How to temporarily pause block generation on PoS --dev network? #32817
Description
We are using a local --dev network to run integration-level tests as part of our CI process. Currently, we're running against client-go:v1.13.11 but would like to upgrade to a later version (e.g. v1.16.3).
In our current version it is possible to enable and disable mining via an RPC call (miner_start, miner_stop). Since moving to the Proof-of-Stake model, the mining_ operations are no longer available. Instead, it appears that they've been replaced by starting the node with the --dev.period option.
Most of the time, we are happy to create new blocks as soon as a transaction is submitted and so we are able to run the node using --dev.period 0 so that new blocks are generated immediately; however, for some of our tests we need more fine-grained control, such as ensuring that multiple transactions are included in the same block. What is the replacement for miner_start and miner_stop in the proof-of-stake model, that will allow us to temporarily enable or disable the generation of a new block?
Alternatively: if the above isn't possible - is there a way to completely disable automatic block generation and always manually create new blocks?