Introduction of Ethereum Testnets

In this Ethereum tutorial, we will discuss what is Ethereum Testnet, and we will also discuss different Ethereum Testnets. Additionally, we will cover the following topics.

• What is an Ethereum Testnet
• What is TestNet Faucet
• Different Ethereum Testnets
• Ropsten Ethereum TestNet
• Kovan Ethereum TestNet
• Rinkeby Ethereum TestNet
• Görli Ethereum TestNet
• Comparison of Different Ethereum TestNets
• Using MetaMast to connect to an Ethereum TestNet

What is an Ethereum Testnet

Ethereum is one of the most widely used decentralized platforms worldwide. The key factors behind this popularity are its scalability and capacity to hand a huge number of transactions. But, due to GAS fees, using Ethereum is extremely costly.

Since there are some rules that we need to follow, instead of directly moving to the main Ethereum network, Ethereum can also be utilized in a mock environment also known as Ethereum Testnet.

So, Ethereum Testnets are just testing networks for Ethereum. It consists of a group of nodes used to put the Ethereum protocol to the test. It is a test network for developers where they can test smart contracts and DApps before pushing them to the main network in production.

Deploying smart contracts on the Ethereum MainNet is expensive due to the gas fees. However, one of the biggest advantages of these Ethereum TestNets is that you don’t have to acquire real ETH to pay for gas to perform on-chain transactions. On the TestNet, Ether has no real value and is simply used for network testing.

Also, read: Ethereum Name Service

What is TestNet Faucet

On any Ethereum TestNet, the Ether does not have any real value. Moreover, there is no marketplace to buy Ethers for a TestNet.

However, a user will need to have some Ethers even on the TestNet to perform some operation. And here comes the role of TestNet Faucet.

A faucet is just a web-based tool that facilitates TestNet users with some free tokens. Moreover, users can use these tokens to try out different things on the network for testing.

Different Ethereum Testnets

So, till now, we get to know about Ethereum TestNet and why it is critical to use TestNets before the MainNet. Now, there is a variety of public Ethereum TestNets available that a developer can choose based upon the project requirement.

However, in this section, we will illustrate some of the widely used public Ethereum TestNets. Here is the list of mostly used Ethereum test networks.

1. Ropsten
2. Kovan
3. Rinkeby
4. Goerli

Now, let’s discuss each of these test networks and their key functionality.

1. Ropsten Ethereum TestNet

The Ropsten Testnet came into existence in November 2016, and it simulates a real Ethereum network (MainNet). This Ethereum test network is named after a subway station located in Stockholm.

And just like Ethereum MainNet, Ropsten TestNet utilizes Proof-to-Work consensus. Moreover, developers can also mine Ethers on Rospsten by requesting through a faucet. But, those Ethers will not be of real value.

Advantages

• Ropsten closely resembles the Ethereum MainNet as it utilizes the same consensus process, making it an excellent solution for Ethereum developers.
• Furthermore, obtaining free Eths on Ropsten is a more straightforward process. Simply paste your Ethereum address into the faucet link.
• Ropsten also supports Geth and Parity clients, making it more adaptable.

Disadvantages

• Ropsten is not a stable Ethereum network, due to which it is also prone to attacks.
• Ropsten was attacked and forced to a stop in February 2017. Moreover, hackers increase both gas limits and mining rewards.
• But, in August 2017, the attack was ended, and the Ropsten test network was restored.

2. Kovan Ethereum TestNet

The Kovan Ethereum TestNet was launched by the Parity team in March 2017. Moreover, just like Ropsten, Kovan is also named after a subway stop in Singapore.

However, instead of using proof-of-work (PoW) consensus, Kovan utilizes the proof-of-authority consensus mechanism (PoA). And this distinguishes the Kovan TestNet from the primary Ethereum network.

Furthermore, in comparison to other TestNets, obtaining Ethers on Kovan is pretty simple. For this, we simply need to provide the Ethereum address to the Kovan Gitter channel.

Advantages

• In Kovan TestNet, the Ether supply is managed by trusted parties, this makes Kovan immune to various spam assaults.
• The Kovan TestNet supports the creation of ERC-721, ERC-1155, and even ERC-20 tokens.

Disadvantages

• Geth Ethereum Client does not support Kovan TestNet. It is only supported by OpenEthereum (Parity).
• As Kovan uses PoA, it does not perfectly replicate the actual Ethereum environment.
• Moreover, on Kovan, mining Ethers is not supported. Instead, we can request it through a faucet.

3. Rinkeby Ethereum TestNet

Rinkeby is another Ethereum TestNet that is also an Ethereum MainNet fork. And it allows us to test the decentralized applications before releasing them to the Ethereum MainNet.

Rinkeby was introduced by the Ethereum Foundation in April 2017, and it is also named after a metro station located in Stockholm. Moreover, Rinkeby also uses the Clique proof-of-authority (PoA) consensus.

Advantages

• Just like Kovan TestNet, the Ether supply in Rinkeby is managed by trusted parties, this makes Rinkeby immune to various spam assaults.

Disadvantages

• Similar to Kovan, Rinkeby also uses PoA and it does not perfectly replicate the actual Ethereum environment.
• Rinkeby only transacts on the network using the Geth client. So, to transact on the Rinkeby network, a user must shift to the Geth client.
• On the Rinkeby, getting free Ethers is pretty challenging. It entails creating a social media post and includes waiting for a minimum of eight hours to three days.

4. Görli Ethereum TestNet

Similar to Rinkeby and Kovan, Görli is another Ethereum TestNet that utilizes Proof-of-Authority (PoA) consensus. Furthermore, it was introduced in November 2018 as part of the Görli initiative, making it a new testing network.

Additionally, it also takes its name from a subway station and this time located in Berlin, Germany. Görli’s purpose is to provide service that is reliable enough to provide stability in both reliability and availability.

Advantages

• One key benefit of using Görli is that it is supported by multiple Ethereum clients. For example, OpenEthereum, Besu, Geth, etc.
• Just like Kovan TestNet & Rinkeby, the Ether supply in Görli is also managed by trusted parties, this makes it immune against various spams.

Disadvantages

• As compared to the primary Ethereum MainNet, we cannot use the Görli TestNet to mine Ethers. Instead of mining, we can only request Ethers from a faucet.
• Görli TestNet also uses PoA and due to this, it does not perfectly replicate the actual Ethereum environment.

Read: What is Mining in Ethereum

Comparison of Different Ethereum TestNets

Till now, we have seen different Ethereum TestNets, now in this section, we will discuss the key comparison between these TestNets.

Property	Ropsten	Kovan	Rinkeby	Görli
Consensus	Proof-of-Work (Ethash)	Proof of Authority (Authority Round)	Proof of Authority (Clique)	Proof of Authority (Clique)
Chain ID	3	42	4	5
Network ID	3	42	4	5
Block time	30 seconds	4 seconds	15 seconds	15 seconds
Supported Clients	Geth & Parity	OpenEthereum (Parity)	Geth	OpenEthereum, Besu, Geth, Pantheon, Parity
Explorer	Ropsten Explorer	Kovan Explorer	Rinkeby Explorer	Görli Explorer

Using MetaMast to connect to an Ethereum TestNet

Metamask is a tool we can easily download as a browser extension. It is available for Firefox, Chrome, and even Brave browser.

Metamask simply allows users to open their Ethereum in a browser itself. Moreover, it also allows developers to communicate with Ethereum test networks. And in this section, we will understand how to use MetaMask to connect to an Ethereum TestNet.

• First, for the implementation, we need to set up the MetaMask wallet account. We can use the steps given in this tutorial to create a MetaMask wallet.
• After creating and setting up the MetaMask wallet, we will be shown Ether balance on Ethereum MainNet.
• To shift from Ethereum Mainnet to test network, click on the MetaMask icon and click on “Ethereum Mainnet“. And then click on “Show/hide test networks“.

• This will navigate to a setting option where we need to enable the “Show test networks” option. By enabling this, we will get multiple test networks options.

• Next, simply click on Ethereum Mainnet, and from the list we can easily select the required Ethereum TestNet.

Also, take a look at some more Ethereum tutorials.

• Ethereum Nodes and Clients
• What is Ethereum Network
• What is Bitcoin and how does it work
• How to Setup Private Ethereum Blockchain

So, in this tutorial, we have discussed what is Ethereum Testnets, and we have also discussed different Ethereum Testnets. Additionally, we have covered the following topics.

• What is an Ethereum Testnet
• What is TestNet Faucet
• Different Ethereum Testnets
• Ropsten Ethereum TestNet
• Kovan Ethereum TestNet
• Rinkeby Ethereum TestNet
• Görli Ethereum TestNet
• Comparison of Different Ethereum TestNets
• Using MetaMast to connect to an Ethereum TestNet