Details on the Feb 5th update

[martinf]

We are all excited about the upcoming release of 12.1. I have a number of points I'd like some clarification on regarding the upgrade process, specifically for a masternode:

1. Will there be a simle "one-click-upgrade" like moomoocow's "dashman update"?
2. If not 1), will sentinel be integrated part, rather than the standalone app it is not (I think this has been answered yes before)
3. Details on the masternode payment
   1. The 12.1 Announcement states "Enforcement will be turned off for this network upgrade, meaning nodes running the old version of the Dash software (12.0) will quickly stop being paid (contingent on miners upgrading).". I'm confused. Doesn't 'enforcement off' mean that old nodes still get payed?
   2. Is the following correct? Miners on 12.1 will only pay masternodes on 12.1

Basically what I try to understand is exactly how quick I need to be with updating my masternode in order to not miss out on any payment.
There are a number of possibilities:

1. Minutes/seconds after the binaries hit dash.org - As soon as the first masternode hit 12.1 only 12.1 nodes will be payed. The first movers will be happy as they are likely to get multiple payments the first number of blocks.
2. Few hours - There is no gain in upgrading to 12.1 before the first miners. The 12.0 masternodes will be paid as long as the vast majority of the miners are on 12.0 (except perhaps for the small amount a lucky minor 12.1 miner may pay out)
3. Few days - Enforcement will be turned off at least a few days so all masternodes will be paid within this period regardless of version.

Either way I guess worst case scenario is that I would miss a day or two compared to normal income. But if it's a race on the minutes I guess there could be a potential upside if one is much quicker than the average masternode operator.

Thanks,

 

[moocowmoo]

Will there be a simle "one-click-upgrade" like moomoocow's "dashman update"?

Yes. I'm working on updating dashman now for the 12.1 release.
For most installs it should be as simple as

dashman sync update

If not 1), will sentinel be integrated part, rather than the standalone app it is not (I think this has been answered yes before)

sentinel is just a python script that gets invoked by cron every 2 minutes. Pretty much every linux box is already ready to run it.
The only possible migration issue is ram constraint. dashd will have larger memory usage. A minimum of 1G ram is required.

Details on the masternode payment
The 12.1 Announcement states "Enforcement will be turned off for this network upgrade, meaning nodes running the old version of the Dash software (12.0) will quickly stop being paid (contingent on miners upgrading).". I'm confused. Doesn't 'enforcement off' mean that old nodes still get payed?
Is the following correct? Miners on 12.1 will only pay masternodes on 12.1

When enforcement is turned off, miners can mint any type of blocks they wish.
Sometimes some miners choose to take all the rewards for themselves.
Miners on 12.0 will either pay nobody, or 12.0 masternodes.
Miners on 12.1 will either pay nobody, or 12.1 masternodes.

Basically what I try to understand is exactly how quick I need to be with updating my masternode in order to not miss out on any payment.

The best course of action for the network is for everyone to update immediately.
The best course of action for the masternode owner depends on their place in the payment queue.

If your node is in the selection queue, you may want to leave it on 12.0 and hope that an honest 12.0 miner chooses to pay you.
But, with enforcement off, your reward may be taken by an unscrupulous miner.
If you migrate to 12.1 immediately, you run the same risk, but help to make the transition quicker by motivating others to do so as well.

The faster we have a majority migration, the faster enforcement can be re-enabled, which benefits both masternode owners and the network whole.

There are a number of possibilities:
Minutes/seconds after the binaries hit dash.org - As soon as the first masternode hit 12.1 only 12.1 nodes will be payed. The first movers will be happy as they are likely to get multiple payments the first number of blocks.
Few hours - There is no gain in upgrading to 12.1 before the first miners. The 12.0 masternodes will be paid as long as the vast majority of the miners are on 12.0 (except perhaps for the small amount a lucky minor 12.1 miner may pay out)
Few days - Enforcement will be turned off at least a few days so all masternodes will be paid within this period regardless of version.

Either way I guess worst case scenario is that I would miss a day or two compared to normal income. But if it's a race on the minutes I guess there could be a potential upside if one is much quicker than the average masternode operator.

Considering the block discovery rate and the total number of masternodes, there will be no significant gain in payments regardless of the migration schedule any masternode chooses.
There are just too many masternodes and too few blocks per day.
Migrating quickly is the best option for everybody.

My advice: if you're not in the payment queue, migrate. Otherwise, wait at most 24 hours.

 

[martinf]

@moocowmoo Excellent! Thanks for the elaborate response!

 

[moocowmoo]

@moocowmoo Excellent! Thanks for the elaborate response!

You're welcome. Having been through many network updates, it's a pretty easy question to answer.