Pipe Network Launches SolanaCDN: A Free Open-Source Validator Client for Solana with Built-in Acceleration Features

SolanaCDN improves the speed of shred (sharded data packet) propagation by 3.8 times through a global mesh network of over 35,000 nodes, providing it as a public good for the Solana network.

Pipe Network announced today the launch of SolanaCDN: a free, open-source Solana validator client integrated with a CDN acceleration layer. Built on Anza’s Agave fork, SolanaCDN enables every validator to access faster shred propagation by covering over 35,000 PoP (Point-of-Presence) nodes worldwide via Pipe.

This client is completely independent of the CDN acceleration layer. Pipe Network offers SolanaCDN as a foundational infrastructure public good for the Solana ecosystem.

Problems SolanaCDN Addresses

On Solana, validator performance is heavily influenced by network geography. Validators closer to block producers see shreds earlier and vote faster, earning more rewards. Validators in poorly connected regions, even with similar hardware, may miss votes due to slower propagation, leading to reduced leader slot income.

SolanaCDN solves this by providing a second, faster path for shred delivery beyond native gossip. Shreds and vote packets are forwarded through Pipe’s global mesh network, which continuously measures each network path and routes traffic along the currently fastest available route in real time.

Native gossip still runs at the core; SolanaCDN adds a parallel “fast lane.”

Performance

SolanaCDN propagates data 3.8 times faster than standard Turbine: the P50 cross-region latency is approximately 78ms, compared to about 300ms for the baseline gossip.

Before enabling the CDN layer, clients already benefit from Pipe’s built-in optimizations out of the box, including:

• Fast Shreds for leader-oriented shred merging

• Accelerated snapshot downloads via Pipe’s global network

• Real-time ETA display for catchup and recovery phases

Public Infrastructure

Faster propagation creates network effects: each validator running SolanaCDN improves shred delivery across the entire network, leading to quicker block finality, fewer forks, and fewer missed slots, benefiting the entire Solana ecosystem.

Pipe Network CEO David Rhodus stated, “Validator performance shouldn’t be determined by geography. SolanaCDN allows every validator to use equally fast infrastructure. The more validators that run it, the faster Solana becomes for everyone.”

Technical Design

SolanaCDN is a fully compatible fork of Agave. Validators can replace their existing client with it as a plug-and-play upgrade.

The CDN layer is optional, enabled with a simple configuration toggle, and is designed to be non-participatory in consensus: it does not modify block production, consensus logic, leader scheduling, or voting rules. All CDN operations are non-blocking and fault-tolerant; if the CDN layer is unavailable, validators continue to operate normally.

Built-in Prometheus metrics and “CDN vs gossip” race data help operators clearly observe performance changes in their environment.

Availability

SolanaCDN is now released: the source code is available on GitHub, and the client is operational on Solana mainnet-beta.

• Website:

• GitHub:

About Pipe Network

Pipe Network is a global edge infrastructure company built on Solana. Its network operates over 35,000 ultra-local PoP nodes worldwide, providing high-speed distributed storage and real-time data distribution. Pipe’s coverage network continuously tracks latency, packet loss, and jitter for each path, routing traffic along the fastest route accordingly.