Cardano Node 11.1.0 Prepares for Dijkstra and Removes Legacy Tracing

Cardano node 11.1.0 was released on August 21 with infrastructure changes preparing the network software for the Dijkstra era. The update improves transaction processing, Plutus validation and node operations while requiring node operators using legacy tracing or the LMDB storage backend to migrate their configurations.

Cardano Node 11.1.0 Advances Dijkstra Infrastructure

Cardano node is the core software used to validate blocks, relay transactions and maintain a synchronized copy of the Cardano ledger. Stake pool operators use it for block production and relay infrastructure, while developers rely on its interfaces to submit transactions, query network state and test applications handling ADA.

According to the official release notes, version 11.1.0 continues the technical groundwork for the Dijkstra hard fork, Cardano’s next major ledger era following van Rossem. The update includes more efficient transaction forwarding between peers, mempool snapshots designed to remain fast as transaction volume increases and quicker validation of Plutus scripts.

The release also introduces initial network and consensus support for Ouroboros Peras. The functionality is disabled by default and remains behind the experimental NodeToNodeV_16 protocol version.

Peras is designed to reduce transaction settlement time through additional voting certificates layered over Cardano’s existing Ouroboros consensus. It is assigned to the second phase of the Dijkstra roadmap, separate from the first phase centered on Linear Leios, Nested Transactions and a new ledger era.

Legacy Tracing and LMDB Require Operator Migration

Cardano node 11.1.0 completes the removal of the former iohk-monitoring-framework tracing system. The newer tracing architecture is now the only version included, and configurations that still reference legacy monitoring keys must be migrated.

Cardano tracer has also dropped the discontinued RTView component, while its optional metrics interface now follows the Prometheus wire format more closely.

LedgerDB V1 and the LMDB storage backend have also been removed. Operators using LMDB must move to another supported storage option, with Cardano’s newer LedgerDB V2 architecture using an LSM-based backend for on-disk UTxO storage.

Ledger snapshots are now generated predictably and in a format compatible with Mithril. This allows snapshots created by different nodes to be compared and shared more reliably while supporting faster, independently verifiable synchronization.

The Mithril signer binary is also included in the x86_64 Linux release package, reducing the number of separate components required when configuring participation in Mithril signing.

Cardano Node 11.1.0 Remains in Pre-Release Testing

Version 11.1.0 expands several interfaces used by infrastructure providers and developers. Its experimental gRPC and UTxO-RPC layer adds methods for reading and following the chain tip, accessing genesis information, searching UTxOs and evaluating transactions.

The cardano-cli ping command now supports multiple targets and DNS SRV records under CIP-0155. Container images for cardano-node, cardano-tracer and cardano-submit-api can also operate as non-root users or with read-only filesystems, providing additional deployment options for infrastructure supporting ADA transactions.

The published requirements list 24 GB of memory for the in-memory backend and 8 GB for the on-disk configuration, although the latter figure remains pending confirmation. A known issue produces approximately 12% higher memory use than version 11.0.1 when loading testnet genesis files containing large amounts of pre-seeded data. The release notes state that Cardano mainnet is not affected.

Performance benchmarks and system testing reports have not yet been published. Version 11.1.0 establishes the configuration migrations, storage changes and experimental protocol interfaces that can now be tested before a later Dijkstra-ready release enters Cardano’s mainnet upgrade process.