Context

Based on the findings in #1286, it might be possible to remove the logic that keeps the entire genesis file in memory during node operation. Or at least, load the genesis information on demand only when needed and free it up from memory when not needed. We need to ensure this is not a breaking change and that the current logic that needs to validate/use the genesis information doesn't change any behavior or normal operation. This should be a seamless change that would not require any operational changes. If implemented, it would also be beneficial to provide benchmark reports on the a few metrics before and after this change to demonstrate that are advantages such as less memory footprint during node operation.

Proposal

See discussion below.

ToDo

• Environment stores either a pointer to a GenesisDoc or the genesis' chunks, but not both. #4234
• Node does not keep a pointer to a GenesisDoc after initialization. #4248
• Benchmark the difference in a Node memory usage between before and after the changes.