Block Validation Settings

Related Topic: Block Validation Service

The Block Validation service configuration can be adjusted through environment variables or command-line flags. This section provides a comprehensive overview of all available configuration options organized by functional category.

Network and Communication Settings

Setting	Type	Default	Description	Impact
blockvalidation_grpcAddress	string	"localhost:8088"	Address that other services use to connect to this service	Affects how other services discover and communicate with the Block Validation service
blockvalidation_grpcListenAddress	string	":8088"	Network interface and port the service listens on for gRPC connections	Controls network binding and accessibility of the service

Kafka and Concurrency Settings

Setting	Type	Default	Description	Impact
kafka_blocksConfig	string	(none)	Kafka configuration for block messages	Required for consuming blocks from Kafka
blockvalidation_kafkaWorkers	int	0 (auto)	Number of Kafka consumer workers	Controls parallelism for Kafka-based block validation

Performance and Optimization

Setting	Type	Default	Description	Impact
blockvalidation_batch_missing_transactions	bool	false	When enabled, missing transactions are fetched in batches	Improves network efficiency at the cost of slightly increased latency
blockvalidation_quickValidationEnabled	bool	true	Enable quick validation for checkpointed blocks	Dramatically improves sync speed for historical blocks
blockvalidation_quickValidationCheckpointHeight	int	varies	Height below which quick validation applies	Controls which blocks use optimized validation
blockvalidation_concurrency_createAllUTXOs	int	CPU/2 (min 4)	Parallelism for UTXO creation during quick validation	Higher values improve performance but increase resource usage
blockvalidation_concurrency_spendAllTransactions	int	CPU/2 (min 4)	Parallelism for spending transactions during quick validation	Controls parallel processing during validation
blockvalidation_processTxMetaUsingCache_BatchSize	int	1024	Batch size for processing transaction metadata using cache	Affects performance and memory usage during cache operations
blockvalidation_processTxMetaUsingCache_Concurrency	int	32	Concurrency level for processing transaction metadata using cache	Controls parallel cache operations
blockvalidation_processTxMetaUsingCache_MissingTxThreshold	int	1	Threshold for switching to store-based processing when missing transactions	Controls fallback behavior when cache misses occur
blockvalidation_processTxMetaUsingStore_BatchSize	int	CPU/2 (min 4)	Batch size for processing transaction metadata using store	Affects performance during store operations
blockvalidation_processTxMetaUsingStore_Concurrency	int	32	Concurrency level for processing transaction metadata using store	Controls parallel store operations
blockvalidation_processTxMetaUsingStore_MissingTxThreshold	int	1	Threshold for store-based processing when missing transactions	Controls fallback behavior for store operations
blockvalidation_skipCheckParentMined	bool	false	Skips checking if parent block is mined during validation	Performance optimization that may reduce validation accuracy
blockvalidation_subtreeFoundChConcurrency	int	1	Concurrency level for subtree found channel processing	Controls parallel subtree processing
blockvalidation_subtree_validation_abandon_threshold	int	1	Threshold for abandoning subtree validation	Controls when to give up on problematic subtrees
blockvalidation_validateBlockSubtreesConcurrency	int	CPU/2 (min 4)	Concurrency level for validating block subtrees	Higher values improve performance but increase resource usage
blockvalidation_validation_max_retries	int	3	Maximum number of retries for validation operations	Controls resilience to transient failures
blockvalidation_validation_retry_sleep	duration	5s	Sleep duration between validation retries	Controls backoff timing for retry operations
blockvalidation_isParentMined_retry_max_retry	int	20	Maximum retries for checking if parent block is mined	Controls persistence when checking parent block status
blockvalidation_isParentMined_retry_backoff_multiplier	int	30	Backoff multiplier for parent mined check retries	Controls exponential backoff timing
blockvalidation_subtreeGroupConcurrency	int	1	Concurrency level for subtree group processing	Controls parallel processing of subtree groups
blockvalidation_blockFoundCh_buffer_size	int	1000	Buffer size for block found channel	Controls memory usage and throughput for block notifications
blockvalidation_catchupCh_buffer_size	int	10	Buffer size for catchup channel	Controls memory usage for catchup operations
blockvalidation_useCatchupWhenBehind	bool	false	Enables catchup mechanism when node is behind	Improves sync performance but increases complexity
blockvalidation_catchupConcurrency	int	CPU/2 (min 4)	Concurrency level for catchup operations	Controls parallel processing during catchup
blockvalidation_check_subtree_from_block_timeout	duration	5m	Timeout for checking subtree from block	Controls maximum wait time for subtree operations
blockvalidation_check_subtree_from_block_retries	int	5	Maximum retries for subtree from block checks	Controls resilience for subtree operations
blockvalidation_check_subtree_from_block_retry_backoff_duration	duration	30s	Backoff duration for subtree check retries	Controls timing between retry attempts
blockvalidation_secret_mining_threshold	uint32	10	Threshold for detecting secret mining attacks	Security parameter for chain reorganization detection
blockvalidation_previous_block_header_count	uint64	100	Number of previous block headers to maintain	Controls memory usage and validation depth
blockvalidation_maxPreviousBlockHeadersToCheck	uint64	100	Maximum previous block headers to check during validation	Limits validation scope for performance
blockvalidation_fail_fast_validation	bool	true	Enables fail-fast validation mode	Improves performance by stopping validation early on errors
blockvalidation_finalizeBlockValidationConcurrency	int	8	Concurrency level for finalizing block validation	Controls parallel finalization operations
blockvalidation_getMissingTransactions	int	32	Concurrency level for retrieving missing transactions	Controls parallel transaction retrieval

Transaction Processing

Setting	Type	Default	Description	Impact
blockvalidation_localSetTxMinedConcurrency	int	8	Concurrency level for marking transactions as mined	Higher values improve performance but increase memory usage
blockvalidation_missingTransactionsBatchSize	int	5000	Batch size for retrieving missing transactions	Larger batches improve throughput but increase memory usage

Bloom Filter Management

Setting	Type	Default	Description	Impact
blockvalidation_bloom_filter_retention_size	uint32	GlobalBlockHeightRetention + 2	Number of recent blocks to maintain bloom filters for	Affects memory usage and duplicate transaction detection efficiency. Automatically set based on global retention settings

Advanced Settings

Setting	Type	Default	Description	Impact
blockvalidation_optimistic_mining	bool	true	When enabled, blocks are conditionally accepted before full validation	Dramatically improves throughput at the cost of temporary chain inconsistency if validation fails
blockvalidation_invalidBlockTracking	bool	true	Track invalid blocks during validation	Prevents reprocessing of known invalid blocks
blockvalidation_validation_warmup_count	int	128	Number of validation operations during warmup	Helps prime caches and establish performance baselines
excessiveblocksize	int	4GB	Maximum allowed block size	Limits resource consumption for extremely large blocks

Storage and State Management

Setting	Type	Default	Description	Impact
blockValidationMaxRetries	int	3	Maximum retry attempts for block validation operations	Controls resilience and retry behavior for failed validation operations
blockValidationRetrySleep	duration	1s	Sleep duration between retry attempts	Controls retry timing and system load during failures
utxostore	URL	(none)	URL for the UTXO store	Required for UTXO validation and updates
fsm_state_restore	bool	false	Enables FSM state restoration	Affects recovery behavior after service restart
blockvalidation_subtreeBlockHeightRetention	uint32	(global setting)	How long to keep subtrees (in terms of block height)	Affects storage utilization and historical data availability

Validator Integration Settings

Setting	Type	Default	Description	Impact
blockValidationDelay	int	0	Delay for block validation operations in validator	Controls timing of validation operations within the validator component
blockValidationMaxRetries	int	3	Maximum retries for validator block validation operations	Controls validator-specific retry behavior for block validation
blockValidationRetrySleep	string	"1s"	Sleep duration between validator retry attempts	Controls validator retry timing and backoff behavior

Policy and Chain Configuration Dependencies

The Block Validation service depends on several chain configuration parameters that must be properly configured for difficulty calculations and block validation.