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TON Node Types

There are different types of nodes in The Open Network:

  • Lite clients

    Clients, such as wallets, that do not store the full state of the blockchain but request what is needed from the full nodes.

  • Full Node

    A node that is synchronized with the blockchain, stores the current state of the blockchain and the block history or part of the block history.

    In a full node, you can enable one or more additional functionalities:

    • Archive node

      A full node that stores the entire block history is called an archive node.

      An archive node requires a lot of resources and is needed if you are making a blockchain explorer or something like that.

      For most cases, you will be fine with a regular node that only stores the latest blocks and has significantly lower hardware requirements.

    • Lite server

      If you enable an endpoint in a full node, then it starts to perform the functions of a lite server - it can receive and respond to requests from lite clients.

      Using this node, your product can interact with TON Blockchain.

      TON Foundation supports a number of public lite servers that you can find in the global config (mainnet and testnet).

      These are endpoints available to everyone, for example, standard wallets connect to them.

    • Validator

      If you enable the validator functionality in the node and you have a sufficient number of Toncoin (stake), then the node will begin to participate in the process of validating new network blocks.

      TON is a Proof-of-Stake blockchain, so validators keep the network running and are rewarded in Toncoin for doing so.