🌐Light Node
Next level decentralization
Overview
One of the most, if not the most important app on the device. Connecting to Ethereum has never been more permissionless; from any location where you have data/wifi, while running transactions through your own private light node proxy.
Decentralization is entering it's next phase.
Using the App
Opening the app will prompt you with a screen which gives you the option to turn your light client on/off. You can also select the light client proxy in which you'd like to connect.
Currently, we support the Nimbus & Helios light clients with plans introduce more in the future. We're also looking into how we can run a full node on the device without sapping too much data.
The block logo in the status bar, if highlighted, signifies that the light node proxy is set to ON. You will also see the latest blocks loading icon & a Chain emoji ⛓️ once the node finds blocks. You will see the latest blocks appear once the node is successfully connected & ready to run transactions.
When active, your local light node proxy is your default relayer for messages or transactions sent by the ethOS system wallet. Each application using the system wallet will try to use the light node first, and will use another RPC as a backup.
If you are using a different wallet on ethOS, you can set the RPC to your local light client proxy by following the guide here.
Data Usage
A few rough measurements taken by our team have indicated here the data usage by the light node proxy:
| Time frame | Nimbus | Helios |
|---|---|---|
| To Connect | ~2 MB (~5 minutes) | ~0.6 MB (~1 minute) |
| 10 Minutes | ~41 MB* | ~30 MB* |
| 1 Hour | ~307 MB* | ~250 MB* |
| 24 Hours (extrapolated) | ~7.3 GB* | ~6 GB* |
*There is a significant difference in data usage when the light node is running in the background, versus viewing the app data live, pulling data immediately. The measurements above are based on normal device usage.
Disclaimer: As running the light node means that a system service must be running in the background when ON, your phone may experience a minimal decrease in battery life.
What is a light node?
A light node is a lightweight, less resource-intensive Ethereum node that instead of downloading every block, downloads only the block headers containing a summary of the information within the blocks. If a light node needs additional information contained in a block, it must request it from a full node. Read more in a technical breakdown we posted on X.
Down the line on the ethereum roadmap, once verkle trees & statelessness are implemented, we may be able to run full nodes on mobile devices without much problem at all.
Updated 9 months ago