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Are there Ethereum Master Servers that push out changes to the platform to miners?
Hi, I am trying to understand this technology a little better.
Many of us are mining Ethereum with various client software, for example Claymore. If changes are proposed to the Ethereum blockchain how is that all coordinated with the many machines that are participating on the network. Is a master password required, or backdoor into the system? What kind of software would be utilized to issue instructions to change the blockchain.
If Ethereum comes under an ASIC attack and a fork is proposed how is that actually implemented on a technical level?
https://www.coindesk.com/no-action-vitalik-opposes-plan-disable-ethereum-asics/
Many of us are mining Ethereum with various client software, for example Claymore. If changes are proposed to the Ethereum blockchain how is that all coordinated with the many machines that are participating on the network. Is a master password required, or backdoor into the system? What kind of software would be utilized to issue instructions to change the blockchain.
If Ethereum comes under an ASIC attack and a fork is proposed how is that actually implemented on a technical level?
https://www.coindesk.com/no-action-vitalik-opposes-plan-disable-ethereum-asics/
Comments
The fact that they've not been able to achieve huge efficiency gains in an ASIC is proof that the Ethash bandwidth hard ASIC resistance strategy has and is still working. This is good.
There's still much to be seen as to what these ASIC's actually are and what their capabilities are. Of greatest importance is,
1. Are they able to be reprogrammed? Bitmain aren't dumb and would have foreseen attempts to fork to some other ASIC resistant algo. Whatever these things are, they're going to have a far more complex architecture than some SHA256 chip.
2. What's their utility and resale value post POS?
3. Do they provide enough economic incentive for miners to chuck out all their GPU's?
4. Do you really want to preorder and wait until July for delivery by which time POS fork might already be announced?
5. Is it worth the core developers effort and distraction to develop yet another ASIC resistant algo when POS is so close?
All up, I completely agree with the core devs not to fork as a response to ASICs because ASIC's don't really present a systemic risk to incumbent Ethereum mining. Contrary to their original idealistic arguments, Ethereum Classic won't be forking to POS so maybe there's a post POS market there.
As for your question about 'Master Servers'. NO! There is no such thing in Ethereum. It is purely a flat P2P network. Users run and update to compliant clients such as Geth and Parity for forks to be adopted. The many 'mining clients' typically only perform and coordinate the mining functions but rely on some other full node for work.