Node rotation

The nodes that carry Redacted change over time. The network keeps 21 active places, and the nodes that hold them rotate every day, so no fixed group of nodes can be singled out and no single node is essential.

Active and standby

Every operator who has posted the bond is a candidate, and a candidate is either active or on standby.

• Active nodes hold the places and carry the network. They relay actions, approve deposits, confirm returns and vote on waiting deposits and on the safety switches, and they earn rewards.
• Standby nodes wait for a place. They send heartbeats to stay ready and can unbond at any time. They do not relay or approve deposits, and they earn nothing until they hold a place.

A node counts as ready while its stake is at least the minimum bond and it has relayed or sent a heartbeat recently, which by default means within about eight hours. Heartbeats are what keep a node ready, and only a ready node can take a place.

How the nodes rotate

At launch, with a small group of invited operators, every node is active. Rotation begins once more ready nodes exist than places. From then on the network rotates once a day.

1. A node that is no longer ready goes to standby, and so does a node whose stake has fallen below the minimum.
2. The node that has been active the longest steps back to standby. The node with the least stake steps back too, when enough waiting nodes have more stake than it does, so every node that takes over its place is stronger. Readiness is judged at the time the rotation is due, whoever starts it.
3. The free places go to the ready standby nodes with the most stake, highest first.

Anyone can start a rotation once it is due, and the node software does it by itself, so it happens without anyone having to step in. A node that has just stepped back is not picked again on the same day, and the network never rotates out the last active node while ready nodes are waiting.

Stake decides who holds a place. At launch a node's stake is its bond, and once staking is switched on after the token relaunch, it also counts what holders staked behind the node.

Why rotation matters

Because the set changes every day, no single node is essential. If a node goes offline, it steps back to standby at the next rotation, and the ready node with the most stake takes its place, without anyone having to step in. Your actions are carried by a randomly picked active node anyway, and your withdrawals stay open whatever happens to any one operator.

Who sets the rules

Governance sets how many places there are and how often the nodes rotate, and changes to these values come with at least a day's notice. The network starts with 21 places, and governance can raise the number as more operators join, up to 100. Once admission is open, anyone who posts the bond can register, and a node that finds every place taken waits on standby for the next rotation. Once staking is on, holders decide with their stake which nodes hold the places. See Staking behind a node and Running a node.