2 KiB
🍕 Running a validator
tl;dr
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the validator is responsible for creating a new block and sending it out to other nodes on the network.
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to participate as a validators, a user must deposit 32 ETH into the deposit contract and run 3 pieces of software: - an execution client - a consensus client - a validator
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once activated, validators receive new blocsk from peers - the txs delivered in the block are re-executed, and the block signature is checked
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the validator then sends a vote (attestation) in favor of that block across the network
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the timing of blocks is not determined by the mining difficult anymore, but it's fixed:
- slots (12 seconds)
- epochs (32 slots)
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in every slot, a committee of validators is randomly chosen, whose votes are used to determine the validity of the block being proposed
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the first block in each epoch is a checkpoint
setting a dedicated hardware
- Check estimate of the blockchain size
- Minimum specs:
- CPU with 4+ cores
- 32 GB+ RAM
- fast SSD with at least 1T free space
- 25+ MBit/sec download internet service
validator lifecycle
The sequence of states that a validator can exist in:
- deposited: At least 32 ETH has been deposited to the deposit contract by the validator
- pending: the validator is in the activation queue waiting to be voted into the network by existing validators
- active: currently attesting and proposing blocks
- slashing: the validator has misbehaved and is being slashed
- exiting: the validator has been flagged for exiting the network, either voluntarily or because they have been ejected.
the JSON-RPC interface
- interface that allows us to write programs that use an Ethereum client as a gateway to an Ethereum network and blockchain.
- the RPC interface is offered as an HTTP service on port 8545. For security reasons it is restricted, by default, to only accept connections from localhost.