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System Requirements

Run Nethermind on a platform of your choice
Learn about the hardware and system requirements to run Nethermind.

Supported operating systems

Nethermind supports a broad range of modern 64-bit operating systems including but not limited to:
  • Linux
    • Alpine (3.15 and later)
    • CentOS (Stream 8 and later)
    • Debian (10 and later)
    • Fedora (37 and later)
    • openSUSE (15.4 and later)
    • RHEL (8 and later)
    • SLES (15 and later)
    • Ubuntu (18.04 and later)
  • Windows
    • Windows 10 and later
    • Windows Server 2012 and later
  • macOS (10.15 Catalina and later)
As of now, Nethermind for Windows doesn't support AArch64 (ARM64) architecture.

Hardware requirements

Suggested requirements can be found below.
Network
Memory
Cores
Mainnet
minimal: 16 recommended: 32
4
Mainnet Archive
128
8
Goerli
8
2
Goerli Archive
8
4
Gnosis
16
2
EnergyWeb
8
2
Volta
8
2

Disk requirements

Running an Ethereum Mainnet full node requires at least a 1 TB fast disk, such as NVMe or a fast SSD. However, 2 TB is recommended to minimize maintenance requirements. To choose a concrete disk model we recommend checking Great and less great SSDs for Ethereum nodes. Choosing a 2 TB disk is a comfortable option for most common Mainnet node usage patterns, including staking. Nonetheless, for a comprehensive understanding of disk growth and usage, we recommend delving further into the topic.

Database growth

Nethermind requires approximately 504 GB of disk space (as of May 2023) after a fresh Ethereum Mainnet sync using default parameters. This size increases over time as the Ethereum chain grows. The node's database is in its most optimal state immediately after a sync or full pruning. Following the initial sync, the database grows at a rate of approximately 27 GB per week. To maintain this process, occasional resyncing or pruning of the node is necessary to bring it back to its optimal database size. For more info on managing node disk growth, see How to reduce database size. Having a larger disk space allocation reduces the need for frequent maintenance and alleviates concerns about the chain outgrowing the available space. It's worth noting that the only drawback of running a smaller disk is the requirement for more regular resyncing or pruning. We believe that a 2 TB disk will suffice for most users. However, the choice between 1 TB and 2 TB depends on factors such as hardware costs, cloud provider expenses, and individual requirements.

Disk speed

The speed of the disk often acts as a bottleneck for the node's performance. It is crucial for optimizing your validator's performance rewards and the syncing process. We highly recommend a disk with a minimum of 10,000 IOPS for both write and read operations. Slower disks may hinder your ability to synchronize the blockchain successfully.

Sync modes and disk usage

A node can be run using different syncing options, and each option has different characteristics of disk space usage.
  • Archive node. This mode stores the full historical state for all blocks. As of July 2023, an archive node requires at least 14 TB of disk space, and it grows by approximately 60 GB per week.
  • Ancient barriers. Nethermind allows you to specify how many old block bodies and receipts you want to store. By default, Nethermind sets the ancient barrier at block 11052984. This block is significant because it marks the deployment of the deposit contract required for consensus client deposit scanning for validators. Peers and JSON-RPC requests will not have access to block bodies and receipts older than the ancient barrier.
  • NonValidatorMode. This mode drops all historical receipts and bodies, but it cannot be used as a validator node.
For more detailed information about the various sync modes, see Sync modes.

Database size with different configuration

The below table presents the Nethermind database size after fresh sync with different configurations and networks (as of May 2023).
Network/configuration
Database size after fresh sync
Mainnet (default settings)
504 GB
Mainnet without ancient barriers
664 GB
Mainnet archive
14 TB
Mainnet without old bodies and receipts
178 GB
Gnosis
112 GB
Goerli
240 GB

Database in details

A freshly fast synced Mainnet disk space with details about concrete databases (as of May 2023).
Database
Mainnet
Mainnet with Ancient Barriers
State
161 GB
161 GB
Receipts
152 GB
104 GB
Blocks
334 GB
222 GB
Bloom
5.3 GB
5.3 GB
Headers
8.1 GB
8.1 GB
Code
3 GB
3 GB
Other
...
..
Total
664 GB
504 GB

Other chains in details

Nethermind officially supports multiple chains. Provided below is a comprehensive list of these chains along with a detailed breakdown of their respective database directories. For reference, the database sizes listed are based on data from July 2023 and have been determined using the standard configurations provided by Nethermind.
Chiado
Gnosis
Sepolia
Goerli
Volta
Energyweb
Directory
Size
State
1.6 GB
Receipts
646 MB
Blocks
2.3 GB
Code
22 MB
Peers
8 KB
Witness
4.1 MB
BlockInfos
224 MB
Bloom
1.4 GB
Headers
1.1 GB
CanonicalHashTrie
4.1 MB
Metadata
4.1 MB
DiscoveryNodes
1.7 MB
TOTAL
7.1 GB
Directory
Size
State
40 GB
Receipts
21 GB
Blocks
43 GB
Code
350 MB
Peers
8 KB
Witness
4.1 MB
BlockInfos
1.5 GB
Bloom
7.5 GB
Headers
9.4 GB
CanonicalHashTrie
4.1 MB
Metadata
4.2 MB
DiscoveryNodes
1.8 MB
TOTAL
121 GB
Directory
Size
State
8.5 GB
Receipts
8.2 GB
Blocks
36 GB
Code
1.5 GB
Peers
8 KB
Witness
4.1 MB
BlockInfos
177 MB
Bloom
1.3 GB
Headers
1.2 GB
CanonicalHashTrie
4.1 MB
Metadata
4.1 MB
DiscoveryNodes
1.7 MB
TOTAL
56 GB
Directory
Size
State
51 GB
Receipts
35 GB
Blocks
185 GB
Code
7.4 GB
Peers
8 KB
Witness
4.1 MB
BlockInfos
417 MB
Bloom
2.5 GB
Headers
3.5 GB
CanonicalHashTrie
4.1 MB
Metadata
4.4 MB
DiscoveryNodes
1.5 MB
TOTAL
283 GB
Directory
Size
State
35.71 GB
Receipts
7.67 GB
Blocks
25.11 GB
Code
75.14 MB
Peers
616 B
Witness
119.95 KB
BlockInfos
1.15 GB
Bloom
7.40 GB
Headers
6.94 GB
CanonicalHashTrie
120.00 KB
Metadata
119.97 KB
DiscoveryNodes
1.55 MB
TOTAL
84.06 GB
Directory
Size
State
31.13 GB
Receipts
5.13 GB
Blocks
15.55 GB
Code
7.20 MB
Peers
311 B
Witness
103.11 KB
BlockInfos
1.22 GB
Bloom
7.78 GB
Headers
6.70 GB
CanonicalHashTrie
103.35 KB
Metadata
103.31 KB
DiscoveryNodes
1.68 MB
TOTAL
67.52 GB