Ethereum Essentials: Node Nuances

This report, with the help of the TokenAnalyst team, is an indirect follow-up to our recent Infura piece, exploring the costs to run nodes for various users in the Ethereum ecosystem and how the cost tradeoffs impact trust.

[related id="1"]What is an Ethereum full node, and which users run one?
One of the bigger points of confusion surrounding Ethereum is the distinction between ‘full nodes’ and ‘archive nodes’. A full node is any computer or server that is connected to the Ethereum network, downloads the entire blockchain, validates the state to comply with the consensus mechanisms for the protocol, and can serve the network with data requests and block validation. An archive node is a full node that also includes a data archive of snapshots for every historical state at any given block, commonly used by block explorers and deep analytics on the Ethereum network.