Developing on the Volta Test Network and Main Network (Energy Web Chain)
Blockchain networks to support test and production environments
Energy Web supports two distinct blockchain networks:
The Volta Test Network (Testnet)
The Energy Web Production Network (Mainnet)
These networks are independent of each other. They each have their own chain specifications that the OpenEthereum client uses to configure the blockchain. You can view them on github here.
You cannot transfer tokens between these two blockchains. They each use their own unique utility token that pays for transaction fees on the blockchain (read more about this here).
The Energy Web Chain's main network utility token is the Energy Web Token, which has real fiat value. The Volta Test Network's token is the Volta Token, and it has no real value. They are not interchangeable - if you have Volta tokens, this does not mean you have Energy Web Tokens, and vice versa.
Developing on Volta Test Network
Volta is the pre-production test network (testnet) of the Energy Web Chain. It’s the blockchain equivalent of a test server or test environment in traditional software development. Most blockchains have at least one test network. Ethereum, for example, has several test networks for pre-deployment testing.
Volta is used as a staging network to:
Test smart contracts before they are deployed on the production chain. If you write your own smart contract, you will want to deploy it and test it on Volta first to make sure it works as expected. Because tokens on the testnet (Volta tokens) have no real value, you can test thoroughly and incur no cost.
Test protocol updates before they are deployed on the production chain. Each time there is an upgrade to Ethereum's protocol, we test it on the Volta Network first.
The utility token for the Volta Test Network is the Volta token. Volta tokens have no real value, but you will need them to "pay" for transaction costs associated with interacting with smart contracts on the Volta network. Read more about the Volta Token and how to get some here.
Get Started Using Volta
Connect to Volta Test Network using MetaMask - you will need to connect to the Volta network in order to access applications and smart contracts deployed on Volta
Run a local node - you have the option to run your own local node of the Volta network. You can read about the purpose and benefits of running a local node here.
Developing on Energy Web Main Network
The Energy Web main network (mainnet) is the production network of the Energy Web Chain. The gas fees to pay for transactions require Energy Web Tokens (EWT), which have real value. You can read more about EWT and how to acquire it here.
You can read more about transaction costs on the Energy Web Chain here.
Get Started Using the Energy Web Chain
Connect to Energy Web Main Network using MetaMask - you will need to connect to the Energy Web Chain in order to access applications and smart contracts deployed on the Energy Web main network
Run a local node - you have the option to run your own local node of the Energy Web Chain. You can read about the purpose and benefits of running a local node here.
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