SLV v0.9.902 Released: Richat Adopted as the Default for Solana Geyser gRPC Node Deployment, Improving Latency and Stability

ELSOUL LABO B.V. (Headquarters: Amsterdam, the Netherlands; CEO: Fumitake Kawasaki), together with Validators DAO, announces the release of SLV v0.9.902, an open-source platform for operating Solana validators and related infrastructure.

In this release, the default configuration for deploying Geyser gRPC nodes has been updated. SLV now adopts richat—an open-source streaming platform developed by Lamports Dev—as the standard implementation, replacing the previously used Yellowstone-based official Geyser plugins. As a result, newly deployed Geyser gRPC nodes built with SLV achieve significantly improved delivery latency and reduced variability caused by time-of-day and load conditions.

Geyser gRPC serves as a critical interface for accessing real-time blockchain events on Solana, including transactions, accounts, and slots. However, its performance is not determined solely by whether a gRPC endpoint is enabled.

In real-world operation, clear differences in latency and stability arise depending on the chosen Geyser plugin implementation, the structure of the streaming path from ingestion to delivery, and the design of internal buffering and deduplication mechanisms. These differences manifest not only in average latency, but also as time-based and network-dependent variability, directly affecting application reliability and operational quality.

SLV is designed to share the research outcomes obtained through real-world Solana operations by ERPC and Validators DAO in a reproducible, open-source form. For Geyser gRPC nodes, SLV had previously been built around Yellowstone-based official plugins that are widely used in production environments.

Through continuous research and evaluation, however, it became clear that Richat exhibits superior delivery characteristics, particularly in configurations handling multiple streaming sources and under high-load conditions. In SLV v0.9.902, these findings are reflected by adopting Richat as the default configuration for deploying Geyser gRPC nodes.

This change does not negate prior configurations. Rather, it represents a selection of a more suitable implementation based on observed behavior in real-world operations.

Richat: https://github.com/lamports-dev/richat

By making Richat the default, Geyser gRPC nodes deployed with SLV benefit from improved organization of delivery paths and reduced redundant processing, leading to greater overall streaming stability. This makes it easier to suppress latency spikes during peak load and to minimize behavioral variance across regions and time zones.

These improvements align with the design principles used in ERPC’s commercially operated Geyser gRPC endpoints. With SLV, developers and operators can now evaluate and build configurations that follow the same fundamental approach.

With the adoption of richat, SLV can now support configurations that consider QUIC-based streaming in addition to traditional gRPC delivery. Richat is designed with high-throughput, low-latency streaming over QUIC in mind, expanding the range of available delivery options depending on application requirements.

Details on QUIC-based delivery configurations and quick-start guides will be provided separately after further research, evaluation, and validation.

SLV aims to contribute to the overall improvement of operational quality across the Solana ecosystem by openly sharing configurations and decisions validated through daily operations at ERPC and Validators DAO, rather than keeping them as black boxes.

While ERPC operates as a commercially optimized and managed service, SLV serves as a reproducible open-source platform that reflects those research outcomes. The two coexist in a mutually reinforcing relationship.

By using SLV v0.9.902, operators can deploy Geyser gRPC nodes with lower latency and greater stability compared to previous configurations. We encourage you to try the latest SLV release for proof-of-concept setups, evaluation environments, and independent operations.

Feedback on SLV and consultations regarding Geyser gRPC node deployment are available via the Validators DAO official Discord.