Hardware requirements
What you need to run a Solidus validator at each tier — covering CPU, RAM, storage, network, and monthly infrastructure cost. Includes a bandwidth calculator and home-hardware guidance.
Tier comparison
docsHardware.tierComparisonDescription
| docsHardware.spec.cpu | docsHardware.tier.light10k SLDS · 12-15% APY | docsHardware.tier.subnet100k SLDS · 18-22% APY | docsHardware.tier.core1M SLDS · 25-30% APY |
|---|---|---|---|
docsHardware.spec.cpu | docsHardware.table.min2 cores @ 2.0 GHz docsHardware.table.rec4 cores @ 2.4 GHz | docsHardware.table.min4 cores @ 2.4 GHz docsHardware.table.rec8 cores @ 3.0 GHz | docsHardware.table.min8 cores @ 3.0 GHz docsHardware.table.rec16 cores @ 3.5 GHz |
docsHardware.spec.ram | docsHardware.table.min2 GB docsHardware.table.rec4 GB | docsHardware.table.min8 GB docsHardware.table.rec16 GB | docsHardware.table.min16 GB docsHardware.table.rec32 GB |
docsHardware.spec.storage | docsHardware.table.min500 GB SSD docsHardware.table.rec1 TB SSD | docsHardware.table.min1 TB SSD docsHardware.table.rec2 TB NVMe | docsHardware.table.min2 TB NVMe docsHardware.table.rec4 TB NVMe |
docsHardware.spec.network | docsHardware.table.min50 Mbps · public IPv4 docsHardware.table.rec100 Mbps · public IPv4 | docsHardware.table.min100 Mbps · public IPv4 docsHardware.table.rec250 Mbps · public IPv4 | docsHardware.table.min250 Mbps · public IPv4 docsHardware.table.rec1 Gbps · public IPv4 |
docsHardware.spec.monthlyInfra | docsHardware.table.min$5 – $15 docsHardware.table.rec$20 – $30 | docsHardware.table.min$30 – $60 docsHardware.table.rec$60 – $90 | docsHardware.table.min$120 – $200 docsHardware.table.rec$200 – $400 |
docsHardware.callout.whyGap
Cloud instance recommendations
Concrete instance types per provider that hit the recommended spec for each tier. Pick by what you're already credentialed for; Hetzner is consistently the lowest TCO if you have no other constraint.
| docsHardware.table.provider | docsHardware.table.instance | docsHardware.table.specs | docsHardware.table.monthly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hetzner | CCX23 | 4 dCPU · 16 GB · 240 GB NVMe | $32 | docsHardware.table.pricing |
| DigitalOcean | c-8 | 8 vCPU · 16 GB · 100 GB SSD | $168 | docsHardware.table.pricing |
| AWS | m5.xlarge | 4 vCPU · 16 GB · EBS gp3 | $140 | docsHardware.table.pricing |
| GCP | n2-standard-4 | 4 vCPU · 16 GB · PD-SSD | $155 | docsHardware.table.pricing |
Prices in USD, current as of 2026-03-15. Egress charges not included — see calculator below.
Storage IOPS
Solidus state pruning and SMT batch flushes are write-heavy. Random write IOPS matter more than raw sequential throughput. The numbers below are sustained, not bursty.
| docsHardware.storageIopsTable.tier | docsHardware.storageIopsTable.readIops | docsHardware.storageIopsTable.writeIops | docsHardware.storageIopsTable.tailLatency |
|---|---|---|---|
| docsHardware.tier.light | 500 | 500 | p99 < 10ms |
| docsHardware.tier.subnet | 3,000 | 3,000 | p99 < 5ms |
| docsHardware.tier.core | 10,000 | 10,000 | p99 < 2ms |
Benchmark your disk before committing to a tier:
# Random 4K write IOPS (run from your data_dir mount)
fio --name=randwrite --rw=randwrite --bs=4k --size=2G \
--numjobs=1 --iodepth=32 --runtime=30 --direct=1Bandwidth calculator
Estimate monthly egress for the selected tier and peer count. Egress is what kills AWS bills silently — the instance cost is the headline, but bandwidth is often the bigger line item.
1.28 Mbps
415 GB
docsHardware.bandwidth.warningTitle
Home hardware considerations
Light Nodes can run at home if you avoid a few specific pitfalls. Subnet and Core validators are not recommended for home networks — residential ISPs throttle, NAT, or rate-limit P2P in ways that surface as degraded state from the chain's perspective.
docsHardware.home.goodFit
docsHardware.home.miniPc.title
docsHardware.home.miniPc.detail
docsHardware.home.goodFit
docsHardware.home.raspberryPi.title
docsHardware.home.raspberryPi.detail
docsHardware.home.goodFit
docsHardware.home.desktop.title
docsHardware.home.desktop.detail
docsHardware.home.dont
docsHardware.home.usbStick.title
docsHardware.home.usbStick.detail
docsHardware.home.dont
docsHardware.home.wifi.title
docsHardware.home.wifi.detail
docsHardware.home.dont
docsHardware.home.nvme.title
docsHardware.home.nvme.detail