The role of the nodes in the network

The term “node” is not usually unfamiliar to us, and it is used in daily blockchain-based topics or a variety of information content. The definition of a node also varies from case to situation, and when it comes to computers or networks, it usually refers to connection points, which can be used to receive and transmit information (servers connected through the network, computers, telephones, etc.), and any server that participates in network-related activities for data processing is a node.

Network nodes in the blockchain distributed system refer to a computer or device connected to a network with an independent IP address with the function of transmitting data (each device with its own unique network address is a network node), and the entire network body is connected by many network nodes. It sounds simple, but in fact, the amount of information carried is not much, and different nodes are different application scenarios.

Blockchain nodes are responsible for storing blocks of data and are storage units in the blockchain that keep data synchronized and always up to date. Any node can quickly determine whether a block has changed. When a new full node joins the blockchain network, it downloads a copy of all blocks currently on the chain. When a new node synchronizes with other nodes and updates to the latest blockchain version, it can receive any new blocks like any other node.

Full node

An open-source network, professional maintenance will accelerate the overall development of the network, and the user group will work together in a win-win situation to stabilize the security of the network when running the full node (such as users or institutions on the Qitmeer Network deployment and running a full node). Newcomers who have just entered the industry, or senior leek users, may not have heard, usually everyone’s communication involves technical points and there are no channels to understand it completely, then, what is the full node?

A full node is a node that owns the complete blockchain ledger of the network and needs to occupy memory to synchronize all blockchain data. Running a full node is a read-only access to the blockchain that does not give users the power to manage the network, but is capable of monitoring the network and is independent of the network. Full nodes will synchronize all blockchain data nodes, can independently participate in the confirmation of transaction information and block information, update data in real-time, broadcast and verify transactions, and maintain the security of the distributed ledger.

Mining nodes

Mining refers to the process of maintaining nodes in a network to obtain a certain amount of new output by assisting in the generation and confirmation of new blocks. Unlike running a full node, anyone with special mining hardware and programs can become a mining node. When competing for output, the miner group is divided into two categories, the full node of the individual miner is to use the individual’s copy of the block data; Miners of a mining pool are in a mining pool, and only the administrator of the mining pool is required to run as a full node (which can be regarded as a full node of the entire mining pool), and the mining node is not necessarily a full node, depending on the mining pool architecture.