Hiero Block Node v0.26.0 delivers full verification support for Consensus Node 0.69.0 protobuf changes, enabling seamless block validation against the latest HAPI version. This release also introduces Maven Central publishing for Block Node plugins, making it easier for developers to integrate and consume Block Node components in their projects. The backfill plugin received a major refactor, significantly reducing server status requests and improving edge case handling when Block Nodes start with empty stores.
Infrastructure and tooling improvements include Helm chart support for host networking in Kubernetes deployments, k6 load testing integration with CI, and comprehensive new documentation covering cloud deployment guides, conceptual overviews, and single-node Kubernetes setup. The S3 archive plugin now correctly handles upload task retries, and the LongRange utility has been hardened to properly handle empty ranges.
This release also brings significant dependency upgrades including PBJ compiler 0.13.x, Helidon 4.3.3, gRPC 1.78.0, and Netty 4.2.9, ensuring the Block Node stays current with the broader ecosystem while maintaining stability and performance.
Breaking Changes
Version 0.25.0 GA was skipped. Consensus Node 0.69.0 introduced breaking changes to the block stream protobuf and CN-BN communication protocol. These issues were resolved in CN 0.70.0, so we held the Block Node release until compatibility was restored.
Compatibility Matrix
| Block Node Version | Consensus Node Version |
|---|---|
| 0.24.2 | up to 0.68.4 |
| 0.26.0 | 0.70.x+ |
Operators should upgrade their Consensus Nodes to 0.70.x or newer before deploying Block Node v0.26.0.
What's Changed
⭐ New Features
- chore: publish plugins to maven central by @mustafauzunn in #1956
🚀 Enhancements
- feat: Add logic for greedy backfill by @Nana-EC in #1887
- feat(verification): Changes to Support
0.69.0CN Protobuf and Produced blocks by @AlfredoG87 in #1993
🐛 Bug Fixes
- fix: Fix NoSuchElement case on greedy backfill in empty store by @Nana-EC in #1933
- fix(backfill): Backfill Logic refactor to reduce serverStatus requests to the absolute necessary and on-demand edge case fix by @AlfredoG87 in #1952
- fix(backfill): Backfill edge cases when BN has empty store. by @AlfredoG87 in #1986
- fix(s3-archive): Fixed multiple uploadTask attempts both when range available and unavailable by @AlfredoG87 in #2003
🔨 Tests
- fix: api-tests timeout issue by @AlfredoG87 in #1912
- test: Add CI Support for
k6by @ata-nas in #1935 - chore: fix k6 plugin names by @mustafauzunn in #1978
- test: Refactor Existing
k6Tests to Measure Accurately by @ata-nas in #2012
📝 Documentation
- docs(hiero-block-node): add Hiero Block Node Cloud Deployment Guide by @deshmukhpranali in #1911
- docs: change behind handling in publish protocol to not end stream by @jsync-swirlds in #1920
- docs(block-node): add Block Node conceptual overview by @deshmukhpranali in #1918
- docs: Define an approach for building and shipping block node containers without all plugins by @mustafauzunn in #1927
- docs: 1701 document single node k8s deployment by @Nana-EC in #1877
- docs(block-node): Add hyperlinks to Block Node deployment guides by @deshmukhpranali in #1988
- fix(docs/block-node): fixes image path for block node network architecture by @deshmukhpranali in #1987
🔧 Improvements
- feat(helm): Add support for host networking to the block-node-server stateful set by @AlfredoG87 in #1946
- chore(tools): Update default config to match BN server to
network-capacity-toolby @AlfredoG87 in #1873 - refactor(backfill): Backfill Plugin Major Refactor And Improvements by @AlfredoG87 in #2006
- chore:
LongRangeDoes Not Support Empty Range by @ata-nas in #1982
⬆️ Dependency Upgrades
- build(deps): bump step-security/harden-runner from 2.13.2 to 2.13.3 by @dependabot[bot] in #1921
- build(deps): bump actions/setup-node from 6.0.0 to 6.1.0 by @dependabot[bot] in #1923
- build(deps): bump com.hedera.pbj.pbj-compiler from 0.12.5 to 0.12.10 by @dependabot[bot] in #1916
- build(deps): bump actions/setup-java from 5.0.0 to 5.1.0 by @dependabot[bot] in #1934
- build(deps): bump protobufVersion from 4.33.1 to 4.33.2 in /hiero-dependency-versions by @dependabot[bot] in #1945
- build(deps): bump step-security/harden-runner from 2.13.3 to 2.14.0 by @dependabot[bot] in #1955
- build(deps): bump peter-evans/create-pull-request from 7.0.9 to 8.0.0 by @dependabot[bot] in #1954
- build(deps): bump codecov/codecov-action from 5.5.1 to 5.5.2 by @dependabot[bot] in #1953
- build(deps): bump actions/checkout from 6.0.0 to 6.0.1 by @dependabot[bot] in #1924
- build(deps): bump actions/checkout from 6.0.0 to 6.0.1 by @dependabot[bot] in #1967
- build(deps): bump step-security/harden-runner from 2.13.2 to 2.14.0 by @dependabot[bot] in #1970
- chore(pbj): Upgrading PBJ to 0.13.1 by @AlfredoG87 in #1981
- build(deps): bump io.netty:netty-bom from 4.2.7.Final to 4.2.8.Final in /hiero-dependency-versions by @dependabot[bot] in #1971
- build(deps): bump mockitoVersion from 5.20.0 to 5.21.0 in /hiero-dependency-versions by @dependabot[bot] in #1972
- build(deps): bump actions/setup-node from 6.0.0 to 6.1.0 by @dependabot[bot] in #1966
- build(deps): bump actions/upload-artifact from 5.0.0 to 6.0.0 by @dependabot[bot] in #1968
- build(deps): bump actions/setup-java from 5.0.0 to 5.1.0 by @dependabot[bot] in #1969
- build(deps): bump docker/setup-buildx-action from 3.11.1 to 3.12.0 by @dependabot[bot] in #1994
- build(deps): bump step-security/git-auto-commit-action from 6.0.2 to 7.1.0 by @dependabot[bot] in #2000
- build(deps): bump helidonVersion from 4.3.2 to 4.3.3 in /hiero-dependency-versions by @dependabot[bot] in #1997
- build(deps): bump org.hiero.gradle.build from 0.6.3 to 0.6.4 by @dependabot[bot] in #1995
- build(deps): bump io.netty:netty-bom from 4.2.8.Final to 4.2.9.Final in /hiero-dependency-versions by @dependabot[bot] in #1996
- build(deps): bump testContainersVersion from 1.21.3 to 1.21.4 in /hiero-dependency-versions by @dependabot[bot] in #1998
- build(deps): bump grpcIoVersion from 1.77.0 to 1.78.0 in /hiero-dependency-versions by @dependabot[bot] in #2001
- build(deps): bump com.google.cloud:libraries-bom from 26.72.0 to 26.73.0 in /hiero-dependency-versions by @dependabot[bot] in #1999
- build(deps): bump org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-api from 6.0.1 to 6.0.2 in /hiero-dependency-versions by @dependabot[bot] in #2016
- build(deps): bump com.hedera.pbj.pbj-compiler from 0.13.1 to 0.13.3 by @dependabot[bot] in #2024
- build(deps): bump protobufVersion from 4.33.2 to 4.33.4 in /hiero-dependency-versions by @dependabot[bot] in #2025
- build(deps): bump daggerVersion from 2.57.2 to 2.58 in /hiero-dependency-versions by @dependabot[bot] in #2026
- build(deps): bump actions/setup-node from 6.1.0 to 6.2.0 by @dependabot[bot] in #2021
- build(deps): bump step-security/google-github-auth from 3.0.0 to 3.0.1 by @dependabot[bot] in #2010
Full Changelog: v0.24.2...v0.26.0