Note: This documentation applies only to permissioned consensus nodes
operated by Hedera Council Members. It does not cover Hedera’s transition to a
permissionless network.
Minimum Node Platform Requirements
The overall performance of the Hedera mainnet is currently constrained by the lowest-performing node in the network. To maintain consistent performance across all Council nodes, a set of minimum hardware, connectivity, and hosting requirements has been established for this initial permissioned phase.Action: To ensure compliance with these requirements, submit your proposed
node hardware, connectivity, and hosting specifications to Hedera for review
before making any purchases via
devops@hashgraph.com.
CPU
- Architecture: X86/X64 (Intel Xeon or AMD EPYC)
- Cores: 24 cores / 48 threads
- Benchmarks:
- Geekbench 6 single-core:
- Minimum: ≥ 1000
- Recommended: ≥ 1500
- Passmark single-thread:
- Minimum: ≥ 2300 (required for Mainnet)
- Recommended: ≥ 2800
- Geekbench 6 single-core:
Memory
- Minimum: 256GB DDR4 ECC Registered DIMM (PC4-21300 2666MHz)
- Recommended: 320 GB+ DDR4 ECC (PC4-25600 3200MHz)
Storage
General Guidelines:It is recommended to configure a 240 GB SSD in RAID 1 for the root volume (
/) and mount additional volumes for usable storage during installation. If RAID is not available, assign all storage to root.
Minimum Requirements/Recommendations ⬇
Minimum Requirements/Recommendations ⬇
- Minimum: 5TB NVMe SSD (usable)
- Recommended:
- OS: 2 × 240GB SSD (RAID 1)
- Data: 2 × NVMe drives (7.5TB RAID 0) or 4× in RAID 10 array
If mounted to root volume, the root volume must meet these requirements. If provisioned via RAID, the RAID array should meet these requirements:
- Sequential Write: 2,000–3,000 MB/s
- Sequential Read: 3,000–6,200 MB/s
- Random Read (sync): 250k–1M IOPS
- Random Write (sync): 100k–170k IOPS
- Avg. Latency: ≤ 200µs
📁 Note: Nodes must pass the Hedera performance test suite at installation time.
Network Connectivity
- Sustained bandwidth: ≥ 1Gbps (via 1/10Gb Ethernet)
Node Operating System & Tools
Supported OS
- Supported Linux Distributions (64-bit, LTS only):
- Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8 and 9
- Oracle Linux 8 and 9
- Supported kernel versions:
- 6.2.0
- 6.1.2
- 6.0.16
- 5.15.86
🧩 Node Software ⬇
🧩 Node Software ⬇
The following software components must be installed and configured on your node host to ensure proper participation in the Hedera Mainnet. All installations must follow the minimum version requirements and path conventions.🐳 Docker & Containerization:
| Component | Version | Notes |
|---|---|---|
20.10.6 | Must be deployed with root privileges. | |
1.29.2 | Required for managing multi-container deployments. | |
| Optional | If disabled, host machine must run the Havege Daemon. | |
1.9.14 | Needed only if privileged containers are disabled. | |
Linux kernel 3.10+ | Required for Docker networking. |
:information_source: Information: Havege Daemon enhances the system’s entropy pool and is only necessary if container privilege escalation is disabled in your environment.🔐 System Utilities:
| Component | Required Version | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
4.4 | Used for update integrity verification. | |
4+ | Required for node software log monitoring | |
1.5+ | JSON parser utility used in scripts and CLI workflows. | |
8.00+ | Provides essential Unix command-line tools. | |
7.58.0+ | Used for API communication and health checks. | |
0.5.12+ | Enables file-system-triggered automation (e.g., network upgrades). | |
3.0.0+ | Required for network-wide upgrade file synchronization. |
📁 Note: Ensure all command-line tools are installed in your system’s global $PATH and are accessible to the node admin user.⚙️ Node Management Tools:
| Component | Version | Configuration Requirements |
|---|---|---|
0.1.0+ | Must be installed at /opt/hgcapp/node-mgmt-tools | |
Path must be writable and executable by hgcadmin user |
📁 Note: The Node Mgmt Tools bundle includes essential scripts for update operations, log rotation, and status health checks.
System User Accounts
Node Software Account (Mandatory):
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Username | hedera |
| Unix UID | 2000 |
| Group Specification | hedera (GID 2000) |
| Secondary Group | admin or wheel |
| Permissions | Full access to the entire /opt/hgcapp folder |
Proxy Server Requirements
A proxy is required to expose the node’s public APIs.Minimum Proxy Specifications:
- CPU: 2-core X86/X64
- Memory: 4GB RAM
- Storage: 100GB SSD
- Network: 200Mbps sustained, static IP
- Docker container (provided by Hedera) with pre-configured HAProxy
Network Configuration
🌐 Node Connectivity ⬇
🌐 Node Connectivity ⬇
✅ Network Bandwidth
- Minimum:
1 Gbpssustained internet connection (not burstable). - Recommended: Unmetered bandwidth to ensure uninterrupted sync and consensus participation.
- Deployed within a dedicated, isolated DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) network
- Configured with a firewall to allow connectivity only with Hedera consensus nodes
- Node must have a static IP address
📁 Note**:** Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs) are **not** supported.📡 Port ConfigurationThe following ports must be configured for public internet access unless otherwise stated:
| Port | Protocol | Direction | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
50111 | TCP | Ingress/Egress | Gossip protocol |
50211 | TCP | Ingress | gRPC (public) API access (HAPI) |
50212 | TCP | Ingress | TLS-encrypted gRPC |
80 | TCP | Egress only | OS package repository connectivity |
443 | TCP | Egress only | Secure package & system update access |
123 | UDP | Ingress/Egress | Time sync via NTP pool |
🛡️ Proxy Connectivity ⬇
🛡️ Proxy Connectivity ⬇
✅ Internet Bandwidth
- Required: 200 Mbps sustained connection
| Port | Protocol | Direction | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
50211 | TCP | Ingress/Egress | gRPC (public) API access (HAPI) |
50212 | TCP | Ingress/Egress | TLS-encrypted gRPC |
80 | TCP | Egress only | OS package repository |
443 | TCP | Egress only | Secure updates |
🔀 Interface Bonding (Optional) ⬇
🔀 Interface Bonding (Optional) ⬇
If you plan to use interface bonding (NIC bonding) to increase reliability or performance, note the following:✅ Supported ConfigurationsOnly Layer 2 bonding is supported:
- Mode 1 (Active-Backup):
- Uses one active NIC at a time
- Automatically switches to backup if the active NIC fails
- Mode 4 (LACP – 802.3ad Active/Active):
- Uses Link Aggregation Control Protocol
- Requires switch support
- Provides load balancing and redundancy
- Layer 3 Policy-Based Routing (PBR) with dual-pathways is not supported, due to the use of mutual TLS in the Hedera network.
⚠️ Mutual TLS depends on consistent IP-level paths; Layer 3 routing can disrupt this, leading to connection failures.
Hosting Requirements
To ensure high availability, security, and operational consistency, all nodes must be hosted in accordance with the following standards: ✅ Hosting Facility Standards- Must use a Tier 1 Data Center with high availability and redundancy.
- The facility should be compliant with industry security standards:
- SSAE 16 / SSAE 18
- SOC 2 Type 2
- Facilities must implement industry-standard physical and logical security controls.
- Regular audits and certifications (must be available on request).
- Hedera aim to avoid using the same hosting providers across multiple Council Members to minimize systemic risk and improve geographic and provider diversity.