site(news): add weekly update Jan 20th

Author: will-break-it

site/news/2025-01-20-weekly-progress-summary.md

@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+---
+title: Weekly progress summary – January 20, 2025
+authors:
+- will
+tags: [progress, update, weekly]
+---
+
+## Simulation Improvements
+
+### Haskell Implementation
+
+- Enhanced parameter handling with support for reading configurations and
+  topologies from disk
+- Added new `generate-topology` command for random topology generation
+- Aligned Leios sortition with algorithms from sortition benchmarks and
+  technical report
+- Completed analysis comparing Praos simulation with benchmark cluster
+  - Adoption times within 10% of measured values
+  - Review of simulation parameters pending
+
+### Rust Implementation
+
+- Implemented block-level visualization to complement existing graph view
+- Updated topology files to include baked-in latencies
+- Improved output with human-readable names from shared topology format
+- Enhanced simulation output comparability across different simulations
+
+## Analysis & Research
+
+### Sortition Analysis
+
+- Completed analysis of "Fiat Accompli" sortition scheme using mainnet stake
+  distribution
+- Key findings for 500-vote committees:
+  - 406 largest stake block-producers would be deterministic voters
+  - ~88 voters would be randomly selected
+  - Significant certificate size reduction achieved through deterministic voter
+    selection
+
+### Downstream Impact Assessment
+
+- Initiated comprehensive analysis of Leios's ecosystem impact
+- Key areas identified:
+  - Ledger and node data structure changes affecting indexers and explorers
+  - Transaction construction impacts on dapps and wallets
+  - Physical layer querying requirements for sophisticated use cases
+  - Event filtering optimization needs for high throughput scenarios
+
+### DeltaQ Analysis
+
+- Successfully matched ΔQ model for IB diffusion across both simulation
+  implementations
+- Identified key differences in simulation approaches:
+  - Haskell simulation includes bandwidth effects (328ms network delay per hop
+    at 1MB/s)
+  - Rust simulation currently excludes bandwidth effects
+- Completed new comparisons using JSONL event logs
+- Investigating diffusion timing differences between implementations
+
+## Cryptography Performance
+
+- Completed comprehensive benchmarking of the Leios cryptography suite
+- Notable performance achievements:
+  - VRF operations: 240 µs for proving, 390 µs for verification
+  - Leadership checks efficiency: 0.17 µs per slot/pipeline
+  - Vote processing: 3.8 µs per pipeline calculation
+  - BLS operations: 1.5 ms for key verification, vote operations ranging 280 µs
+    to 1.4 ms
+
+## Design Optimizations
+
+- Successfully optimized vote signature size down to 192 bytes
+- Validated committee certificates (500 votes, 60% quorum) compatibility with
+  Praos blocks at ~58 kB
+- Explored integration possibilities with KES rotation and Praos VRF BLS keys
+- Finalized initial technical report cryptography sections
+
+## Simulation Progress
+
+### Multi-Platform Development
+
+- Haskell Implementation:
+  - Achieved target diffusion latency matching benchmark cluster data
+  - Added JSON-based event logging
+  - Implemented 'short-leios' variant for mainnet ranking
+  - Enhanced visualization for per-node data transmission
+
+- Rust Implementation:
+  - Improved CPU simulation granularity
+  - Resolved clock simulation race conditions
+  - Implemented shared configuration system with standardized parameter files
+  - Established default simulation parameters in YAML format