Anza urges Solana validators to upgrade to Agave 4.4.1 before epoch 1079

Validators still running older Agave versions risk being forked off the network when epoch 1079 begins on Nov. 6 Solana validators have homework, and it’s due tomorrow. Anza, the engineering firm behind the Agave validator client, is urging mainnet-beta operators to upgrade to Agave 4.4.1 immediately. The stakes are simple. Validators that stay on older versions risk being forked off the network when epoch 1079 begins, which is expected at approximately 13:30 UTC on Nov. 6, 2026. What Anza is asking for Anza issued the advisory on Nov. 5, 2026. That gives operators roughly a day to act before the epoch transition. The centerpiece of Agave 4.4.1 is a patch that standardizes the data size for loader-v3 ProgramData accounts. Anza has flagged it as a critical fix rather than a nice-to-have. The fix is required for compatibility with an upcoming feature gate activation. Feature gates are Solana’s way of switching on protocol changes at a set moment. Validators running earlier versions face exclusion from consensus and from network rewards once epoch 1079 starts. A fast follow to v4.4.0 This upgrade lands right on the heels of another one. Anza tagged Agave v4.4.0 as stable and recommend...