Validators

What are the requirements to run a node on betanet? #

• 250 GB SSD storage
• Quad core CPU less than 10 years old if self hosting
• Dual core CPU works if hosted with newer Xeons / EPYC
• 16 GB of ram,  4+ GB of virtual memory recommended
• Hosting: 8 GB RAM + 8 GB Virtual Memory

What is the reward I will get by running an honest node on betanet? #

Your node will earn Betanet SHM, but these will not have any value. That said, we will be keeping track of the addresses that helped out during Betanet. While we haven’t yet decided on Mainnet rewards for Betanet users, we’ll announce in due time if and when it is decided.

How do GUI and CLI features help me in operating a node? #

With GUI, you can start running a node with a few clicks of your mouse. Shardeum is one of the first L1 networks to enable user-friendly GUI feature for node validators

CLI is the primary interface used by the vast majority of blockchain networks. It is enabled for more advanced users and developers who intend to work with nodes more deeply and technically

Can I operate archive nodes on betanet? #

During betanet the community can operate Validator nodes. After mainnet, the community can also operate Archiver nodes.

What would be the requirement and incentive to run an archive node? #

Requirements and incentive for running an Archiver will be determined during betanet. We are looking at an approximate config of: 32 core, 256GB RAM, 4TB SSD

Shardeum has POQ + POS, and validators have to self-stake some amount of SHM. Delegators can choose one of these validators to delegate their funds and lock to contribute to the protocol security and get staking rewards. Would this capital be unlocked to use at other places? #

Delegating SHM to a validator means you trust that validator will not misbehave and lose your stake. But this means the validator has to tell the world who they are and why you should trust them. Decentralization is maximized when many independent and anonymous validators contribute to the network. So it is preferred to have each validator stake their own SHM. There is also the contention that the stake amount needs to be high enough to discourage misbehavior, but not so high that it makes it challenging to participate. This amount may need to be something that is adjusted over time. In a nutshell though, the staking amount would be reasonable enough for average users to run a validator node on Shardeum while at the same time reasonable enough to prevent/minimize bot attacks.

I understand that the standby nodes would become active when there is a traffic spike or when active nodes go offline. Will there be a penalty for going offline? #

This can be expected as part of the network protocols that nodes will follow. We will add more details between betanet and mainnet.

Does the network give any priorities for selecting validator nodes? #

​You will have network protocols to follow, like the minimum qty of coins to be staked and hardware configs. Once nodes have those few prerequisites as determined by network compliance, the network will NOT prioritize or favor any node. We want to make decentralization accessible for everyone

What are the hardware requirements to run a node on Shardeum mainnet? #

​We will know better what hardware requirements are after testnet. The following can give you an estimate of the requirement. A rented server for under $50/month should be sufficient and we aim to start with 4-8 GB RAM type of config.

What is the node reward/issuance policy on Shardeum? #

Shardeum launched SHM tokenomics model and dashboard with a live demo on 19th April 2023 after a lengthy research. The dashboard will allow community/validators to run node reward simulations and calculate the node income on the website page here – https://shardeum.org/shm-tokenomics/. You can further report any bugs/request for new features as well on the website. It is important to note that Shardeum tokenomics has to be unique like the network itself since it scales linearly with the help of standby nodes concept.

This is an MVP of the SHM issuance policy which basically demonstrates how Shardeum Foundation/DAO (FDAO) will try and ensure there’s always an equilibrium level of SHM supply (less than the max supply), low GAS fees forever, and profitability for validators irrespective of the price and transaction action. Issuance policy will be built and refined with the help of community through the mainnet launch.