What are Blockchain Node Providers? How do They Work?
If you’re new to blockchain development, there are a lot of new concepts to learn about nodes and how they fit into your blockchain stack. What exactly is a blockchain node? Why is it difficult to run your own Ethereum node? What exactly is a node provider, and why do I require one? What are the distinctions between service providers like Infura, Alchemy, ChainStack, Ankr, and Quicknode?
What exactly is a blockchain node?
Let’s start at the beginning! A node is essentially a program that runs on a single computer and connects you to the rest of the blockchain network.
It communicates with other nodes to send information back and forth, validates transactions between people, and stores critical information about the state of the blockchain.
One of the peculiarities of a blockchain network is that it is essentially composed of only nodes: that is, the physical hardware running a blockchain such as Ethereum or Bitcoin is simply a collection of all the nodes run by individual people around the world.
Because there is no master server or single source of truth, it is decentralized!
Web3 is the culmination of a serverless internet vision, the decentralized web. An internet in which users control their own data, identity, and fate.
The Web3 stack looks something like this:
- Network Layer — aka Blockchain, the backend
- Interaction Layer — aka Node providers, the AWSes of the blockchain world
- Decentralized Applications — Customer interfaces to access Web 3.0, the “apps”
At the beginning of the Web3 development cycle and need to know the importance of layer 1. Besides, you might be curious about the alternatives available to access layer 1.
There are two methods for working with the interaction layer:
1. Making use of third-party service providers: For example, Infura, Alchemy, QuickNode
2. Your own node client: For example, Geth
As you might expect, both options have advantages and disadvantages. Option 2 is used in 90% of dapp development, but without much research into the subject.
OPTION 1: Making Use Of A Node Service Provider
Node service provider, as the name implies, runs node clients behind the scenes for you so that you do not have to. The node can then be “used” by each of its clients (obviously, it is shared). Heard of economies of scale? That’s what’s going on over here right now.
These service providers will usually provide you with an API key that you can use to communicate with the node. Yes, your entire provider. getBalance(0x) and similar functions are used here.
Using these nodes is typically as simple as plugging them into their SDK.
These services are provided by a number of node providers, including Alchemy, Infura, and QuickNode.
OPTION 2: Operating Your Own Node
By running our own Node, we mean that the entire blockchain is stored on your server. You can specify whether your Node should validate each data block before adding it to the blockchain (yes yes, we are talking about mining, and proof of work when it comes to Ethereum Blockchain).
Although running your own node is a good practice, it is not recommended due to the cost and time required for installation.
Why is it hard to run a node?
There are a few things that make developing on your own network-connected node particularly inconvenient. Let’s go over some of them:
Nodes can take several weeks to set up!
Spending a lot of time setting up a tool that doesn’t directly contribute to what you’re trying to build is the burden of any developer, and nodes are among the worst offenders.
There are generally two types of nodes: light nodes and full nodes. For many queries, light nodes only sync the block headers and requests from full nodes, whereas full nodes keep the entire state of a blockchain — every transaction ever created.
At the very least, a reliable node provider will provide:
· Connectivity to light and full nodes, as well as nodes and alerts that are constantly modified, so you don’t have to worry about forks or network changes.
· Access to records endpoints for historical transaction records
· Scalability and dependability: nodes should be available whenever and for as long as you need them.
Providers should handle tricky edge-cases like the latest-block problem above with consistency. This is frequently a problem when using Infura or other providers.
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