlockChainImport(t *testing.T, scheme string, enforceParallelProcessor bool) {
 	db, _, blockchain, err := newCanonical(ethash.NewFaker(), 10, true, scheme)
 	blockchain.parallelProcessor = NewParallelStateProcessor(blockchain.chainConfig, blockchain, blockchain.engine)
 
@@ -207,6 +210,8 @@ func testParallelBlockChainImport(t *testing.T, scheme string) {
 		t.Fatalf("failed to make new canonical chain: %v", err)
 	}
 
+	// If required, enforce parallel block processing and skip serial processing completely
+	blockchain.enforceParallelProcessor = enforceParallelProcessor
 	defer blockchain.Stop()
 
 	block := blockchain.GetBlockByHash(blockchain.CurrentBlock().Hash())

core/parallel_state_processor.go

@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ import (
 type ParallelEVMConfig struct {
 	Enable               bool
 	SpeculativeProcesses int
+	Enforce              bool
 }
 
 // StateProcessor is a basic Processor, which takes care of transitioning

docs/cli/example_config.toml

@@ -181,6 +181,11 @@ devfakeauthor = false           # Run miner without validator set authorization
   period = 0           # Block period to use in developer mode (0 = mine only if transaction pending)
   gaslimit = 11500000  # Initial block gas limit
 
+[parallelevm]
+  enable = true     # Enables parallel execution using Block STM
+  procs = 8         # Number of speculative processes (cores) in Block STM
+  enforce = false   # Use only Block STM for execution and skip serial execution
+
 [pprof]
   pprof = false            # Enable the pprof HTTP server
   port = 6060              # pprof HTTP server listening port

docs/cli/server.md

@@ -66,6 +66,8 @@ The ```bor server``` command runs the Bor client.
 
 - ```parallelevm.enable```: Enable Block STM (default: true)
 
+- ```parallelevm.enforce```: Enforce block processing via Block STM (default: false)
+
 - ```parallelevm.procs```: Number of speculative processes (cores) in Block STM (default: 8)
 
 - ```pprof```: Enable the pprof HTTP server (default: false)

eth/backend.go

@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ func New(stack *node.Node, config *ethconfig.Config) (*Ethereum, error) {
 	// check if Parallel EVM is enabled
 	// if enabled, use parallel state processor
 	if config.ParallelEVM.Enable {
-		eth.blockchain, err = core.NewParallelBlockChain(chainDb, cacheConfig, config.Genesis, &overrides, eth.engine, vmConfig, eth.shouldPreserve, &config.TxLookupLimit, checker, config.ParallelEVM.SpeculativeProcesses)
+		eth.blockchain, err = core.NewParallelBlockChain(chainDb, cacheConfig, config.Genesis, &overrides, eth.engine, vmConfig, eth.shouldPreserve, &config.TxLookupLimit, checker, config.ParallelEVM.SpeculativeProcesses, config.ParallelEVM.Enforce)
 	} else {
 		eth.blockchain, err = core.NewBlockChain(chainDb, cacheConfig, config.Genesis, &overrides, eth.engine, vmConfig, eth.shouldPreserve, &config.TxLookupLimit, checker)
 	}

internal/cli/server/config.go

@@ -597,6 +597,8 @@ type ParallelEVMConfig struct {
 	Enable bool `hcl:"enable,optional" toml:"enable,optional"`
 
 	SpeculativeProcesses int `hcl:"procs,optional" toml:"procs,optional"`
+
+	Enforce bool `hcl:"enforce,optional" toml:"enforce,optional"`
 }
 
 func DefaultConfig() *Config {
@@ -794,6 +796,7 @@ func DefaultConfig() *Config {
 		ParallelEVM: &ParallelEVMConfig{
 			Enable:               true,
 			SpeculativeProcesses: 8,
+			Enforce:              false,
 		},
 	}
 }
@@ -1199,6 +1202,7 @@ func (c *Config) buildEth(stack *node.Node, accountManager *accounts.Manager) (*
 
 	n.ParallelEVM.Enable = c.ParallelEVM.Enable
 	n.ParallelEVM.SpeculativeProcesses = c.ParallelEVM.SpeculativeProcesses
+	n.ParallelEVM.Enforce = c.ParallelEVM.Enforce
 	n.RPCReturnDataLimit = c.RPCReturnDataLimit
 
 	if c.Ancient != "" {

internal/cli/server/flags.go

@@ -986,6 +986,13 @@ func (c *Command) Flags(config *Config) *flagset.Flagset {
 		Value:   &c.cliConfig.ParallelEVM.SpeculativeProcesses,
 		Default: c.cliConfig.ParallelEVM.SpeculativeProcesses,
 	})
+	f.BoolFlag(&flagset.BoolFlag{
+		Name:    "parallelevm.enforce",
+		Usage:   "Enforce block processing via Block STM",
+		Value:   &c.cliConfig.ParallelEVM.Enforce,
+		Default: c.cliConfig.ParallelEVM.Enforce,
+	})
+
 	f.Uint64Flag(&flagset.Uint64Flag{
 		Name:    "dev.gaslimit",
 		Usage:   "Initial block gas limit",

internal/cli/server/testdata/default.toml

@@ -185,6 +185,7 @@ devfakeauthor = false
 [parallelevm]
   enable = true
   procs = 8
+  enforce = false
 
 [pprof]
   pprof = false

miner/worker_test.go

@@ -973,7 +973,7 @@ func BenchmarkBorMiningBlockSTMMetadata(b *testing.B) {
 	db2 := rawdb.NewMemoryDatabase()
 	back.genesis.MustCommit(db2, triedb.NewDatabase(db2, triedb.HashDefaults))
 
-	chain, _ := core.NewParallelBlockChain(db2, nil, back.genesis, nil, engine, vm.Config{}, nil, nil, nil, 8)
+	chain, _ := core.NewParallelBlockChain(db2, nil, back.genesis, nil, engine, vm.Config{}, nil, nil, nil, 8, false)
 	defer chain.Stop()
 
 	// Ignore empty commit here for less noise.

packaging/templates/mainnet-v1/archive/config.toml

@@ -169,6 +169,11 @@ gcmode = "archive"
     # period = 0
     # gaslimit = 11500000
 
+# [parallelevm]
+  # enable = true
+  # procs = 8
+  # enforce = false
+
 # [pprof]
 #   pprof = false
 #   port = 6060

packaging/templates/mainnet-v1/sentry/sentry/bor/config.toml

@@ -168,6 +168,11 @@ syncmode = "full"
     # period = 0
     # gaslimit = 11500000
 
+# [parallelevm]
+  # enable = true
+  # procs = 8
+  # enforce = false
+
 # [pprof]
 #   pprof = false
 #   port = 6060

packaging/templates/mainnet-v1/sentry/sentry/bor/pbss_config.toml

@@ -170,6 +170,11 @@ syncmode = "full"
     # period = 0
     # gaslimit = 11500000
 
+# [parallelevm]
+  # enable = true
+  # procs = 8
+  # enforce = false
+
 # [pprof]
 #   pprof = false
 #   port = 6060

packaging/templates/mainnet-v1/sentry/validator/bor/config.toml

@@ -170,6 +170,11 @@ syncmode = "full"
     # period = 0
     # gaslimit = 11500000
 
+# [parallelevm]
+  # enable = true
+  # procs = 8
+  # enforce = false
+
 # [pprof]
 #   pprof = false
 #   port = 6060

packaging/templates/mainnet-v1/sentry/validator/bor/pbss_config.toml

@@ -172,6 +172,11 @@ syncmode = "full"
     # period = 0
     # gaslimit = 11500000
 
+# [parallelevm]
+  # enable = true
+  # procs = 8
+  # enforce = false
+
 # [pprof]
 #   pprof = false
 #   port = 6060

packaging/templates/mainnet-v1/without-sentry/bor/config.toml

@@ -170,6 +170,11 @@ syncmode = "full"
     # period = 0
     # gaslimit = 11500000
 
+# [parallelevm]
+  # enable = true
+  # procs = 8
+  # enforce = false
+
 # [pprof]
 #   pprof = false
 #   port = 6060

packaging/templates/mainnet-v1/without-sentry/bor/pbss_config.toml

@@ -171,6 +171,11 @@ syncmode = "full"
     # period = 0
     # gaslimit = 11500000
 
+# [parallelevm]
+  # enable = true
+  # procs = 8
+  # enforce = false
+
 # [pprof]
 #   pprof = false
 #   port = 6060

packaging/templates/testnet-amoy/archive/config.toml

@@ -168,6 +168,11 @@ gcmode = "archive"
     # period = 0
     # gaslimit = 11500000
 
+# [parallelevm]
+  # enable = true
+  # procs = 8
+  # enforce = false
+
 # [pprof]
 #   pprof = false
 #   port = 6060

packaging/templates/testnet-amoy/sentry/sentry/bor/config.toml

@@ -167,6 +167,11 @@ syncmode = "full"
     # period = 0
     # gaslimit = 11500000
 
+# [parallelevm]
+  # enable = true
+  # procs = 8
+  # enforce = false
+
 # [pprof]
 #   pprof = false
 #   port = 6060

packaging/templates/testnet-amoy/sentry/sentry/bor/pbss_config.toml

@@ -168,6 +168,11 @@ syncmode = "full"
     # period = 0
     # gaslimit = 11500000
 
+# [parallelevm]
+  # enable = true
+  # procs = 8
+  # enforce = false
+
 # [pprof]
 #   pprof = false
 #   port = 6060

packaging/templates/testnet-amoy/sentry/validator/bor/config.toml

@@ -169,6 +169,11 @@ syncmode = "full"
     # period = 0
     # gaslimit = 11500000
 
+# [parallelevm]
+  # enable = true
+  # procs = 8
+  # enforce = false
+
 #   pprof = false
 #   port = 6060
 #   addr = "127.0.0.1"

packaging/templates/testnet-amoy/sentry/validator/bor/pbss_config.toml

@@ -170,6 +170,11 @@ syncmode = "full"
     # period = 0
     # gaslimit = 11500000
 
+# [parallelevm]
+  # enable = true
+  # procs = 8
+  # enforce = false
+
 #   pprof = false
 #   port = 6060
 #   addr = "127.0.0.1"

packaging/templates/testnet-amoy/without-sentry/bor/config.toml

@@ -169,6 +169,11 @@ syncmode = "full"
     # period = 0
     # gaslimit = 11500000
 
+# [parallelevm]
+  # enable = true
+  # procs = 8
+  # enforce = false
+
 # [pprof]
 #   pprof = false
 #   port = 6060

packaging/templates/testnet-amoy/without-sentry/bor/pbss_config.toml

@@ -170,6 +170,11 @@ syncmode = "full"
     # period = 0
     # gaslimit = 11500000
 
+# [parallelevm]
+  # enable = true
+  # procs = 8
+  # enforce = false
+
 # [pprof]
 #   pprof = false
 #   port = 6060