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How to Build a Simple Rust VM

Introduction

The Avalanche Rust SDK is a developer toolkit composed of powerful building blocks and primitive types. This tutorial will walk you through the creation of a simple VM known as the TimestampVM RS using the Rust SDK. Each block in the TimestampVM's blockchain contains a monotonically increasing timestamp when the block was created and a 32-byte payload of data.

Prerequisites

  • Install the latest stable version of Rust using rustup.

  • Bookmark and review the avalanche-rs GitHub repository, specifically the Subnet traits and helpers defined in the avalanche-types crate

  • For developers new to Rust please visit the free online book The Rust Programming Language.

    note

    The example VMs in these tutorials are based on avalanche-types-rs, a predecessor of the avalanche-rs repository that is now the accepted standard. Directory locations will vary.

If you have experimented with our Golang example VMs you will find the Rust SDK fairly familiar. Completely new to creating a custom VM on Avalanche? No problem please review Introduction to VMs.

Components

A VM defines how a blockchain should be built. A block is populated with a transaction which mutates the state of the blockchain when executed. By executing a series of blocks chronologically, anyone can verify and reconstruct the state of the blockchain at an arbitrary point in time.

The TimestampVM RS repository has a few components to handle the lifecycle of tasks from a transaction being issued to a block being accepted across the network:

  • Mempool - Stores pending transactions that haven't been finalized yet.
  • Block - Defines the block format, how to verify it, and how it should be accepted or rejected across the network
  • Virtual Machine - Application-level logic. Implements the VM trait needed to interact with Avalanche consensus and defines the blueprint for the blockchain.
  • Service - Exposes APIs so users can interact with the VM.
  • State - Manages both in memory and persistent states.

TimestampVM RS Implementation

The TimestampVM RS implements the snowman::block::ChainVM trait. Below you will find additional documentation on the trait methods. To assist with a logical understanding of the expectations for these methods please see the code examples below.

Additional Documentation

Now we know the traits (interfaces) our VM must implement and the libraries we can use to build a VM using the Rust SDK.

Let’s write our VM, which implements snowman::block::ChainVM and whose blocks implement snowman::Block. You can also follow the code in the TimestampVM RS repository.

State

State manages block and chain states for this VM, both in-memory and persistent.

/timestampvm/src/state/mod.rs
#[derive(Clone)]
pub struct State {
pub db: Arc<RwLock<Box<dyn subnet::rpc::database::Database + Send + Sync>>>,

/// Maps block Id to Block.
/// Each element is verified but not yet accepted/rejected (e.g., preferred).
pub verified_blocks: Arc<RwLock<HashMap<ids::Id, Block>>>,
}

impl Default for State {
fn default() -> State {
Self {
db: Arc::new(RwLock::new(subnet::rpc::database::memdb::Database::new())),
verified_blocks: Arc::new(RwLock::new(HashMap::new())),
}
}
}

const LAST_ACCEPTED_BLOCK_KEY: &[u8] = b"last_accepted_block";

const STATUS_PREFIX: u8 = 0x0;

const DELIMITER: u8 = b'/';

/// Returns a vec of bytes used as a key for identifying blocks in state.
/// 'STATUS_PREFIX' + 'BYTE_DELIMITER' + [block_id]
fn block_with_status_key(blk_id: &ids::Id) -> Vec<u8> {
let mut k: Vec<u8> = Vec::with_capacity(ids::LEN + 2);
k.push(STATUS_PREFIX);
k.push(DELIMITER);
k.extend_from_slice(&blk_id.to_vec());
k
}

/// Wraps a [`Block`](crate::block::Block) and its status.
/// This is the data format that [`State`](State) uses to persist blocks.
#[derive(Serialize, Deserialize, Clone)]
struct BlockWithStatus {
block_bytes: Vec<u8>,
status: choices::status::Status,
}

impl BlockWithStatus {
fn encode(&self) -> io::Result<Vec<u8>> {
serde_json::to_vec(&self).map_err(|e| {
Error::new(
ErrorKind::Other,
format!("failed to serialize BlockStatus to JSON bytes: {}", e),
)
})
}

fn from_slice(d: impl AsRef<[u8]>) -> io::Result<Self> {
let dd = d.as_ref();
serde_json::from_slice(dd).map_err(|e| {
Error::new(
ErrorKind::Other,
format!("failed to deserialize BlockStatus from JSON: {}", e),
)
})
}
}

impl State {
/// Persists the last accepted block Id.
pub async fn set_last_accepted_block(&self, blk_id: &ids::Id) -> io::Result<()> {
let mut db = self.db.write().await;
db.put(LAST_ACCEPTED_BLOCK_KEY, &blk_id.to_vec())
.await
.map_err(|e| {
Error::new(
ErrorKind::Other,
format!("failed to put last accepted block: {:?}", e),
)
})
}

/// Returns "true" if there's a last accepted block found.
pub async fn has_last_accepted_block(&self) -> io::Result<bool> {
let db = self.db.read().await;
match db.has(LAST_ACCEPTED_BLOCK_KEY).await {
Ok(found) => Ok(found),
Err(e) => Err(Error::new(
ErrorKind::Other,
format!("failed to load last accepted block: {}", e),
)),
}
}

/// Returns the last accepted block Id.
pub async fn get_last_accepted_block_id(&self) -> io::Result<ids::Id> {
let db = self.db.read().await;
match db.get(LAST_ACCEPTED_BLOCK_KEY).await {
Ok(d) => Ok(ids::Id::from_slice(&d)),
Err(e) => {
if subnet::rpc::database::errors::is_not_found(&e) {
return Ok(ids::Id::empty());
}
Err(e)
}
}
}

/// Adds a block to "verified_blocks".
pub async fn add_verified(&mut self, block: &Block) {
let blk_id = block.id();
log::info!("verified added {blk_id}");

let mut verified_blocks = self.verified_blocks.write().await;
verified_blocks.insert(blk_id, block.clone());
}

/// Removes a block from "verified_blocks".
pub async fn remove_verified(&mut self, blk_id: &ids::Id) {
let mut verified_blocks = self.verified_blocks.write().await;
verified_blocks.remove(blk_id);
}

/// Returns "true" if the block Id has been already verified.
pub async fn has_verified(&self, blk_id: &ids::Id) -> bool {
let verified_blocks = self.verified_blocks.read().await;
verified_blocks.contains_key(blk_id)
}

/// Writes a block to the state storage.
pub async fn write_block(&mut self, block: &Block) -> io::Result<()> {
let blk_id = block.id();
let blk_bytes = block.to_slice()?;

let mut db = self.db.write().await;

let blk_status = BlockWithStatus {
block_bytes: blk_bytes,
status: block.status(),
};
let blk_status_bytes = blk_status.encode()?;

db.put(&block_with_status_key(&blk_id), &blk_status_bytes)
.await
.map_err(|e| Error::new(ErrorKind::Other, format!("failed to put block: {:?}", e)))
}

/// Reads a block from the state storage using the block_with_status_key.
pub async fn get_block(&self, blk_id: &ids::Id) -> io::Result<Block> {
// check if the block exists in memory as previously verified.
let verified_blocks = self.verified_blocks.read().await;
if let Some(b) = verified_blocks.get(blk_id) {
return Ok(b.clone());
}

let db = self.db.read().await;

let blk_status_bytes = db.get(&block_with_status_key(blk_id)).await?;
let blk_status = BlockWithStatus::from_slice(&blk_status_bytes)?;

let mut blk = Block::from_slice(&blk_status.block_bytes)?;
blk.set_status(blk_status.status);

Ok(blk)
}
}

Block

This implementation of snowman::Block provides the VM with storage, retrieval and status of blocks.

Block is a block on the chain. Each block contains:

  • ParentID
  • Height
  • Timestamp
  • A piece of data (hex encoded string)
/timestampvm/src/block/mod.rs
#[serde_as]
#[derive(Serialize, Deserialize, Clone, Derivative)]
#[derivative(Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
pub struct Block {
/// The block Id of the parent block.
parent_id: ids::Id,
/// This block's height.
/// The height of the genesis block is 0.
height: u64,
/// Unix second when this block was proposed.
timestamp: u64,
/// Arbitrary data.
#[serde_as(as = "Hex0xBytes")]
data: Vec<u8>,

/// Current block status.
#[serde(skip)]
status: choices::status::Status,
/// This block's encoded bytes.
#[serde(skip)]
bytes: Vec<u8>,
/// Generated block Id.
#[serde(skip)]
id: ids::Id,

/// Reference to the Vm state manager for blocks.
#[derivative(Debug = "ignore", PartialEq = "ignore")]
#[serde(skip)]
state: state::State,
}

impl Default for Block {
fn default() -> Self {
Self::default()
}
}

impl Block {
pub fn default() -> Self {
Self {
parent_id: ids::Id::empty(),
height: 0,
timestamp: 0,
data: Vec::new(),

status: choices::status::Status::default(),
bytes: Vec::new(),
id: ids::Id::empty(),

state: state::State::default(),
}
}

pub fn new(
parent_id: ids::Id,
height: u64,
timestamp: u64,
data: Vec<u8>,
status: choices::status::Status,
) -> io::Result<Self> {
let mut b = Self {
parent_id,
height,
timestamp,
data,
..Default::default()
};

b.status = status;
b.bytes = b.to_slice()?;
b.id = ids::Id::sha256(&b.bytes);

Ok(b)
}

pub fn to_json_string(&self) -> io::Result<String> {
serde_json::to_string(&self).map_err(|e| {
Error::new(
ErrorKind::Other,
format!("failed to serialize Block to JSON string {}", e),
)
})
}

/// Encodes the [`Block`](Block) to JSON in bytes.
pub fn to_slice(&self) -> io::Result<Vec<u8>> {
serde_json::to_vec(&self).map_err(|e| {
Error::new(
ErrorKind::Other,
format!("failed to serialize Block to JSON bytes {}", e),
)
})
}

/// Loads [`Block`](Block) from JSON bytes.
pub fn from_slice(d: impl AsRef<[u8]>) -> io::Result<Self> {
let dd = d.as_ref();
let mut b: Self = serde_json::from_slice(dd).map_err(|e| {
Error::new(
ErrorKind::Other,
format!("failed to deserialize Block from JSON {}", e),
)
})?;

b.bytes = dd.to_vec();
b.id = ids::Id::sha256(&b.bytes);

Ok(b)
}

/// Returns the parent block Id.
pub fn parent_id(&self) -> ids::Id {
self.parent_id
}

/// Returns the height of this block.
pub fn height(&self) -> u64 {
self.height
}

/// Returns the timestamp of this block.
pub fn timestamp(&self) -> u64 {
self.timestamp
}

/// Returns the data of this block.
pub fn data(&self) -> &[u8] {
&self.data
}

/// Returns the status of this block.
pub fn status(&self) -> choices::status::Status {
self.status.clone()
}

/// Updates the status of this block.
pub fn set_status(&mut self, status: choices::status::Status) {
self.status = status;
}

/// Returns the byte representation of this block.
pub fn bytes(&self) -> &[u8] {
&self.bytes
}

/// Returns the ID of this block
pub fn id(&self) -> ids::Id {
self.id
}

/// Updates the state of the block.
pub fn set_state(&mut self, state: state::State) {
self.state = state;
}

/// Verifies [`Block`](Block) properties (e.g., heights),
/// and once verified, records it to the [`State`](crate::state::State).
pub async fn verify(&mut self) -> io::Result<()> {
if self.height == 0 && self.parent_id == ids::Id::empty() {
log::debug!(
"block {} has an empty parent Id since it's a genesis block -- skipping verify",
self.id
);
self.state.add_verified(&self.clone()).await;
return Ok(());
}

// if already exists in database, it means it's already accepted
// thus no need to verify once more
if self.state.get_block(&self.id).await.is_ok() {
log::debug!("block {} already verified", self.id);
return Ok(());
}

let prnt_blk = self.state.get_block(&self.parent_id).await?;

// ensure the height of the block is immediately following its parent
if prnt_blk.height != self.height - 1 {
return Err(Error::new(
ErrorKind::InvalidData,
format!(
"parent block height {} != current block height {} - 1",
prnt_blk.height, self.height
),
));
}

// ensure block timestamp is after its parent
if prnt_blk.timestamp > self.timestamp {
return Err(Error::new(
ErrorKind::InvalidData,
format!(
"parent block timestamp {} > current block timestamp {}",
prnt_blk.timestamp, self.timestamp
),
));
}

// ensure block timestamp is no more than an hour ahead of this nodes time
if self.timestamp >= (Utc::now() + Duration::hours(1)).timestamp() as u64 {
return Err(Error::new(
ErrorKind::InvalidData,
format!(
"block timestamp {} is more than 1 hour ahead of local time",
self.timestamp
),
));
}

// add newly verified block to memory
self.state.add_verified(&self.clone()).await;
Ok(())
}

/// Mark this [`Block`](Block) accepted and updates [`State`](crate::state::State) accordingly.
pub async fn accept(&mut self) -> io::Result<()> {
self.set_status(choices::status::Status::Accepted);

// only decided blocks are persistent -- no reorg
self.state.write_block(&self.clone()).await?;
self.state.set_last_accepted_block(&self.id()).await?;

self.state.remove_verified(&self.id()).await;
Ok(())
}

/// Mark this [`Block`](Block) rejected and updates [`State`](crate::state::State) accordingly.
pub async fn reject(&mut self) -> io::Result<()> {
self.set_status(choices::status::Status::Rejected);

// only decided blocks are persistent -- no reorg
self.state.write_block(&self.clone()).await?;

self.state.remove_verified(&self.id()).await;
Ok(())
}
}

verify

This method verifies that a block is valid and stores it in the memory. It is important to store the verified block in the memory and return them in the vm.get_block() method.

/timestampvm/src/block/mod.rs
pub async fn verify(&mut self) -> io::Result<()> {
if self.height == 0 && self.parent_id == ids::Id::empty() {
log::debug!(
"block {} has an empty parent Id since it's a genesis block -- skipping verify",
self.id
);
self.state.add_verified(&self.clone()).await;
return Ok(());
}

// if already exists in database, it means it's already accepted
// thus no need to verify once more
if self.state.get_block(&self.id).await.is_ok() {
log::debug!("block {} already verified", self.id);
return Ok(());
}

let prnt_blk = self.state.get_block(&self.parent_id).await?;

// ensure the height of the block is immediately following its parent
if prnt_blk.height != self.height - 1 {
return Err(Error::new(
ErrorKind::InvalidData,
format!(
"parent block height {} != current block height {} - 1",
prnt_blk.height, self.height
),
));
}

// ensure block timestamp is after its parent
if prnt_blk.timestamp > self.timestamp {
return Err(Error::new(
ErrorKind::InvalidData,
format!(
"parent block timestamp {} > current block timestamp {}",
prnt_blk.timestamp, self.timestamp
),
));
}

// ensure block timestamp is no more than an hour ahead of this nodes time
if self.timestamp >= (Utc::now() + Duration::hours(1)).timestamp() as u64 {
return Err(Error::new(
ErrorKind::InvalidData,
format!(
"block timestamp {} is more than 1 hour ahead of local time",
self.timestamp
),
));
}

// add newly verified block to memory
self.state.add_verified(&self.clone()).await;
Ok(())
}

accept

Called by the consensus engine to indicate this block is accepted.

/timestampvm/src/block/mod.rs
pub async fn accept(&mut self) -> io::Result<()> {
self.set_status(choices::status::Status::Accepted);

// only decided blocks are persistent -- no reorg
self.state.write_block(&self.clone()).await?;
self.state.set_last_accepted_block(&self.id()).await?;

self.state.remove_verified(&self.id()).await;
Ok(())
}

reject

Called by the consensus engine to indicate the block is rejected.

/timestampvm/src/block/mod.rs
pub async fn reject(&mut self) -> io::Result<()> {
self.set_status(choices::status::Status::Rejected);

// only decided blocks are persistent -- no reorg
self.state.write_block(&self.clone()).await?;

self.state.remove_verified(&self.id()).await;
Ok(())
}

Block Field Methods

These methods are required by the snowman::Block trait.

/timestampvm/src/block/mod.rs
impl subnet::rpc::consensus::snowman::Block for Block {
async fn bytes(&self) -> &[u8] {
return self.bytes.as_ref();
}

async fn to_bytes(&self) -> io::Result<Vec<u8>> {
self.to_slice()
}

async fn height(&self) -> u64 {
self.height
}

async fn timestamp(&self) -> u64 {
self.timestamp
}

async fn parent(&self) -> ids::Id {
self.parent_id.clone()
}

async fn verify(&mut self) -> io::Result<()> {
self.verify().await
}
}

Helper Functions

These methods are convenience methods for blocks.

init

Initializes a block from a bytes slice and status.

/timestampvm/src/block/mod.rs
impl subnet::rpc::consensus::snowman::Initializer for Block {
async fn init(&mut self, bytes: &[u8], status: choices::status::Status) -> io::Result<()> {
*self = Block::from_slice(bytes)?;
self.status = status;

Ok(())
}
}

set_status

Updates the status of this block.

/timestampvm/src/block/mod.rs
impl subnet::rpc::consensus::snowman::StatusWriter for Block {
async fn set_status(&mut self, status: choices::status::Status) {
self.set_status(status)
}
}

Coding the Virtual Machine

Now, let’s look at our timestamp VM implementation, which implements the block::ChainVM trait.

/timestampvm/src/vm/mod.rs
pub struct Vm {
/// Maintains the Vm-specific states.
pub state: Arc<RwLock<VmState>>,
pub app_sender: Option<Box<dyn subnet::rpc::common::appsender::AppSender + Send + Sync>>,

/// A queue of data that have not been put into a block and proposed yet.
/// Mempool is not persistent, so just keep in memory via Vm.
pub mempool: Arc<RwLock<VecDeque<Vec<u8>>>>,
}

/// Represents VM-specific states.
/// Defined in a separate struct, for interior mutability in [`Vm`](Vm).
/// To be protected with `Arc` and `RwLock`.
pub struct VmState {
pub ctx: Option<subnet::rpc::context::Context>,
pub version: Version,
pub genesis: Genesis,

/// Represents persistent Vm state.
pub state: Option<state::State>,
/// Currently preferred block Id.
pub preferred: ids::Id,
/// Channel to send messages to the snowman consensus engine.
pub to_engine: Option<Sender<subnet::rpc::common::message::Message>>,
/// Set "true" to indicate that the Vm has finished bootstrapping
/// for the chain.
pub bootstrapped: bool,
}

initialize

This method is called when a new instance of VM is initialized. Genesis block is created under this method.

/timestampvm/src/vm/mod.rs
async fn initialize(
&mut self,
ctx: Option<subnet::rpc::context::Context>,
db_manager: Box<dyn subnet::rpc::database::manager::Manager + Send + Sync>,
genesis_bytes: &[u8],
_upgrade_bytes: &[u8],
_config_bytes: &[u8],
to_engine: Sender<subnet::rpc::common::message::Message>,
_fxs: &[subnet::rpc::common::vm::Fx],
app_sender: Box<dyn subnet::rpc::common::appsender::AppSender + Send + Sync>,
) -> io::Result<()> {
log::info!("initializing Vm");
let mut vm_state = self.state.write().await;

vm_state.ctx = ctx;

let version =
Version::parse(VERSION).map_err(|e| Error::new(ErrorKind::Other, e.to_string()))?;
vm_state.version = version;

let genesis = Genesis::from_slice(genesis_bytes)?;
vm_state.genesis = genesis;

let current = db_manager.current().await?;
let state = state::State {
db: Arc::new(RwLock::new(current.db)),
verified_blocks: Arc::new(RwLock::new(HashMap::new())),
};
vm_state.state = Some(state.clone());

vm_state.to_engine = Some(to_engine);

self.app_sender = Some(app_sender);

let has_last_accepted = state.has_last_accepted_block().await?;
if has_last_accepted {
let last_accepted_blk_id = state.get_last_accepted_block_id().await?;
vm_state.preferred = last_accepted_blk_id;
log::info!("initialized Vm with last accepted block {last_accepted_blk_id}");
} else {
let mut genesis_block = Block::new(
ids::Id::empty(),
0,
0,
vm_state.genesis.data.as_bytes().to_vec(),
choices::status::Status::default(),
)?;
genesis_block.set_state(state.clone());
genesis_block.accept().await?;

let genesis_blk_id = genesis_block.id();
vm_state.preferred = genesis_blk_id;
log::info!("initialized Vm with genesis block {genesis_blk_id}");
}

self.mempool = Arc::new(RwLock::new(VecDeque::with_capacity(100)));

log::info!("successfully initialized Vm");
Ok(())
}

create_handlers

Registers handlers defined in api::chain_handlers::Service. See below for more on APIs.

/timestampvm/src/vm/mod.rs
/// Creates VM-specific handlers.
async fn create_handlers(
&mut self,
) -> io::Result<HashMap<String, subnet::rpc::common::http_handler::HttpHandler>> {
let svc = api::chain_handlers::Service::new(self.clone());
let mut handler = jsonrpc_core::IoHandler::new();
handler.extend_with(api::chain_handlers::Rpc::to_delegate(svc));

let http_handler = subnet::rpc::common::http_handler::HttpHandler::new_from_u8(0, handler)
.map_err(|_| Error::from(ErrorKind::InvalidData))?;

let mut handlers = HashMap::new();
handlers.insert("/rpc".to_string(), http_handler);
Ok(handlers)
}

create_static_handlers

Registers handlers defined in api::chain_handlers::Service. See below for more on APIs.

/timestampvm/src/vm/mod.rs
async fn create_static_handlers(
&mut self,
) -> io::Result<HashMap<String, subnet::rpc::common::http_handler::HttpHandler>> {
let svc = api::static_handlers::Service::new(self.clone());
let mut handler = jsonrpc_core::IoHandler::new();
handler.extend_with(api::static_handlers::Rpc::to_delegate(svc));

let http_handler = subnet::rpc::common::http_handler::HttpHandler::new_from_u8(0, handler)
.map_err(|_| Error::from(ErrorKind::InvalidData))?;

let mut handlers = HashMap::new();
handlers.insert("/static".to_string(), http_handler);
Ok(handlers)
}

build_block

Builds a new block from mempool data and returns it. This is primarily requested by the consensus engine.

/timestampvm/src/vm/mod.rs
async fn build_block(
&self,
) -> io::Result<Box<dyn subnet::rpc::consensus::snowman::Block + Send + Sync>> {
let mut mempool = self.mempool.write().await;

log::info!("build_block called for {} mempool", mempool.len());
if mempool.is_empty() {
return Err(Error::new(ErrorKind::Other, "no pending block"));
}

let vm_state = self.state.read().await;
if let Some(state) = &vm_state.state {
self.notify_block_ready().await;

// "state" must have preferred block in cache/verified_block
// otherwise, not found error from rpcchainvm database
let prnt_blk = state.get_block(&vm_state.preferred).await?;
let unix_now = Utc::now().timestamp() as u64;

let first = mempool.pop_front().unwrap();
let mut block = Block::new(
prnt_blk.id(),
prnt_blk.height() + 1,
unix_now,
first,
choices::status::Status::Processing,
)?;
block.set_state(state.clone());
block.verify().await?;

log::info!("successfully built block");
return Ok(Box::new(block));
}

Err(Error::new(ErrorKind::NotFound, "state manager not found"))
}

notify_block_ready

Signals the consensus engine that a new block is ready to be created. After this is sent the consensus engine will call back to vm.build_block.

/timestampvm/src/vm/mod.rs
pub async fn notify_block_ready(&self) {
let vm_state = self.state.read().await;
if let Some(engine) = &vm_state.to_engine {
engine
.send(subnet::rpc::common::message::Message::PendingTxs)
.await
.unwrap_or_else(|e| log::warn!("dropping message to consensus engine: {}", e));

log::info!("notified block ready!");
} else {
log::error!("consensus engine channel failed to initialized");
}
}

get_block

Returns the block with the given block ID.

/timestampvm/src/vm/mod.rs
impl subnet::rpc::snowman::block::Getter for Vm {
async fn get_block(
&self,
blk_id: ids::Id,
) -> io::Result<Box<dyn subnet::rpc::consensus::snowman::Block + Send + Sync>> {
let vm_state = self.state.read().await;
if let Some(state) = &vm_state.state {
let block = state.get_block(&blk_id).await?;
return Ok(Box::new(block));
}

Err(Error::new(ErrorKind::NotFound, "state manager not found"))
}
}

propose_block

Proposes arbitrary data to mempool and notifies that a block is ready for builds. Other VMs may optimize mempool with more complicated batching mechanisms.

/timestampvm/src/vm/mod.rs
pub async fn propose_block(&self, d: Vec<u8>) -> io::Result<()> {
let size = d.len();
log::info!("received propose_block of {size} bytes");

if size > PROPOSE_LIMIT_BYTES {
log::info!("limit exceeded... returning an error...");
return Err(Error::new(
ErrorKind::InvalidInput,
format!(
"data {}-byte exceeds the limit {}-byte",
size, PROPOSE_LIMIT_BYTES
),
));
}

let mut mempool = self.mempool.write().await;
mempool.push_back(d);
log::info!("proposed {size} bytes of data for a block");

self.notify_block_ready().await;
Ok(())
}

parse_block

Parses a block from its byte representation.

/timestampvm/src/vm/mod.rs
impl subnet::rpc::snowman::block::Parser for Vm {
async fn parse_block(
&self,
bytes: &[u8],
) -> io::Result<Box<dyn subnet::rpc::consensus::snowman::Block + Send + Sync>> {
let vm_state = self.state.read().await;
if let Some(state) = &vm_state.state {
let mut new_block = Block::from_slice(bytes)?;
new_block.set_status(choices::status::Status::Processing);
new_block.set_state(state.clone());
log::debug!("parsed block {}", new_block.id());

match state.get_block(&new_block.id()).await {
Ok(prev) => {
log::debug!("returning previously parsed block {}", prev.id());
return Ok(Box::new(prev));
}
Err(_) => return Ok(Box::new(new_block)),
};
}

Err(Error::new(ErrorKind::NotFound, "state manager not found"))
}
}

set_preference

Sets the container preference of the VM.

/timestampvm/src/vm/mod.rs
pub async fn set_preference(&self, id: ids::Id) -> io::Result<()> {
let mut vm_state = self.state.write().await;
vm_state.preferred = id;

Ok(())
}

Mempool

The mempool is a buffer of volatile memory that stores pending transactions. Transactions are stored in the mempool whenever a node learns about a new transaction.

The mempool implementation for timestampvm-rs is very simple.

 mempool: Arc::new(RwLock::new(VecDeque::with_capacity(100))),

By using VecDeque we can have better control of element ordering (ex. pop_back(), pop_front()).

Static API

note

If this method is called, no other method will be called on this VM. Each registered VM will have a single instance created to handle static APIs. This instance will be handled separately from instances created to service an instance of a chain.

/timestampvm/src/api/static_handlers.rs
#[rpc]
pub trait Rpc {
#[rpc(name = "ping", alias("timestampvm.ping"))]
fn ping(&self) -> BoxFuture<Result<crate::api::PingResponse>>;
}

/// Implements API services for the static handlers.
pub struct Service {
pub vm: vm::Vm,
}

impl Service {
pub fn new(vm: vm::Vm) -> Self {
Self { vm }
}
}

impl Rpc for Service {
fn ping(&self) -> BoxFuture<Result<crate::api::PingResponse>> {
log::debug!("ping called");
Box::pin(async move { Ok(crate::api::PingResponse { success: true }) })
}
}

API

Defines RPCs specific to the chain.

/timestampvm/src/api/chain_handlers.rs
#[rpc]
pub trait Rpc {
/// Pings the VM.
#[rpc(name = "ping", alias("timestampvm.ping"))]
fn ping(&self) -> BoxFuture<Result<crate::api::PingResponse>>;

/// Proposes the arbitrary data.
#[rpc(name = "proposeBlock", alias("timestampvm.proposeBlock"))]
fn propose_block(&self, args: ProposeBlockArgs) -> BoxFuture<Result<ProposeBlockResponse>>;

/// Fetches the last accepted block.
#[rpc(name = "lastAccepted", alias("timestampvm.lastAccepted"))]
fn last_accepted(&self) -> BoxFuture<Result<LastAcceptedResponse>>;

/// Fetches the block.
#[rpc(name = "getBlock", alias("timestampvm.getBlock"))]
fn get_block(&self, args: GetBlockArgs) -> BoxFuture<Result<GetBlockResponse>>;
}

#[derive(Deserialize, Serialize, Debug, Clone)]
pub struct ProposeBlockArgs {
#[serde(with = "avalanche_types::codec::serde::base64_bytes")]
pub data: Vec<u8>,
}

#[derive(Deserialize, Serialize, Debug, Clone)]
pub struct ProposeBlockResponse {
pub success: bool,
}

#[derive(Deserialize, Serialize, Debug, Clone)]
pub struct LastAcceptedResponse {
pub id: ids::Id,
}

#[derive(Deserialize, Serialize, Debug, Clone)]
pub struct GetBlockArgs {
pub id: String,
}

#[derive(Deserialize, Serialize, Debug, Clone)]
pub struct GetBlockResponse {
pub block: Block,
}

/// Implements API services for the chain-specific handlers.
pub struct Service {
pub vm: vm::Vm,
}

impl Service {
pub fn new(vm: vm::Vm) -> Self {
Self { vm }
}
}

impl Rpc for Service {
fn ping(&self) -> BoxFuture<Result<crate::api::PingResponse>> {
log::debug!("ping called");
Box::pin(async move { Ok(crate::api::PingResponse { success: true }) })
}

fn propose_block(&self, args: ProposeBlockArgs) -> BoxFuture<Result<ProposeBlockResponse>> {
log::debug!("propose_block called");
let vm = self.vm.clone();

Box::pin(async move {
vm.propose_block(args.data)
.await
.map_err(create_jsonrpc_error)?;
Ok(ProposeBlockResponse { success: true })
})
}

fn last_accepted(&self) -> BoxFuture<Result<LastAcceptedResponse>> {
log::debug!("last accepted method called");
let vm = self.vm.clone();

Box::pin(async move {
let vm_state = vm.state.read().await;
if let Some(state) = &vm_state.state {
let last_accepted = state
.get_last_accepted_block_id()
.await
.map_err(create_jsonrpc_error)?;

return Ok(LastAcceptedResponse { id: last_accepted });
}

Err(Error {
code: ErrorCode::InternalError,
message: String::from("no state manager found"),
data: None,
})
})
}

fn get_block(&self, args: GetBlockArgs) -> BoxFuture<Result<GetBlockResponse>> {
let blk_id = ids::Id::from_str(&args.id).unwrap();
log::info!("get_block called for {}", blk_id);

let vm = self.vm.clone();

Box::pin(async move {
let vm_state = vm.state.read().await;
if let Some(state) = &vm_state.state {
let block = state
.get_block(&blk_id)
.await
.map_err(create_jsonrpc_error)?;

return Ok(GetBlockResponse { block });
}

Err(Error {
code: ErrorCode::InternalError,
message: String::from("no state manager found"),
data: None,
})
})
}
}

Below are examples of API calls, in which "2wb1UXxAstB8ywwv4rU2rFCjLgXnhT44hbLPbwpQoGvFb2wRR7" is the blockchain ID.

timestampvm.getBlock

Given a valid block ID, returns a serialized block.

curl -X POST --data '{
"jsonrpc": "2.0",
"id" : 1,
"method" : "timestampvm.getBlock",
"params" : [{"id":"SDfFUzkdzWZbJ6YMysPPNEF5dWLp9q35mEMaLa8Ha2w9aMKoC"}]
}' -H 'content-type:application/json;' 127.0.0.1:9650/ext/bc/2wb1UXxAstB8ywwv4rU2rFCjLgXnhT44hbLPbwpQoGvFb2wRR7/rpc

# example response
# {"jsonrpc":"2.0","result":{"block":{"data":"0x32596655705939524358","height":0,"parent_id":"11111111111111111111111111111111LpoYY","timestamp":0}},"id":1}

timestampvm.proposeBlock

Proposes arbitrary data for a new block to consensus.

# to propose data
echo 1 | base64 | tr -d \\n
# MQo=

curl -X POST --data '{
"jsonrpc": "2.0",
"id" : 1,
"method" : "timestampvm.proposeBlock",
"params" : [{"data":"MQo="}]
}' -H 'content-type:application/json;' 127.0.0.1:9650/ext/bc/2wb1UXxAstB8ywwv4rU2rFCjLgXnhT44hbLPbwpQoGvFb2wRR7/rpc

# example response
# {"jsonrpc":"2.0","result":{"success":true},"id":1}

timestampvm.lastAccepted

Returns the ID of the last accepted block.

curl -X POST --data '{
"jsonrpc": "2.0",
"id" : 1,
"method" : "timestampvm.lastAccepted",
"params" : []
}' -H 'content-type:application/json;' 127.0.0.1:9650/ext/bc/2wb1UXxAstB8ywwv4rU2rFCjLgXnhT44hbLPbwpQoGvFb2wRR7/rpc

# example response
# {"jsonrpc":"2.0","result":{"id":"SDfFUzkdzWZbJ6YMysPPNEF5dWLp9q35mEMaLa8Ha2w9aMKoC"},"id":1}

Plugin

In order to make this VM compatible with go-plugin, we need to define a main package and method, which serves our VM over gRPC so that AvalancheGo can call its methods.

main.rs's contents are:

timestampvm/src/bin/timestampvm/main.rs
async fn main() -> io::Result<()> {
let matches = Command::new(APP_NAME)
.version(crate_version!())
.about("Timestamp Vm")
.subcommands(vec![genesis::command(), vm_id::command()])
.get_matches();

// ref. https://github.com/env-logger-rs/env_logger/issues/47
env_logger::init_from_env(
env_logger::Env::default().filter_or(env_logger::DEFAULT_FILTER_ENV, "info"),
);

match matches.subcommand() {
Some((genesis::NAME, sub_matches)) => {
let data = sub_matches.get_one::<String>("DATA").expect("required");
let genesis = timestampvm::genesis::Genesis { data: data.clone() };
println!("{genesis}");

Ok(())
}

Some((vm_id::NAME, sub_matches)) => {
let vm_name = sub_matches.get_one::<String>("VM_NAME").expect("required");
let id = subnet::vm_name_to_id(vm_name)?;
println!("{id}");

Ok(())
}

_ => {
log::info!("starting timestampvm");

let (stop_ch_tx, stop_ch_rx): (Sender<()>, Receiver<()>) = broadcast::channel(1);
let vm_server = subnet::rpc::vm::server::Server::new(vm::Vm::new(), stop_ch_tx);
subnet::rpc::plugin::serve(vm_server, stop_ch_rx).await
}
}
}

Installing a VM

AvalancheGo searches for and registers VM plugins under the plugins directory.

To install the virtual machine onto your node, you need to move the built virtual machine binary under this directory. Virtual machine executable names must be either a full virtual machine ID (encoded in CB58), or a VM alias.

Copy the binary into the plugins directory.

cp -n <path to your binary> $GOPATH/src/github.com/ava-labs/avalanchego/build/plugins/

Node Is Not Running

If your node isn't running yet, you can install all virtual machines under your plugin directory by starting the node.

Node Is Already Running

Load the binary with the loadVMs API.

curl -sX POST --data '{
"jsonrpc":"2.0",
"id" :1,
"method" :"admin.loadVMs",
"params" :{}
}' -H 'content-type:application/json;' 127.0.0.1:9650/ext/admin

Confirm the response of loadVMs contains the newly installed virtual machine tGas3T58KzdjcJ32c6GpePhtqo9rrHJ1oR9wFBtCcMgaosthX. You'll see this virtual machine as well as any others that weren't already installed previously in the response.

{
"jsonrpc": "2.0",
"result": {
"newVMs": {
"tGas3T58KzdjcJ32c6GpePhtqo9rrHJ1oR9wFBtCcMgaosthX": [
"timestampvm-rs",
"timestamp-rs"
],
"spdxUxVJQbX85MGxMHbKw1sHxMnSqJ3QBzDyDYEP3h6TLuxqQ": []
}
},
"id": 1
}

Now, this VM's static API can be accessed at endpoints /ext/vm/timestampvm-rs and /ext/vm/timestamp-rs. For more details about VM configs, see here.

In this tutorial, we used the VM's ID as the executable name to simplify the process. However, AvalancheGo would also accept timestampvm-rs or timestamp-rs since those are registered aliases in previous step.

Wrapping Up

That’s it! That’s the entire implementation of a VM which defines a blockchain-based timestamp server written in Rust!

In this tutorial, we learned:

  • The block::ChainVM trait, which all VMs that define a linear chain must implement
  • The snowman::Block trait, which all blocks that are part of a linear chain must implement
  • The subnet mod, which allows blockchains to run in their own processes using the rpcchainvm.
  • An actual implementation of block::ChainVM and snowman::Block.

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