How to Run an Archive Node on BNB Smart Chain¶
What is an archive node?¶
Simply speaking, an archive node is a full node running with an additional special option, --gcmode archive. It stores all the historical data of the blockchain starting from the genesis block. As compared to a typical full node that just holds all the state change data for some latest blocks, an archive node always stores them for each block.
Why is an archive node important?¶
Developers are limited to querying the limited recent blocks to check the balance of an address and the state of a smart contract with a full node. It is hard to get all what they want as the blockchain is moving forward at the same time, while they can query any block at a specific point in time with an archive node. Archive nodes are used by various applications on the blockchain for challenging use cases, including but not limited to the followings:
- Automatic trading system needs historical data to optimize trading model
- Verification modules need state data to verify transactions in time
- Analytical tools need full historical data to do data analysis
- Exchange in some wallets depends on archive node for fast and efficient transfers
Suggested Requirements¶
Running an archive node will take a high cost as it includes all the block and state change data. First of all it needs the disk with sufficient capacity; besides this, the CPU and disk performance should be good enough to catch up with the latest block height. You can refer to the suggested hardware requirements.
How to run an archive node for BSC mainnet?¶
Run with an Erigon client¶
Erigon now supports the BSC mainnet. The latest version allows you to sync an archive node from scratch in just 3 days, using 4.3 TB of disk space. You can use Erigon to operate an archive node; for more information, please refer to the Erigon Node.
Run with a Reth client¶
Reth now supports the BSC network and demonstrates superior performance compared to Geth and Erigon in recent benchmark tests. You can utilize reth to operate an archive node; for more information, refer to Reth Node.