Run a Metanode¶
Under Construction
This page is under construction and its content can change. It covers what a metanode runs in its first phase and the hardware it needs. Setup instructions will be added in a later update.
Introduction¶
In the first phase, a metanode operator is a validator operator who also provides the minimum services that Polkadot Products need:
- Producing blocks for Asset Hub and People Chain as collators.
- Serving smoldot light clients over WebRTC for the relay chain, Asset Hub, and People Chain, which requires additional node configuration covered in a later update.
- Serving remote procedure call (RPC) requests for the relay chain, Asset Hub, and People Chain.
You can run the validator and the collators on separate machines or together on a single machine. Hardware Requirements covers both options.
Hardware Requirements¶
The following table lists the recommended minimum requirements for each service on its own machine and for a single machine that runs all three services:
| Resource | Validator | Asset Hub Collator | People Chain Collator | Single Machine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | 8 physical cores at 3.4 GHz | 4+ cores (8+ for optimal performance) | 4+ cores (8+ for optimal performance) | 16 physical cores at 3.4 GHz (24 for optimal performance) |
| Memory | 32 GB DDR4 ECC | 32 GB (64 GB for optimal performance) | 32 GB (64 GB for optimal performance) | 64 GB DDR4 ECC (128 GB for optimal performance) |
| Storage | 2 TB+ NVMe SSD | 200+ GB NVMe SSD, pruned | 200+ GB NVMe SSD, pruned | 2.4 TB+ NVMe SSD |
| Network | 500 Mbit/s symmetric | 500+ Mbit/s, stable connection | 500+ Mbit/s, stable connection | 1 Gbit/s symmetric |
Every machine needs a public IP address and must run Linux with kernel 5.16 or later. When you choose hardware, also consider the following details:
- CPU: The validator must meet the processor requirements in Validator Requirements, including disabled simultaneous multithreading. Prioritize single-threaded performance over core count.
- Storage: Prioritize latency over throughput. Fast disk I/O is critical for collator block production. Validator and single-machine storage requirements grow with the chains.
- Network: The collator figures are higher than the 100+ Mbit/s in Run a Block-Producing Collator because metanode collators also serve RPC requests and light clients.
- Relay chain data: To use storage efficiently, point each collator at your validator's RPC endpoint with
--relay-chain-rpc-urls, as described in Run a Block-Producing Collator. The collator then reads relay chain data from the validator and runs a lightweight relay chain node instead of keeping a full relay chain database, which removes most of the collator's relay chain database storage. - Single machine: CPU and storage are the sum of the per-service figures, including 24 cores for optimal performance. Memory and network are lower than the sum because the services do not all reach peak load at the same time: 64 GB of memory instead of 96 GB (128 GB instead of 160 GB for optimal performance), and 1 Gbit/s of network instead of 1.5 Gbit/s.
Validator Hardware Alone Is Not Enough
The hardware listed in Validator Requirements is not enough to also run the collators. Running the validator and the Asset Hub collator on a machine that meets only the validator requirements leaves too few resources for validation.
| Created: October 29, 2026