Solana: Really Slow RPC?
As a developer working on the popular Solana blockchain, I have encountered a frustrating issue that is affecting the performance of my application. Specifically, when I use the Wormhole Portal SDK (TS-SDK) to connect tokens between the Solana and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains, I am experiencing significantly slower than expected RPC (Remote Procedure Call) responses.
After investigating the issue, I have provided a summary of the issue and possible solutions below.
Problem
When using the Wormhole Portal SDK, the client application is responsible for making RPC calls to the Solana node. This process involves executing Rust functions that interact with the blockchain network. However, when working with a large number of transactions or complex applications, this can slow down the processing time.
As a result, my application’s response time was slower than expected, which can impact the user experience and overall application performance.
Problem
To investigate further, I reviewed the Wormhole documentation and platform settings. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that the Portal SDK is optimized for low-latency RPC responses, limiting the number of concurrent connections to a single Solana node.
While this may provide a good balance of performance and security, it can lead to increased latency when handling high traffic or complex operations. In my experience, the current implementation causes significant response time delays, especially when multiple concurrent operations are in progress.
Possible Solutions
To resolve this issue, I have explored several possible solutions:
- Optimize Portal SDK Configuration: After reviewing the Wormhole documentation, it appears that adjusting the “max_concurrency” and “timeout” parameters can help reduce latency issues.
- Use a different RPC library: Considering alternatives like the Solana RPC library (e.g. solana-rpc), you may be able to achieve faster performance and possibly better latency characteristics.
- Implement async/await patterns: Using Rust’s built-in async/await syntax, you can write asynchronous code that leverages parallel processing to improve the overall responsiveness of your application.
Conclusion
As a developer, it’s crucial to be aware of potential performance bottlenecks when integrating third-party libraries like Wormhole’s Portal SDK into your applications. By understanding the underlying limitations and exploring optimization strategies, you can mitigate slow RPC responses and improve the overall user experience.
In this case, I’ll explore further solutions to improve performance and explore alternative RPC libraries that might better suit my application’s needs. Stay tuned for updates on how I overcame this challenge!