Geo-Aware Leader Schedule
This study evaluates SIMD-0675, a geo-aware leader schedule for Solana. It reorders the stake-weighted random schedule so that consecutive leaders are geographically close, which cuts handoff latency. No validator’s number of leader windows changes. Two parameters are tuned: STAKE_FLOOR (σ), the stake fraction that sets each location’s compatibility radius, and RUN_LENGTH (γ), the size of the contiguous blocks of compatible leaders. They are tested on 6,250 synthetic Monte Carlo networks built on today’s 124 validator locations. The handoff gain levels off quickly as γ grows, while the risks keep rising: leaders concentrating in one region, and validators declaring fake locations. The study recommends σ ≈ 10%, the highest value that keeps Asia’s bins local, and γ between 3 and 7 (about 29 ms mean gain over random at γ = 7). These conclusions depend on today’s geography.
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