Luganodes' Flare FTSO v2 Monitoring Tool

Introduction

At Luganodes, we are committed to building tools that empower decentralized ecosystems. As a trusted FTSO data provider for Flare, our mission is to support the reliability and security of the decentralized data feeds that power a range of decentralized applications (dApps). Flare, with its unique approach to decentralized data acquisition, is revolutionizing how data is accessed and integrated into blockchain applications.

To enhance our role in the ecosystem and support the community, Luganodes has developed the Flare FTSOv2 Monitoring Tool—a free, open-source tool designed to simplify the monitoring of the Flare FTSOv2 network. This tool provides real-time insights into the health and performance of FTSOv2 data feeds, helping data providers and developers ensure the accuracy and reliability of their data. In this article, we’ll explain what Flare is, the role of data providers within its ecosystem, the mechanisms that power it, and how the FTSOv2 Monitoring Tool fits into this picture.

What is Flare?

Flare is a EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain that takes a unique approach to expanding blockchain utility. Unlike traditional blockchains that focus primarily on asset transfers, Flare integrates decentralized data acquisition directly into its architecture. Its core objective is to provide trustless, decentralized access to external data sources at minimal cost. This makes it an ideal platform for a wide range of decentralized applications (dApps) that require access to real-time, off-chain data such as prices, blockchain states, or external API data.

Flare is built to address the data scarcity problem that many blockchain ecosystems face, offering decentralized alternatives to centralized data providers, thus enabling a wide range of blockchain use cases. Its support for EVM compatibility means Ethereum-based applications can also seamlessly integrate with Flare, benefiting from its advanced data capabilities.

Flare accomplishes this through its two key protocols: the Flare Time Series Oracle (FTSO) and the Flare Data Connector. These protocols enable decentralized data acquisition from both on-chain and off-chain sources, ensuring that data can be fetched in a secure, cost-effective, and tamper-resistant way.

• Flare FTSO: The Flare Time Series Oracle is responsible for providing decentralized data feeds across a range of assets. Unlike traditional oracles that submit full price data at intervals, FTSO uses a more efficient method by having providers submit incremental updates (called "deltas") rather than full values. This ensures that price feeds remain stable while reducing the data load on the network.
• Flare Data Connector: The Flare Data Connector is designed to handle non-changing, verifiable data, such as geographic or blockchain data from other chains. Unlike FTSO, which primarily serves price data, the Data Connector enables developers to access data from a wide range of sources outside of the Flare ecosystem.

Both protocols work together to ensure that data on the Flare network is accurate, up-to-date, and resistant to manipulation.

Concept of FTSO Data Provider

As we mentioned earlier, Luganodes is a FTSO data provider for Flare. In Flare’s ecosystem, a data provider plays a pivotal role in sourcing, validating, and submitting external data to the network. These data providers are independent entities that pull data from various sources, including centralized exchanges, decentralized exchanges (DEXs), APIs, and even other blockchains. The data they provide can range from asset prices to blockchain transaction states and beyond.

Data providers are incentivized through a staking mechanism that ties their financial stake to the reliability and accuracy of the data they submit. The more a provider stakes, the more weight their data has in the final feed, promoting a system where trustworthy providers are rewarded for accurate contributions. This staking model helps ensure that data submitted by providers is accurate and tamper-resistant.

If a provider submits faulty or manipulated data, they risk losing their staked assets, creating a financial disincentive for dishonest behavior. This incentivization mechanism is crucial in maintaining the security and integrity of the data feeds that Flare provides to its dApp developers.

The decentralized nature of Flare’s FTSO data providers is a key feature, eliminating the risks of centralization and ensuring that data feeds remain resistant to manipulation. This decentralization is critical for applications that depend on real-time data for decision-making, such as those in the DeFi space.

FTSOv2 improves upon the Flare Time Series Oracle by introducing advanced features like stake-weighted randomness for fair provider selection and enhanced security. Additionally, during periods of high market volatility, FTSOv2 incorporates a volatility incentive that temporarily increases the number of providers contributing to the price feed. This ensures that price data is updated more quickly and accurately under volatile market conditions.

FTSO v2 Monitoring Tool

As part of our commitment to enhancing the Flare ecosystem, Luganodes has developed the Flare FTSOv2 Monitoring Tool. This tool is an open-source solution designed to help data providers and developers monitor the performance of FTSOv2, ensuring that data is being submitted accurately and on time.

The FTSOv2 Monitoring Tool provides several key features to help track network performance:

• Prometheus Metrics: The tool exposes important metrics related to FTSOv2, such as the status of the RPC, the balance of submit and signature addresses, and whether transactions are being found in the specified block window. These metrics can be collected and visualized using Prometheus for real-time monitoring.

• Telegram Alerts: The tool integrates with Telegram to send alerts to a group when critical issues occur, such as an address not signing or a balance falling below a certain threshold. This allows data providers to take immediate action when issues arise.

• Customizable Setup: The FTSOv2 Monitoring Tool is highly customizable, allowing users to specify flags such as the RPC URL, submit address, and signature address. This ensures the tool can be tailored to meet the specific needs of any Flare data provider.

To install the tool, simply run the following commands:

curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Luganodes/ftsov2mon/main/install.sh | sudo bash

sudo systemctl start ftsov2mon.service

Open Source

At Luganodes, we believe in the power of community-driven innovation. That's why the FTSOv2 Monitoring Tool is open-source, freely available for anyone to use and contribute to. By making the tool open-source, we hope to foster collaboration within the Flare ecosystem and encourage improvements that benefit the entire community.

The tool’s code and documentation are available on GitHub here, where you can report issues, suggest features, or contribute code to enhance the functionality of the tool. For instance, we’re currently looking for contributions to add Slack notification alerts!

We welcome contributions from developers, data providers, and anyone interested in improving the tool. Our goal is to build a robust, community-driven tool that meets the evolving needs of the Flare ecosystem.

Conclusion

Flare is leading the way in decentralizing access to real-time, off-chain data, enabling a new generation of dApps that require trusted and accurate data feeds. As a data provider for Flare, Luganodes is proud to contribute to the network's success by ensuring the reliability and accuracy of its FTSOv2 price feeds.

The Flare FTSOv2 Monitoring Tool is an essential resource for data providers and developers within the Flare ecosystem. It provides real-time insights, customizable alerts, and metrics tracking, ensuring that FTSOv2 data feeds remain accurate and secure. With our commitment to open-source development, we invite the community to contribute to and improve this tool, making it a vital resource for all Flare stakeholders.

By using, contributing to, and enhancing this tool, you’ll be supporting the growth of the Flare ecosystem and ensuring that decentralized applications continue to thrive on trusted data.

About Luganodes

Luganodes is a world-class, Swiss-operated, non-custodial blockchain infrastructure provider that has rapidly gained recognition in the industry for offering institutional-grade services. It was born out of the Lugano Plan B Program, an initiative driven by Tether and the City of Lugano. Luganodes maintains an exceptional 99.9% uptime with round-the-clock monitoring by SRE experts. With support for 45+ PoS networks, it ranks among the top validators on Polygon, Polkadot, Sui, and Tron. Luganodes prioritizes security and compliance, holding the distinction of being one of the first staking providers to adhere to all SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and ISO 27001 standards as well as offering Chainproof insurance to institutional clients.