The ability to easily set up and run an Ethereum node on consumer-grade hardware is a key selling point of the decentralized nature of the Ethereum network. But for the average person, how practical is it to set up a node and run it at home? With the Merge complete, this question has come up many times in the crypto community. In this week’s article, we will outline the steps required to set up and run an Ethereum node at home. We will start with the basic hardware and network requirements, then move on to software download/compilation/installation, and finally the steps to run and maintain the node. Throughout the article, we will provide insights from the Coin Metrics team, who have been continuously running a Geth/Lighthouse node since June 2022.
Hardware and Network Requirements:
To begin setting up and running your own Ethereum node, you will need a computer and an internet connection. The computer will need to meet two general requirements: sufficient RAM and sufficient disk space.
Each node client specifies RAM requirements (see below), but any modern computer with 16GB of RAM will generally work well. We recommend running an Ethereum node on a dedicated computer, meaning the computer’s sole job is to run the Ethereum node. No streaming Netflix, editing videos, or other foreground/background processes, just running your node.
After RAM, you need to ensure your computer has enough disk space to store the current Ethereum blockchain (remember, after the Merge, it now has two parts: the execution layer and the consensus layer beacon chain), and also reasonable space for the blockchain to continue growing. Currently, a good rule of thumb is to use a 2TB solid-state drive (SSD). An SSD is essential as it supports fast enough read/write behavior so that the node can locally sync the existing chain and maintain it permanently as the chain grows.
For our node, we run a Dell Optiplex 5080 with an Intel Core i7 processor and 16 MB of RAM. This machine was purchased directly from Dell as a “stock” unit through their website. Additionally, to supplement the built-in disk space, we connected a 2TB Samsung portable SSD T7 via a USB-C Type 3 connector.
Network Connection:
To sync with the Ethereum network, you will need a minimum download speed of 25MBit/sec, which is a specification that most residential internet packages can meet. For our node, we use the standard Comcast package available in the Midwest of the United States, which is said to have a download speed of 250 MBits per second and a total monthly data download speed of 1.2 TB. Generally, metropolitan areas in developed economies will offer this service package or a similar one to users.
Software:
After the Merge, all Ethereum nodes must run two pieces of software simultaneously, a consensus layer node and an execution layer node. Ethereum.org lists the following execution layer nodes: Geth, Nethermind, Besu, Erigon, and Akula. For the consensus layer node, it lists Lighthouse, Lodestar, Nimbus, Prysm, and Teku.
Analysis of these different pieces of software is beyond the scope of this article. We decided to run the reliable Geth and the highly respected Lighthouse for our execution and consensus layers, respectively.
Operating System (OS):
Before delving into the software that runs the Ethereum protocol, a brief introduction to the choice of operating system. We decided to run Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, the bare-metal version. Bare-metal means the operating system runs directly on the processor’s chips. No virtual machines, no Docker containers, just the “old-fashioned” operating system on the computer. Running on bare metal provides the best utilization of hardware resources without the “overhead” of virtualization. Ubuntu 22.04 LTS is available for free download, and we chose it partly because of its independence within the cryptocurrency and Linux communities.
To install the Ubuntu operating system on a Dell computer, we had to partition the existing hard drive running Windows 10. Detailed instructions for this process are listed on the Ubuntu website and require a USB to load the new operating system onto the new partition. Installing the operating system can be tricky and may be the first real “bottleneck” for a non-technical node operator. It should be noted that the same system can be run on Windows 10, so this is not a truly necessary step. Additionally, there are many resources available on the internet to address this issue, so we believe that completing this task is still normal for a motivated user with good computer skills.
Execution Layer: Geth
According to clientdiversity.org, Geth is the most used Ethereum node, accounting for about 80% of all Ethereum clients. While this is not ideal for the network, it is the client our node is running. For our client executable (i.e., the program that our operating system actually runs when we start the node), we took a “trust but verify” approach to determine the composition of the
