Sui Blockchain Reveals Complete Beta Version of gRPC Integration
Sui Blockchain has taken a significant step forward in its evolution by releasing the full beta version of gRPC support for its Full Nodes. This move is expected to replace JSON-RPC in the long term, positioning the platform for better support of future decentralized applications and services within the Web3 ecosystem.
The gRPC architecture, a high-efficiency communication protocol widely used in contemporary distributed systems, enables developers to build more responsive and efficient applications. It offers superior capabilities, including lower latency, more expressive semantics, and improved scalability.
The Advantages of gRPC over JSON-RPC
The advantages of gRPC over JSON-RPC in the context of Sui Blockchain's Full Nodes are numerous. gRPC is a high-performance communication protocol using HTTP/2 and Protocol Buffers for efficient binary serialization, resulting in faster communication compared to JSON-RPC’s text-based JSON parsing which is more expensive and slower.
Furthermore, gRPC uses schema definitions (Protocol Buffers) that enforce strict type safety and contract validation, making interfaces more maintainable and less error-prone than JSON-RPC’s loosely typed JSON messages.
One of the standout features of gRPC is its native support for streaming APIs, allowing Full Nodes to push real-time data updates (e.g., live user activity, transaction execution, and blockchain headers), while JSON-RPC is primarily request-response and less efficient for live streaming.
In terms of scalability, Sui is redesigning its data serving layer to use gRPC as the canonical full node API, enabling more scalable, secure, and modular archival backends, indexers, and APIs that JSON-RPC cannot easily support.
Lastly, gRPC allows separating raw blockchain data access (via gRPC) and richer derived data (via GraphQL), which enhances clarity and developer experience, something JSON-RPC endpoints do not facilitate as cleanly.
Services Included in the Beta Release
The beta release of gRPC support includes services such as MovePackageService, TransactionExecutionService, SignatureVerificationService, and SubscriptionService. The SubscriptionService, in particular, is valuable for use cases that depend on instant updates, such as trading platforms and analytics dashboards. It eliminates the need for inefficient polling methods, enhancing real-time data synchronization.
Migration and Future Plans
Developers are encouraged to transition their infrastructure and Sui has provided documentation and proto files on GitHub to support this migration. Part of Sui's roadmap for reshaping blockchain data infrastructure includes a deliberate separation between raw and derived data. The latest upgrade aims to modernize blockchain data access on Sui Blockchain, with the vision of parallel support for batch and streaming APIs.
The foundation is also laying the groundwork for a next-generation indexer framework for Web3 applications. This phase-out of JSON-RPC in favor of gRPC becoming the standard Full Node API is expected to provide a more powerful, maintainable, and future-proof developer and node operator experience.
In summary, Sui Blockchain is moving from JSON-RPC to gRPC for its Full Nodes because gRPC’s binary serialization, efficient schema handling, low latency, streaming capabilities, and scalability align better with the demands of a modern, real-time blockchain data ecosystem. This shift marks a gradual phase-out of JSON-RPC in favor of gRPC becoming the standard Full Node API, offering a more powerful, maintainable, and future-proof developer and node operator experience.
[1] Sui Blog Post on gRPC Support [2] gRPC Website [3] Protocol Buffers Documentation [4] GraphQL Documentation
The shift from JSON-RPC to gRPC for Sui Blockchain's Full Nodes will offer a more efficient and responsive developer experience due to features like lower latency, streaming APIs, and improved scalability. This change in communication protocol will make it possible for services, such as the SubscriptionService, to provide real-time data updates for use cases like trading platforms and analytics dashboards, significantly enhancing real-time data synchronization.
The advantages of gRPC over JSON-RPC include faster communication, stricter type safety, and support for streaming APIs, making it an ideal choice for modern, real-time blockchain data ecosystems that require data-and-cloud-computing technology to support the growing demands for data in real time dashboards.
