Ommer（Uncle）Block: What Is it？

Ommer blocks were previously called Ommer Uncle blocks.

Due to the gender-specific attribute of Uncle, it was deleted.

An Ommer block is formed when two blocks are mined simultaneously by a network.

The two-third consensus rule from network validators will decide which of the two blocks will be the Ommer block.

Ommer blocks are created and utilized by Ethereum Blockchain.

To ensure data are verified, generally agreed on, and secured, Blockchain networks such as Ethereum use the Merkle Tree.

Ommer blocks are different from Orphan blocks even though both are not the main block accepted by the validator.

The operations behind the blockchain technology are numerous and ambiguous except for blockchain developers who can easily decode.

When we read about how Decentralized Apps are created, how new blocks are mined, or how transactions are validated, it is written in the simplest language. We are then made to believe the entire activity is straightforward.

However, these developers and miners do encounter ambiguity at intervals. Albeit, these ambiguities are not likened to real-life problems. Examples include Hard Fork and Ommer Block.

In this article, we shall examine the concept behind Ommer Block, how it is created, and its essential features.

How Ommer Block Is Formed

Ommer Blocks, previously called Ommer (Uncle) blocks, are formed when two blocks are mined simultaneously by a network. One block will be left out in this scenario, the other will be utilized, and the leftover block is called the Ommer Block.

In the Ethereum network, when two blocks are created and submitted to the digital ledger simultaneously, only one of the blocks can enter the ledger. The second one becomes the Ommer Block.

The reason for being called Uncle Block in the past is to show the familial relationship between the utilized and leftover blocks. It was later decided that having a gender name for the block was unnecessary, and "uncle" was deleted.

When two blocks are created due to a blockchain fork, the two-third consensus rule from network validators will decide which of the blocks will be used and the one that will be the Ommer block.

Ommer Blocks are intentionally integrated into Ethereum's blockchain. The integration was via Casper The Friendly GHOST (Greedy Heaviest Object Subtree), a consensus mechanism’s validation protocol.

The Concept Behind Ommer Block

Ommer Blocks is created on the Ethereum Blockchain. The Ethereum network is a public blockchain that uses a mechanism that ensures data within the blockchain is verified and added by Consensus.

Blockchain networks such as Ethereum use the Merkle Tree to ensure data are verified, generally agreed on, and secured. The Merkle Tree is a data structure used to accomplish the tasks listed earlier.

The role of the Merkle Tree is to establish ancestral relationships for blocks of data. It includes information from previous blocks in the new blocks. This procedure is similar to the DNA passed between new generations.

The Merkle Tree representation is as follows:

If the first block in the tree is named Block A, the new block created from Block A would be considered Block A’s offspring and carry the details of Block A and its information.

The newly created block could be called Block B, but it would carry an “A symbol.” That is “Block Ba.” As miners create more blocks from the previous blocks, the relationship continues, and a family tree is built on the Blockchain.

You might be wondering why we made this whole illustration! This is it;

If two blocks were validated and created simultaneously on Block A, they would be named “Blocks Ba and Ba2.” This shows that they are sibling blocks from the same parent block.

Since the network can only accept one of the blocks, it will take Block Ba, and the other forked Ba2 will be left as the Ommer block.

Relevance Of Ommer Blocks In Ethereum

Ordinarily, the Ommer Blocks are accidental and unintended bugs to be created, and they are byproducts of the mining process that was not planned for.

However, Ethereum incentivized the Ommer Block to give them relevance. The reasons include;

• Firstly, the network allows the work done on Ommer Blocks to be included and supplement the work done on the main blockchain. This process helps to increase network security and makes it difficult for unauthorized persons to access the transaction details.
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• The Ommer Block helps reduce the centralization of incentives for large mining pools. These major mining pools have large miner farms and several miners;
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• In the end, they claim all the rewards. So the Ommer block is the reward that supplements the little rewards left for individual miners. Lastly, to enable the creation of more Ommer blocks because they are a byproduct of shorter block times and increase the network's speed.

Ommer blocks are often confused with being "orphaned blocks," whereas they are different.

Orphaned blocks are the blocks created while miners are competing to mine the same set of transactions simultaneously.

Only the first miner to validate the blocks gets accepted, while other completing blocks are not added to any chain. They are the Orphaned block.

Ommer blocks get added to a chain while Orphaned blocks are not. However, miners of both blocks are rewarded on the Ethereum network.

Conclusion

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Miners can not influence or abort the creation of Ommer Blocks. There is the probability that for every new block created on the Ethereum network, an Ommer block will be made.

Since the current version of Ethereum uses the Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, there is a reward for Ommer blocks. The reward is a small percentage of the original block reward and the transaction fees.

In conclusion, the Ommer blocks were accidentally created, but the Ethereum developers gave them relevance in Blockchain technology.



Author: Valentine. A, Gate.io Researcher
This article represents only the researcher's views and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
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