Blockchains are the sum of various components forming a distributed ledger, the most important being nodes. Blockchain nodes are the foundation that builds the infrastructure of decentralized networks, enabling the blockchain to validate transactions and keep the network secure. In simple terms, blockchain nodes are computers that collectively run the blockchain software– every computer being a node that supports the network’s decentralization, security and stability.

There are different types of nodes on each blockchain, for example, Ethereum comprises full nodes, light nodes, archive nodes, miner nodes, and others. Full nodes are integral to a blockchain as they independently verify, download, and store every transaction on the blockchain, adding them to the block. Light nodes are a variation of full nodes, including only ‘titles’ (or the relevant information) of the transactions rather than all the data. They are created to save on space and storage.

Those two are the most common types of nodes on Ethereum, but in this article, we focus on archive nodes, which are rarely spoken about despite their importance to the blockchain. The article will explain in more depth what archive nodes are, their importance, how they work, and their real-world applications. You will learn about the challenges that archive nodes face and how projects such as Allnodes, a non-custodial platform where you can host your node, helps provide solutions to these challenges.

An In-Depth Introduction to Archive Nodes

Archive nodes, or archival nodes are specialized nodes across blockchain networks that store the entire history of the blockchain, including the historical data, transactions and blocks. These nodes have the same properties as Full nodes but have an archive of all existing blockchain data.

The differences between Full Nodes and Archive Nodes 

How Do Archive Nodes Work?

As stated above, Archive nodes store all the historical information and states of a blockchain, including the data, metadata, transactions and blocks. The node performs a “full synchronization” of the blockchain from its genesis block, downloading full block data from the first to the latest block including transactions, receipts, account balances, and block information.

To ensure full syncing, archive nodes need to liaise with clients and peers to get the complete data. Moreover, they verify the data on the network and build an ‘archive’ of the information from every block ever produced on the blockchain. Archive nodes verify all downloaded blocks, re-execute all transactions, and write all intermediate states to your disk.

“Archival nodes are configured to store the complete history of all transactions and states,” Konstantin Boyko-Romanovsky, founder and CEO of Allnodes stated. “Despite the name, Full nodes may not always contain the complete history of blocks and transactions. They are used to ensure network security and validation. In contrast, archival nodes store all states for each block from the genesis block to the latest transaction, providing a complete and unalterable blockchain record.”

Given the intensity of this process, archive nodes may take weeks or months (depending on network speed) to sync full data and recover the complete data for the blockchain since its genesis block. Archive nodes will require more time to fully sync the data (for reasons explained above) – the huge amounts of data needed to be synced and syncing the blockchain data from the genesis block unlike full nodes and light nodes, which regularly prune data.

Why are Archive Nodes Important?

Archive nodes are important for various reasons in the blockchain space from helping maintain security, providing reliability, and improving transparency and development. They provide a gateway for accessing historical information about the blockchain, which can be useful for people who need data older than the recent 128 blocks on full nodes.

1. Easier querying: Having the full history of blockchain data and a record of all transactions and blocks on one platform allows for easier and faster querying, improving the search for data.
2. Transparency: Archive nodes help maintain transparency across the blockchain by providing historical data, enabling anyone to comb through the network for any information they find relevant.
3. Security: One of the most important benefits of archive nodes is maintaining and increasing the security of the blockchain. With a complete copy of the blockchain, they can detect any attempts to tamper with the network. If a malicious actor attempts to alter the blockchain, the archive node can detect the discrepancy and alert the network participants.
4. Data accessibility: Finally, having a complete record of blockchain data makes data more accessible to the public. Stakeholders can query and find any relevant information that they can use to analyze the blockchain and make decisions on the future prospects of the network.

Real Use Cases of Archive Nodes In Blockchain Ecosystems

Here are some of the real use cases for archive nodes in the blockchain world:

1. Blockchain explorers: Block explorers leverage the data provided by archive nodes to compile relevant transactions, block and address data and present it to users. Users can search any block data and track previous transaction data

Example: Etherscan

1. DApp development: DApp development requires developers to test their DApp against previous blockchain data. If the decentralized application requires data more than the last 128 blocks, archive nodes benefit the developers more than full nodes.

Example: All blockchain DApps.

1. Data analytics and research: Archive nodes are beneficial for research and data analytics firms. The data collected is important to identify trends, patterns, and anomalies since the genesis block. This helps create better analytical reports and uncover anomalies across the blockchain such as hacks.

Example: Chainalysis

1. Auditing: Archive nodes also provide sufficient data for auditors and compliance companies, providing a complete record of all transactions and smart contracts on the blockchain network.

Example: Consensys Diligence

Challenges Affecting The Building of Archive Nodes

As stated before, building archive nodes could present a number of challenges. Archive nodes are pre-dominantly read-write operations, meaning they use more RAM and CPU space than full or light nodes, hence they may require specialized hardware to run these huge computations. The hardware is usually expensive to purchase and maintain, so only well-funded companies can run their archive node.

Secondly, they require more memory space than full nodes, which also increases the costs of operation to securely store the information.

The slow rate of synchronization could stall DApp development for projects as it takes months to fully sync archive nodes.

Solution

To solve these issues, users can outsource their needs to a blockchain node provider. Allnodes is an example of a reliable blockchain node provider that provides users with a user-friendly, affordable, and non-custodial platform to host nodes.  They provide institutional-grade service with multi-level protection and uninterrupted node uptime, ensuring high security and reliability.

The platform has performed exceptionally well since its launch, hosting nearly 40,000 nodes, with $4.7 billion in total value managed by the nodes. The platform is multichain, supporting several blockchains including  Ethereum, NEAR Protocol, Moonbeam, Terra, and others.

Final words

The presence of archive nodes in the blockchain ecosystem is integral in maintaining the robustness, security, and transparency of decentralized networks. Archive nodes store the entire historical data of the blockchain, facilitating easier querying, better security, and improved data accessibility.

However, several challenges such as high storage requirements and slow synchronization times make them costly and complex to maintain. Employing the services of blockchain node providers such as Allnodes is a ready solution for hosting these nodes, making sure of high security and reliability.