Seamless Upgrades to The Graph Network - Unveiling 3 Phases of the Sunrise of Decentralized Data

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TL;DR

• This announcement unveils an updated plan for the sunrise of decentralized data — enabling everyone to upgrade seamlessly to The Graph Network. The plan comprises 3 phases:
  1. Sunray: enable support for all hosted service chains, introduce an easy upgrade flow, and offer a free query plan on The Graph Network, which is enabled by the upgrade Indexer
  2. Sunbeam: introduction of a 60-day upgrade window to upgrade hosted service subgraphs, with dedicated upgrade support
  3. Sunrise: Hosted service endpoints will expire as all subgraphs upgrade to The Graph Network
• Upgrading to The Graph Network means developers gain autonomy over their dapp’s data without the overhead of running indexing infrastructure of their own, leveraging a network with hundreds of Indexers to reliably and rapidly serve blockchain data.

Web3 is entering a new age of open data with The Graph Network. Today, the decentralized network delivers performance, redundancy and fast syncing speeds rivaling hosted alternatives.

It's time to take advantage of the benefits of upgrading to the network, such as:

• Low query costs
• Unbeatable uptime
• Fast syncing speeds
• Transparent subgraph usage stats
• A robust query success support system
• And so much more – all while avoiding vendor lock-in

Core developer teams are expanding access to The Graph Network with the sunrise of decentralized data, which will occur in three phases.

Breaking it down: 3 Phases Advancing Decentralized Data

Phase 1: Sunray

The Sunray phase will see the launch of three enhancements that enable hosted service users to seamlessly and quickly upgrade to The Graph Network.

• Enable hosted service chains on The Graph Network: With the release of the upgrade Indexer, all chains available on the hosted service today will also be available on The Graph Network. Subgraph developers will be able to upgrade hosted service subgraphs across all chains, as well as create new ones for chains previously unavailable on the network.
• Improved developer upgrade experience: Provide an easy-to-use upgrade flow to help hosted service users upgrade subgraphs to The Graph Network and become familiarized with Subgraph Studio, the primary user interface for creating, testing, publishing and deploying subgraphs to the decentralized network.
• Introduce a free query plan: With the free plan, users who need to query any network subgraph will be able to make a generous number of free queries each month for a limited time. This will be helpful for smaller dapps, hackathons, hobbyists, and users simply testing out subgraphs before committing to a paid plan. The free plan will be rate-limited on a per-minute basis, will provide query analytics and notifications, and will enable seamless upgrades to the paid plan by relying on the same API/query key. The free plan will serve the needs of many of today’s hosted service users, allowing for a seamless transition to The Graph Network from the hosted service.

Phase 2: Sunbeam

The Sunbeam phase will kick off an upgrade window while offering specialized support for users via email and on Discord, enabling everyone to experience faster syncing times, lower latency, and more reliable query responses.

At the beginning of the Sunbeam phase, two major elements will come into play:

• Beginning of the upgrade window: The upgrade window will last a duration of 60 days, and will only begin after the three enhancements of the Sunray phase are completed. The upgrade window corresponds to the timeframe during which subgraph developers will upgrade their subgraphs to The Graph Network. While this upgrade window will start at the end of the Sunbeam phase, it will culminate at the end of the third phase: the sunrise.
  • Note: the upgrade interface for easily upgrading subgraphs will continue to be accessible after the upgrade window closes.
• New subgraph creation will be exclusive to The Graph Network: The beginning of the Sunbeam phase will mark an important milestone in the evolution of the hosted service. As focus shifts to creating subgraphs on The Graph Network, creating new subgraphs will happen exclusively in Subgraph Studio.

A note on support: To ensure a smooth transition during the Sunbeam phase and throughout the entire upgrade process, we recognize the critical importance of real-time assistance and community support. This is why all users are encouraged to reach out to [email protected] via email or join the dedicated Discord server, a space curated for obtaining guidance directly from experienced team and community members. Whether you're navigating through the initial steps of upgrading, seeking clarification on the new features, or needing assistance with any challenges that might arise, the community stands ready to help.

At the end of the Sunbeam phase, two additional components will take effect:

• New subgraph updates will be exclusive to the Subgraph Studio and The Graph Network: Subgraph developers who wish to make changes to their hosted service subgraphs will need to upgrade their subgraphs for use on the network, in order to deploy new versions to The Graph Network via the Subgraph Studio.
• Auto-upgrade of frequently-used (but not yet upgraded) subgraphs: During the Sunbeam phase, core devs will monitor hosted service subgraphs that are frequently used but have not yet been upgraded. To ensure that the most used subgraphs used across the web3 ecosystem will continue to be publicly accessible, subgraphs with substantial query traffic will automatically upgrade to the network.

Phase 3: Sunrise

The Sunrise phase will celebrate the upgrades of all subgraphs and completed work for entering the next phase of The Graph, welcoming all hosted service users into a new age of self-sovereign data!

At this stage, corresponding to the end of the upgrade window, hosted service endpoints will be retired, marking the beginning of a new purpose for the hosted service in support of the network as the upgrade Indexer.

Join the celebration of developers all over the world gaining freedom and control over their data needs! When the sunrise is complete, members of The Graph community across the world will ring in a new age of decentralized data.

Ushering in a vibrant, decentralized future

As The Graph’s sunrise of decentralized data dawns, subgraph developers who helped shape web3 history by creating subgraphs on the hosted service will receive commemorative, exclusive NFTs in recognition of their contributions to The Graph – stay tuned for more details.

The Graph Network is constantly evolving, and the sunrise marks only the beginning of a bright future. One where dapp developers can leverage the resilience and maturity of The Graph while benefiting from the hundreds of independent Indexers, higher quality of service, and transparent, market-driven pricing!

Excited about the future of decentralized data? Make sure to sign up here to get the news when each phase of the Sunrise goes live.

Have Questions? Visit our FAQ page for more information or ask questions on Discord.

About The Graph

The Graph is the source of data and information for the decentralized internet. As the original decentralized data marketplace that introduced and standardized subgraphs, The Graph has become web3’s method of indexing and accessing blockchain data. Since its launch in 2018, tens of thousands of developers have built subgraphs for dapps across 45+ blockchains - including  Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Polygon, Celo, Fantom, Gnosis, and Avalanche.

As demand for data in web3 continues to grow, The Graph enters a New Era with a more expansive vision including new data services and query languages, ensuring the decentralized protocol can serve any use case - now and into the future.

Discover more about how The Graph is shaping the future of decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) and stay connected with the community. Follow The Graph on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Medium. Join the community on The Graph’s Telegram, join technical discussions on The Graph’s Discord.

The Graph Foundation oversees The Graph Network. The Graph Foundation is overseen by the Technical Council. Edge & Node, StreamingFast, Semiotic Labs, The Guild, Messari, GraphOps, Pinax and Geo are eight of the many organizations within The Graph ecosystem.