Github is used for code base management, issues should reported in the FABCN component in JIRA.
This table shows the summary of the compatibility of the Node modules at versions 1.4 and 2.x, together with the Nodejs runtime they require and the Fabric Peer versions they can communicate with.
| Peer Connectivity v1.4 | Supported NodeJS | Peer Connectivity v2.x | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Node modules v1.4.5 | Yes | 8 | Yes |
| Node modules v2.2.x/v2.3.x | Yes | 12 | Yes |
| Node modules v2.4.x | Yes | 16 | Yes |
| Node modules v2.5.x | Yes | 16 | Yes |
By default a Fabric Peer v1.4 will create a Nodejs v8 runtime, and a Fabric Peer v2.2/2.3 will create a Nodejs 12 runtime. The Fabric v2.5 will create a Nodejs 16 runtime. Whilst these are defaults, the docker image used to host the chaincode and contracts can be altered. Set the environment variable CORE_CHAINCODE_NODE_RUNTIME on the peer to the name of the docker image.
For example CORE_CHAINCODE_NODE_RUNTIME=hyperledger/fabric-nodeenv:2.1 will allow the use of the latest Node 12 runtime to be used within a Peer v1.4.
The Node modules will connect to the peer whilst running; this is referred to as 'Fabric Peer Connectivity' in the table. For example, whilst the Fabric Peer v1.4 will create a Nodejs 8 runtime, if a Nodejs 12 runtime was configured, the node modules at v2.x still function when connecting to the Fabric Peer v1.4.
Note that the fabric-contract-api & fabric-shim node modules must be at v1.4.5 or greater to work with Node version 12. If you therefore use a contract originally written to work with Fabric 1.4, check the node modules before deploying on Fabric v2.
Also please note that that the v1.4 libraries WILL NOT work with Node16. Unless you configure a different node environment, any chaincode using the v1.4 libraries will need to move to v2.5 before being able to run with a Fabric v2.4 Peer.
The key elements are :
- the version of the Fabric Contract Node modules used
- the version of the Nodejs runtime used to run the code
- When starting a chaincode container to run a Smart Contract, the version of the runtime that is used is determined by these factors:
Fabric v1.4.2, and Fabric v2.x will, by default, start up docker image to host the chaincode and contracts. The version of the docker image used is defined by the version of Fabric in use.
With Fabric v2.x, the chaincode container can be configured to be started by other means, and not the Peer. In this case, the environment used is not in the control of Fabric.
Node modules that are produced are fabric-contract-api, fabric-shim & fabric-shim-api
v2.4 Node modules are supported running in Nodejs 16.4.0, with the x86_64 architecture.
v2.2/2.3 Node modules are supported running in Nodejs 12.16.1, with the x86_64 architecture.
v1.4.x Node modules are supported running Nodejs 8.16.1 with the x86_64 architecture.
Architecture Support: all docker images, runtimes, tools are tested under x86_64 ONLY
When using Fabric 2.2/2.3x the default docker image that is used to run the Node chaincode is node:12.16.1-alpine. With Fabric 2.4 the default docker image is node:16.4.0-alpine
Note: With the default docker image used by Fabric 2.x, the packaged code will be installed with npm. If a package-lock.json or a npm-shrinkwrap.json file is present, npm ci --only=production will be used. Otherwise npm install --production will be used.
When using Fabric 1.4.4, the docker image that is used to run the Node chaincode is node v8.16.1. It is installed with npm install --production
Subject to a suitable runtime environment, the 1.4.4 Node modules and 2.x Node modules can be used to communicate with a Fabric 2.x or 1.4.4 Peer - with the level of functionality that is implied by the Fabric version in use.