Introduction
Operating as an execution layer (EL) client, Besu is responsible for validating and executing each block sent by the consensus layer (CL) client every Slot (12 seconds). Fast and effective block execution and validation are key roles of an EL. Moreover, there's a window of 1/3 * SECONDS_PER_SLOT (4 seconds) at the start of each slot for each validator to offer their local chain perspective, and attest, once per Epoch (6.4 minutes). In essence, the validating nodevalidator (CL+EL) has a 4-second interval from the slot's beginning to receive the block (gossip time), validate and execute each separate transaction on the EL, and confirm the correct head on the CL side. As such, the faster the EL can execute the block, the better, since some blocks may arrive late, even after 3.5 seconds from the slot's start, requiring the EL to execute the block as quickly as possible to earn the full attestation reward. It's important to highlight that about 85% of validators' rewards come from making attestations. With these considerations in mind, this article will focus on Besu's improvements to block processing performance.
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