On February 16, 2023, the Cosmos Hub will undergo a major network update known as the Rho upgrade, which is intended to be a critical step toward the Replicated Security release, the first implementation of Interchain Security. The Rho update is scheduled to be live at around 8 p.m. EST, with a block height of 14,099,412.

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The Rho upgrade Will Improve Network Security

The Rho upgrade, according to Cosmos’ development team, will result in several enhancements to Cosmos’ testing infrastructure as well as the implementation of the “global fee” software module. The module allows transaction fees to be collected from users and dispersed worldwide, with the goal of improving Cosmos network security by lowering the possibility of validators collaborating or misbehaving.

Rho upgrade will build the framework for Interchain Security

The Rho upgrade will build the framework for Interchain Security, which is scheduled to be released in the first quarter of 2023. Individual chains on Cosmos will be able to protect themselves using the same security validators that run Cosmos Portal, which serves as a hub for other blockchain networks and facilitates cross-chain communication and interoperability.

Cosmos Ecosystem and Its Functionality

Cosmos, an ecosystem of over 200 blockchains, enables developers to create new application-specific chains based on core technologies and frameworks such as the Tendermint consensus and the Cosmos software development kit. Individual chains such as Kava, Osmosis, Injective, Thorchain, Evmos, and Canto are built on Cosmos. These chains communicate with one another using the Cosmos Hub and the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol.

Short Downtime Period During Upgrade

The Cosmos Hub team has warned customers that there may be some downtime as the network is upgraded. The most recent Rho release contains a number of small enhancements, a significant upgrade to the testing infrastructure, and the addition of the Global Fee module. On the Cosmos Hub website, validators may learn more about the upgrading procedure.

The Rho upgrade is a long-awaited enhancement that has been in the works for quite some time. It was originally planned to be published alongside Cosmos SDK v0.46, with all of the Groups and Governance changes. However, owing to a variety of considerations, it was decided to continue with the Cosmos SDK 0.45 release line. Some Cosmos SDK v0.46 release line features may arrive in future Cosmos Hub versions.

The Rho update will pave the way for Replicated Security, which will bring a slew of new consumer chains into the Cosmos Hub ecosystem. During the upgrade time, the Cosmos Hub development team advises validators to monitor the #verified-validators channel on the Cosmos Discord server.

Reference: Medium Cosmos Hub