BAC-L2-DOT-105Polkadot
Collators and the parachain lifecycle
A collator does not secure the chain: it feeds it. Understanding that asymmetry changes how you design its infrastructure.
- Level
- L2 — Appchain developer
- Duration
- 4 h
- Track
- Polkadot
- Maintainer
- Polkadot / Substrate Lead Architect
Learning objectives
- 01Describe a parachain block's journey to inclusion
- 02Distinguish collator responsibilities from validator responsibilities
- 03Identify the failure points specific to collators
Guided lab
Run a collator against a local Relay Chain and watch parachain blocks being produced.
Independent lab
Stop the running collator and document precisely what halts and what carries on.
Security angle
Collator censorship: what a single collator can withhold, and why redundancy is not optional.
Assessment
Induced-failure report, assessed on diagnostic accuracy.