Somnia.Network – Series of Introductory Articles
Technical Architecture Analysis: MultiStream Consensus
Somnia relies on a set of engineering innovations to achieve superior performance goals. One of the most notable of these innovations is the unique consensus mechanism known as MultiStream Consensus, which represents a radical shift from traditional blockchain designs.
In regular blockchains, transactions are processed sequentially, where all validators compete to produce one block after another, leading to a bottleneck. In Somnia, each validator maintains its own "Data Chain," where it can add blocks in parallel and continuously without waiting for the other validators. This separation between data production and consensus allows for multiple streams of transactions to be processed simultaneously, greatly increasing productivity.
To ensure the security and consistency of the network, a separate Consensus Chain operates in parallel with these data chains. This chain relies on a delegated Proof of Stake (dPoS) system inspired by the Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) system. At short and regular intervals (up to about 200 milliseconds), the consensus chain gathers the latest state from all data chains and unifies them into a single consensus block. This ensures that data from individual validator chains becomes final and legitimate only when included in the main consensus chain, maintaining the security and integrity of the network while maximizing productivity.
This innovative approach allows Somnia to scale the network with an increasing number of validators, as each new validator adds a new stream for processing transactions, preventing slowdowns even under heavy loads.