Sui Blockchain has taken a major step towards overhauling transaction processing with a major consensus update aimed at reducing latency and increasing efficiency.
summary
- Sui has upgraded its consensus engine to reduce latency.
- Transaction processing is now lighter and more efficient.
- The new transmit path reduces bandwidth and CPU usage.
Sui is rolling out a new version of its consensus engine designed to speed up transactions and reduce resource consumption without changing the way the network operates at the base layer.
This update was announced by Mysten Labs engineers on November 6th and outlined how Mysticeti v2 integrates transaction validation directly into the consensus process.
Changes in the way transactions move through the network
First enabled on the Sui (SUI) mainnet in July 2024, Mysticeti is a DAG-based consensus model built for speed and responsiveness. The goal has always been to reduce the latency between a transaction being submitted and becoming a final transaction.
Although the first version of Mysticeti improved network latency, parts of Sui’s transaction processing still relied on a separate up-front consensus validation step. While this step makes sense from a control and security standpoint, it adds extra computation and slows down the finalization of more complex transactions.
Mysticeti v2 removes that separation. Verification and consensus now occur simultaneously, eliminating redundant work and reducing the time required to confirm non-fast path transactions. This change brings the network closer to the performance level that the original Mysticeti design was aiming for, allowing it to process more transactions at once without increasing the burden on the network.
New path for sending transactions
In addition to the consensus changes, Sui also replaces the transaction submission flow. Previous quorum drivers sent all transactions to all validators and required multiple rounds of signature aggregation before ordering could begin. This protected fast path flows, but consumed a large amount of bandwidth and CPU.
The new transaction driver sends transactions to a single validator and then coordinates authentication across the network. Signatures are now batched within consensus blocks rather than being attached to individual transactions, reducing both bandwidth and computing usage.
Mysten Labs reported significant latency reductions, particularly in Asia and Europe, due to early deployment with full nodes run by the company and its partners. With node version 1.60, Mysticeti v2 and transaction drivers will be the default configuration across the network.
what happens next
Mysten Labs said its next phase of work will focus on reducing the average number of message rounds required to commit a transaction, allowing consensus blocks to be streamed more directly to full nodes, and addressing object-level “deadlock” issues that occur with certain execution patterns.
These changes aim to enhance responsiveness while maintaining the flexibility and ownership-based execution model that Sui is built on.