This is the Solana Hardware Compatibility List for running a mainnet validator.

• Baseline Hardware
• Recommended Hardware
  • CPU
  • Storage
• Datacenter Providers
• FAQ
• Contributors

Baseline Hardware

Source: https://docs.anza.xyz/operations/requirements

Component	Validator Requirements	Additional RPC Node Requirements
CPU	- 2.8GHz base clock speed, or faster - SHA extensions instruction support - AMD Gen 3 or newer - Intel Ice Lake or newer - Higher clock speed is preferable over more cores - AVX2 instruction support (to use official release binaries, self-compile otherwise) - Support for AVX512f is helpful
	12 cores / 24 threads, or more	16 cores / 32 threads, or more
RAM	Error Correction Code (ECC) memory is suggested Motherboard with 512GB capacity suggested
	256GB or more	512 GB or more for all account indexes
Disk	PCIe Gen3 x4 NVME SSD, or better, on each of: - Accounts: 500GB, or larger. High TBW (Total Bytes Written) - Ledger: 1TB or larger. High TBW suggested - Snapshots: 250GB or larger. High TBW suggested - OS: (Optional) 500GB, or larger. SATA OK The OS may be installed on the ledger disk, though testing has shown better performance with the ledger on its own disk Accounts and ledger can be stored on the same disk, however due to high IOPS, this is not recommended The Samsung 970 and 980 Pro series SSDs are popular with the validator community	Consider a larger ledger disk if longer transaction history is required Accounts and ledger should not be stored on the same disk
GPUs	Not necessary at this time Operators in the validator community do not use GPUs currently

Recommended Hardware

CPU

AMD is the CPU maker of choice when it comes to running Solana validators. Intel Xeon Gold/Platinum (6[45]xx) are the only ones known to be able to keep up with the chain.

NOTE: This list is not exhaustive, just a selection of CPUs different folks on the discord have run or are currently running.

• 24 cores is the sweet spot, as of 10/2024,
• 12/16cores will most likely struggle and,
• more than 32 cores will have a slower base clock speed due to TDP issues (32 cores would possibly be more future proof)

Recommended	Manufacturer	Model	Base Clock	Max Boost Clock	Cores	Threads	Default TDP
Yes	AMD	Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 7965WX	4.2 GHz	Up to 5.3 GHz	24	48	350W
Yes	AMD	Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 7975WX	4.0 GHz	Up to 5.3 GHz	32	64	350W
Yes	AMD	Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 7985WX	3.2 GHz	Up to 5.1 GHz	64	128	350W
Yes	AMD	AMD EPYC™ 9274F	4.05 GHz	Up to 4.3 GHz	24	48	320W
Yes	AMD	AMD EPYC™ 9374F	3.85 GHz	Up to 4.3 GHz	32	64	320W
Yes	AMD	AMD EPYC™ 9275F	4.1 GHz	Up to 4.8 GHz	24	48	320W
Yes	AMD	Ryzen™ Threadripper™ 7960X	4.2 GHz	Up to 5.3 GHz	24	48	350W
Yes	AMD	AMD EPYC™ 9254	2.9 GHz	Up to 4.15 GHz	24	48	200W
Yes	AMD	AMD EPYC™ 9354P	3.25 GHz	Up to 3.8 GHz	32	64	280W
Maybe	AMD	Ryzen 9 7950x	4.5 GHz	Up to 5.7 GHz	16	32	170W
Barely	AMD	AMD EPYC™ 74F3	3.2 GHz	Up to 4.0 GHz	24	48	240W
Barely	AMD	AMD EPYC™ 7443P	2.85 GHz	Up to 4.0 GHz	24	48	200W

These recommendations also work for RPC nodes, but RPC nodes require more cores and RAM to perform better under load

Source:

• AMD Server Processors
• AMD Workstation Processors

Storage

Enterprise

Manufacturer	Model	Generation	Sequential Read	Sequential Write	Random Read (IOPS)	Random Write (IOPS)
Kioxia	CM7-R (3.8tb)	Gen 5	14,000 MB/s	7,000 MB/s	2,700,000 IOPS	310,000 IOPS
Samsung	PM9A1	Gen 4	7,000 MB/s	5,200 MB/s	1,000,000 IOPS	850,000 IOPS
Samsung	PM9A3	Gen 4	6,800 MB/s	2,700 MB/s	850,000 IOPS	130,000 IOPS
Micron	7450	Gen 4	6,800 MB/s	5,300 MB/s	1,500,000 IOPS	550,000 IOPS

Consumer

Manufacturer	Model	Generation	Sequential Read	Sequential Write	Random Read (IOPS)	Random Write (IOPS)
Crucial	T705	Gen 5	14,500 MB/s	12,700 MB/s	1,550,000 IOPS	1,800,000 IOPS
WD	SN850X	Gen 4	7,300 MB/s	6,600 MB/s	1,200,000 IOPS	1,000,000 IOPS
Samsung	990 Pro	Gen 4	7,450 MB/s	6,900 MB/s	1,400,000 IOPS	1,550,000 IOPS
Samsung	980 Pro	Gen 4	7,000 MB/s	5,100 MB/s	1,000,000 IOPS	1,000,000 IOPS

Datacenter Providers

Provider	Link	Notes
Latitude	Latitude	Widely used by Solana validators, yearly contracts, API access
Edgevana	Edgevana	Tailored specifically for Solana validators, accepts crypto
Teraswitch	Teraswitch	Widely used by Solana validators
Vultr	Vultr	Affordable bare-metal options, worldwide datacenter locations, per hour pricing, accepts crypto
CherryServers	CherryServers	Openly crypto-friendly, API access, accepts crypto payments, custom servers, good availability (ping Telegram or Discord to enable 20Gbps bursts)
DedicatedNodes	DedicatedNodes	Low latency hosting designed for both validators and RPC nodes, offers managed services for RPC nodes, accepts crypto
OVH	OVH	Large provider, but beware of over-aggressive DDoS mitigation, which may impact Solana performance

More here: Marinade ISP list

Notes

• CPU Selection: Prioritize CPUs with higher base clock speeds to meet Solana validator performance requirements. Ensure the selected CPU supports at least AVX2 instructions, with AVX-512 providing additional performance benefits. The AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO and AMD EPYC™ series listed above are optimized for high-performance and multi-threaded tasks essential for validator operations.

• Storage Selection: Choose NVMe SSDs that offer high IOPS to handle the intensive read/write operations necessary for validator nodes. Samsung's Pro series and WD's SN850X are highly recommended for their reliability and performance within the validator community.

• Memory Considerations: While not part of the table, remember that RAM requirements are crucial. Ensure you have ECC memory and sufficient capacity as per the Hardware Recommendations section. RAM speed and DDR4 vs DDR5 are not known to make any significant differences

Feel free to reach out if you need further assistance or more detailed specifications!

FAQ

Q: My validator doesn't catch up or catches up slowly or does not keep up with the tip

A: If you've followed the setup instructions correctly, make sure to: (via ax on discord)

i would like to suggest using the acronym "core" when beginners are asking for help, because its always the same question with same answers. it helps to break down the steps and make the guidance easier to follow:

• c: check cpu performance (focus on single-thread speeds)
• o: optimize nvme by separating ledger and accounts
• r: remove unnecessary cli arguments
• e: enable performance mode

setup performance mode

sudo apt install cpufrequtils

sudo bash -c 'echo performance > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpufreq/scaling_governor'

--

Contributors

• ferric / StakeWare

Inspired by

• Zan / Shinobi Systems
• /dev/null / Pumpkins Pool
• ax / 1000x.sh
• meyerbro
• 7layer / Overclock
• Matthias / Staking Facilities
• dhruvsol / Ice staking
• Tim Garcia / Solana Fndn
• Everyone else on #validator-hw-tuning