ERPC Releases Solana Leader Slot Information API
ERPC Releases Solana Leader Slot Information API
ELSOUL LABO B.V. (Headquarters: Amsterdam, Netherlands, CEO: Fumitake Kawasaki) and Validators DAO, which operate ERPC, have released a new RPC service called the “Leader Slot Information API (getLeaderSlots API).” Users holding ERPC usage credits (API tokens) can now access leader slot schedules, validator location information, and reference ping values. This makes it easier to understand Solana leader slots and apply them to strategic operations.
Background
In Solana, each slot is assigned a leader validator, which is responsible for taking in transactions and producing blocks. Detecting signals at the fastest possible timing and ensuring successful inclusion requires accurate knowledge of leader slots. In addition, knowing the physical location of validators and the ping values from one’s own environment allows for more rational design of sending strategies and resource allocation.
However, preparing such information independently requires updating data for 432,000 slots per epoch, continuously pinging all validators, and storing and aggregating the results. This demands a highly advanced data infrastructure, and building it individually has been difficult. As a result, although the theoretical importance of this information was understood, many teams could not incorporate it into practice.
Responding to repeated user requests, we have now released this new API.
API Usage Example
The Leader Slot Information API (getLeaderSlots API) can be used in the same way as standard Solana RPC methods. The following request retrieves information for 100 slots starting from the slot specified in
params.{ "jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 1, "method": "getLeaderSlots", "params": [368488568] }
The response includes leader information for the target slots, validator location data, and reference ping values (measured from the FRA endpoint where SWQoS is available).
Strategic Utilization
In general, when ping from a reference point exceeds 100ms, directly targeting that leader becomes inefficient. Cross-continent communication often exceeds 100ms, so for example, connecting from Frankfurt to a leader in New York is less efficient than leveraging resources located in New York itself, which can detect and send faster.
Furthermore, leader slots rotate globally. When switching from FRA to NY, having resources in both regions enables continuous data acquisition and minimizes detection and sending delays. Leader slot information serves as the foundation for designing such multi-region strategies.
Availability
The Leader Slot Information API (getLeaderSlots API) is already available. If you hold ERPC usage credits (API tokens), you can call it in the same way as Solana RPC methods. Please make use of it via the Validators DAO official Discord. Documentation will continue to be expanded.
- Validators DAO Official Discord: https://discord.gg/C7ZQSrCkYR
Challenges Solved by ERPC and Validators DAO
- Transaction failures and latency fluctuations common in general RPC environments
- Performance limitations imposed by many infrastructure providers
- Significant impact of network distance on communication quality
- Difficulty for smaller projects to access high-quality infrastructure
We faced the same challenges during the development of Epics DAO, an open-source Solana NFT card game project, where obtaining a high-quality and fast Solana development environment was not easy. To overcome this, we built our own platform, which now serves as the foundation for ERPC and SLV.
In financial applications in particular, delays and errors directly affect user experience. With dispersed validators and mechanisms unique to Web3, understanding the full picture of Solana development has been difficult, and many projects have struggled with latency and instability.
We are committed to providing the high-performance infrastructure that is needed, contributing to better development experience and user experience across the Solana ecosystem. Both ERPC and SLV are positioned as part of this mission.
- ERPC Official Website: https://erpc.global/en
- SLV Official Website: https://slv.dev/en
- elSOL Official Website: https://elsol.app/en
- Epics DAO Official Website: https://epics.dev/en
- Validators DAO Official Discord: https://discord.gg/C7ZQSrCkYR
