Solana is known to be a quick blockchain, yet the reasons behind its speed are not limited by one single feature. There are many different elements of Solana that are responsible for such performance.
One of them is Proof of History (PoH). According to Solana, PoH represents a clock in cryptography which allows establishing the time passed and the sequence of events prior to reaching consensus. This eliminates the need for every validator to calculate the timing of events and allows using a cryptographically-verifiable sequence of time and sequence.
The other important element in the speed of Solana is its account model. In Solana, programs contain the logic of applications whereas their data is stored in external accounts. Transactions refer to particular accounts to read/write.
This makes it possible to determine transactions that are independent from each other. Such transactions might be executed simultaneously rather than in a sequence.
Thus, the speed of Solana is actually achieved due to many architectural features.
Another interesting part of the Solana system is its ability to benefit from parallel processing of transactions. The run-time environment called Sealevel can process transactions simultaneously if there is no need for the transactions to alter the same accounts.
For instance, let us assume that we have two transactions dealing with different data. There might be no need for waiting until both transactions have been executed, and parallel processing of them could be more productive.
Furthermore, the Solana network uses the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism and validators that work in the process of supporting the network. The network architecture implies that transaction processing and the ability to preserve the state are of primary importance.
However, the matter of speed is not only processing as many transactions as possible but maintaining consistency between many different nodes.
This makes the Solana project so intriguing since its efficiency is the result of various design choices: Proof of History, the account model, parallel processing, and the validator architecture.
This speed is the result of the overall design.
