Skip to main content

Hardware Requirements

The hardware requirements for each type of EOS node can vary depending on factors such as network size, transaction volume, and the number of concurrent users. However, here are some general guidelines for the hardware requirements of different EOS node types:

API Node without Blocks Log

ℹ️ The blocks log is a record of all the blocks in the blockchain and their associated transactions. The blocks log provides a comprehensive history of the transactions and changes that have occurred on the EOS network.

The minimum, starting point, for an API node, without maintaining blocks log, is the following:

  • CPU: 2 cores >= 3.7 Ghz
  • RAM: 16 GB RAM and 16 GB swap
  • HDD: 1024 GB
  • Internet network link: 100Mb/s

⚠ Be aware, the above configuration will face problems if suddenly RAM usage on the network increases over that 32GB mark. Also, this setup is 50/50 RAM/swap and occasionally will respond slow on some requests due to swapping.

The optimal configuration at the time of writing this document, June 12th 2023, for an API node without blocks log is:

  • CPU: 4 cores >= 3.8 Ghz
  • RAM: 64 GB
  • HDD: 1024 GB
  • Internet network link: >= 100Mb/s

ℹ️ For API nodes, in general, you do not want too high CPU speeds (>= 5 Ghz), since it will skew subjective billing lower and run into edge cases where the API thinks a transaction is fine, accepts it, tells the user success, and then the transaction ends up getting rejected upstream by a slower CPU.

API Node with Blocks Log

  • CPU: 4 cores >= 3.8 Ghz
  • RAM: 64 GB
  • HDD: 4096 GB
  • Internet network link: >= 100Mb/s

State History Node

For state history node you need even more HDD space than the API node with blocks log:

  • CPU: 4 cores >= 3.8 Ghz
  • RAM: 64 GB
  • HDD: 5120 GB
  • Internet network link: >= 100Mb/s

Use tmpfs File System

One common, and most efficient strategy that applies to all nodes, is the use of the tmpfs files system. This strategy suggests to mount the node state folder into a tmpfs partition. This normally requires a large swap partition in addition to at least 32GB RAM.

ℹ️ The tmpfs file system keeps all of its files in virtual memory. Everything in tmpfs is temporary in the sense that no files will be created on your hard drive. If you unmount a tmpfs instance, everything stored therein is lost.