The Impact of Connectivity and Software in Ethereum Validator Performance

The Impact of Connectivity and Software in Ethereum Validator Performance | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The Impact of Connectivity and Software in Ethereum Validator Performance Mikel Cortes-Goicoechea, Tarun Mohandas-Daryanani, Jose Luis Muñoz-Tapia, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4688422/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Modern public blockchains like Ethereum rely on p2p networks to run distributed and censorship-resistant applications. With its wide adoption, it operates as a highly critical public ledger. On its transition to become more scalable and sustainable, shifting to PoS without sacrificing the security and resilience of PoW, Ethereum offers a range of consensus client implementations to participate in the network. In this paper, we present a methodology to measure the performance of the consensus clients based on the latency to receive messages from the p2p network. The paper includes a study that identifies the incentives and limitations that the network experiences, presenting insights about the latency impact derived from running the different consensus implementations at different locations.Our study highlights the need for a holistic approach to node deployment, where hardware, software, and geographic factors have to be carefully considered. Properly dimensioned hardware is essential to mitigate latency-related performance issues and ensure the reliable operation of beacon nodes, especially in geographically distant locations. Ethereum Ethereum2 Ethereum Consensus Layer Ethereum Rewards The Merge Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 23 Dec, 2024 Reviews received at journal 23 Aug, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Aug, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Aug, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 05 Aug, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 14 Jul, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 12 Jul, 2024 First submitted to journal 04 Jul, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4688422","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":336273156,"identity":"cb9f9472-760e-4130-8300-840dbadc2e79","order_by":0,"name":"Mikel Cortes-Goicoechea","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mikel","middleName":"","lastName":"Cortes-Goicoechea","suffix":""},{"id":336273157,"identity":"369d42e7-8f97-48b8-904e-773959217998","order_by":1,"name":"Tarun Mohandas-Daryanani","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Barcelona Supercomputing Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tarun","middleName":"","lastName":"Mohandas-Daryanani","suffix":""},{"id":336273158,"identity":"f7078212-bc04-4659-81c1-8d95e2e837fc","order_by":2,"name":"Jose Luis Muñoz-Tapia","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jose","middleName":"Luis","lastName":"Muñoz-Tapia","suffix":""},{"id":336273159,"identity":"3ae9e0fc-9004-4a02-a798-b288f5de9c7c","order_by":3,"name":"Leonardo Bautista-Gomez","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"MigaLabs","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Leonardo","middleName":"","lastName":"Bautista-Gomez","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-07-04 20:08:22","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4688422/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4688422/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":61837872,"identity":"80566207-b229-4adb-b3af-100b2f8567bd","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-08-06 06:06:20","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":764268,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"TheImpactofConnectivityandSoftwareinEthereumValidatorPerformance.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4688422/v1_covered_6db4f89f-d0ca-4a2b-9cc0-8bebe1ed20ce.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"The Impact of Connectivity and Software in Ethereum Validator Performance","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"cluster-computing","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Cluster Computing](https://www.springer.com/journal/10586)","snPcode":"10586","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10586/3","title":"Cluster Computing","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Ethereum, Ethereum2, Ethereum Consensus Layer, Ethereum Rewards, The Merge","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4688422/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4688422/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Modern public blockchains like Ethereum rely on p2p networks to run distributed and censorship-resistant applications. 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