A Comprehensive Look at the Hardware Used for ETH Staking
Editor's Note: This article comes fromEthereum enthusiasts (ID: ethfans)Ethereum enthusiasts (ID: ethfans)
important hint:
, Author: LamboshiNakaghini, translation: A Jian, reproduced by Odaily with authorization.
important hint:
The ideal installation process and best practices shown in this article are written for users who have dedicated a computer to participate in staking. Therefore, when running staking software, please limit the operation of other processes, especially those that use the Internet.
Please use Linux system! Really, believe me, it will be easier. It is foreseeable that the client team will do more support for Linux systems. The Linux system is lightweight, stable, and secure, and it won't force you to update or reboot every day.
A backup battery is strongly recommended! Connect your modem and router. The ISP (Internet Service Provider) I use has generators to support emergency services, so I can continue to use the Internet even if the power goes out. Ask your IPS if there is such a service.
(Translator's Note: The author here means to ensure that the verifier is online, because the verifier is not online, that is, if he cannot respond in time when there is a task, he will also be punished. However, the punishment is not as strong as that of the verifier in the entire network at that time. The offline situation is relevant, the more disconnected, the greater the punishment. If the disconnected situation is not serious, the offline penalty is also small. So the author may be too cautious)
secondary title
Raspberry Pi 4, 4GB version
Price: $84.80 (Translator's Note: The domestic price of a bare-bones XD is 429 yuan), including the case, power supply, SD card and heat sink.
Power consumption: The power is about 8W. Electricity bills can be calculated.
My opinion: I personally do not recommend buying a Raspberry Pi 4 for staking, unless further testing proves that its performance is sufficient to keep up with the network when the beacon chain encounters problems. Even though it's adequate, I can't help but think that you might be better off using a "real computer" (sorry for lack of a better word).
secondary title
old laptop/computer
Price: Free, well, at least free.
CPU: According to Prysmatic's recommendation, the minimum configuration is Intel i5-760, that is, at least a CPU with a running score of 2500 or above is required. However, their recommended configuration uses a CPU score of 7075. So, if your device is going to run on the main network, I strongly recommend using a CPU with a running score of 5000 or more. My computer's running score is 8290, and the usage rate is generally 30%~40%, and occasionally reaches 100%.
RAM: Unless you're using a very simple OS, I recommend at least 8 GB of RAM. If you're also running tools like promethesu and grafana to generate monitoring dashboards, 16 GB of memory is better. The total memory usage of my machine has reached 7.5~7.9 GB, I think 8 GB is not enough.
Note: Stability and uptime are key to maximizing profits. If you want to use an old desktop, consider replacing the power supply and fans. Buying a good power supply can save you monthly electricity bills.
If you plan to use old laptops to run validators, please take into account that due to their shape, they have limited cooling capacity and, if used 24/7, may have battery problems. If you really want to use a notebook, I recommend that you use a notebook with a CPU performance that greatly exceeds the required performance, because it is not an option to keep the notebook running at full capacity. Probably fine, but in general, notebooks aren't designed for this kind of use.
secondary title
new notebook
Considering the heat dissipation factor, the shape of the notebook is also a disadvantage.
In addition, notebooks generally do not have wired network ports, so this depends on WiFi. While WiFi is generally stable, it still can't compare to wired.
secondary title
new desktop machine
Price: $400 to $600?
Power consumption: about 30W.
My Opinion: Small desktops are fine, even smaller than older laptops.
secondary title
I won't go into details here, the main points are the same as the desktop machine. However, one advantage of self-assembly is that you can buy high-quality parts according to your needs, and the hardware in the computer is universal, and it is easy to replace if it is broken.
Remember to add style point when adding RAID (disk array)!
secondary title
Mini PC (Inter NUC8i5BEK Mini PC)
Price: $678
Power consumption: 20~25W.
My take: NUCs are cute, and with such a small size, your wife won't be disgusted with you. However, it is indeed a bit too expensive. I think you can buy a server, but for most people, maybe a mini PC is a more realistic option.
secondary title
server
If you really want to buy a server, I suggest you shop around. Don't get hurt.
Power Consumption: Great. My server is 100 watts, but it's pretty new. If you buy an older one, it may consume up to 150 watts.
My Opinion: This option is my favorite. Because the enterprise server has various features, it is specially designed to do what we want to do (24 * 7 * 365). There are redundant power supplies, usually two CPUs, and if one goes down, you can take out the bad one and restart with one CPU. Has built-in RAID card, so the storage is redundant. There are also thermal drives, so you don't even need to shut down if your hard drive fails. All components are high quality and durable. And you get monitoring and management tools that you don't have on the machines you build yourself. So the power consumption will be higher. Isn't it perfect? It's not recommended if you're only running one validator, but if you're running multiple validators, its reliability and performance are worth the extra operating costs.
secondary title
virtual private server
Price: I've looked at the websites of various providers and it's about $20-$40 per month.
Performance: You can buy as much configuration as you want.
