Documentation: Network | ethereum.org
1 Introduction
Ethereum is a protocol, meaning there can be multiple independent "networks" compatible with the protocol and not interacting with each other.
The network is distinct from the Ethereum environment, which can be used for development, testing, or production scenarios.
Ethereum accounts will operate on a different network, and account balances and transaction history will not be carried over from the Ethereum mainnet.
For testing purposes, it's useful to know which networks are available and how to get ether for a testnet so you can try them out.
2. Public network
Everyone can connect to the public network through the Internet. Anyone can read or create transactions on the public blockchain
And transactions that have been executed can be verified. The transaction protocol and network status are jointly determined by peers on the network.
2.1 Mainnet
The main network refers to the main Ethereum ecological blockchain, and all transactions with real value occur in the decentralized ledger of the chain.
The ETH price involved in the public and transactions is the ETH of the main network.
2.2 Testnet
In addition to the main network, there is also a public test network. This is a network that simulates the ecological environment
Protocol developers or smart contract developers can use them to test protocol upgrades and smart contracts that have not yet been deployed on the mainnet.
Think of it as a simulation of production and test servers.
It is often important to test any contract code written on a testnet before deploying to mainnet.
If you are building a dapp that integrates with an existing smart contract, a copy will be deployed to a test box that you can interact with.
Most testnets use a proof-of-authority consensus mechanism. This means that a small number of nodes are selected to validate transactions and create new blocks
Collateralizing their identity in the process. Difficult to incentivize mining on a proof-of-work testnet&#x