Blockchain Nodes Explained – Do not confuse them with the Blockchain Data API

Blockchain is a relatively new technology that still confuses many people’s minds. And this is by no means out of the ordinary, because even though almost all people on the planet have heard of Blockchain, it has so many caveats that it is almost impossible to know every term in the Blockchain dictionary because there are so many technologies intertwined. In addition, just like all technology, it moves fast and is updated daily, so unless you follow the Blockchain-related news around the clock, there is no shame in feeling a little left behind.

To address this issue, we’ve created this detailed article to help you stay up to date with one of the key elements of Blockchain, and that’s the nodes. Blockchain Nodes are just part of the entire Blockchain system, and many people still confuse them with other related terms such as the Blockchain Data API. In this article, we will help you avoid miscommunication in at least some of the elements of the Blockchain dictionary and provide you with a solid foundation on which to build your knowledge in the future.

Understand a Blockchain Node

Blockchain is a distributed ledger which means that all transactions of assets made through Blockchain are registered in several places at the same time, and the distributed ledger is simply the system used to make this process possible. With that out of the way, a Blockchain node is simply a stakeholder in the network that uses its device to keep track of the records in the distributed ledger and serve as communication points for various tasks in that network.

Although this sounds a bit technical and difficult to understand, it is much easier to translate into knowledge once you understand the concept. This is another way of thinking about Blockchain nodes. Blockchain nodes are simply a security check in the process, and they serve to confirm the legality of the various groups of network transactions, also known as blocks.

Nodes serve to validate these so-called blocks of transaction information in the distributed ledger.

What functions does nodes perform?

Miners are the ones who add new blocks of transaction information to the general ledger, and the Blockchain nodes are the ones that confirm the legitimacy of the newly added block of the miners. A node can either accept or reject the transaction, but when it accepts it, it stores it on top of the already existing blocks, like storing it on a shelf. A quick overview of the functions of the nodes will be:

• Nodes confirm the legitimacy of recently added transactions and can either accept or reject it
• Nodes have the role of storing the recently added transaction information in the system
• Nodes update each other on the transaction history to keep them in sync with the system

How safe are nodes?

When it comes to ease of use, nodes are extremely safe. Since there is more than one node included in the distributed ledger, all nodes with system information are constantly updated. This means that one node holds all available information about the system and can restore access to the user no matter what happens to it.

We must be able to distinguish online from offline nodes. Online nodes are the nodes that have the role of updating the system with newly added information all the time. This node is always online so it can send consistent updates across the system 24/7. Furthermore, this means that the system is kept up to date, at all times without question.

Disconnected nodes, on the other hand, only need to update themselves at any time to rejoin the Blockchain network. When they rejoin, they download a copy of the update and save it. Once this process is complete, they are completely up to date and can continue to function normally. This process is known as network synchronization.

The other important question regarding the security of the nodes is whether a single node can run the entire system by itself. In theory yes, it can, but when a single node drives a complete system by itself, it opens up various vulnerabilities that can take advantage of the system or reduce functionality. Simply put, the more nodes a system has, the more secure it is. A single node can be disrupted by a power outage, hackers with malicious intent and other disasters.

However, a single node is completely capable of bringing the system back to normal by restoring the data it has backed up. This makes Blockchain and nodes extremely secure, much more so than traditional methods.

What is the difference between a node and a miner?

While we are talking about the differences between the different areas of the Blockchain network and the distributed ledger, it is also important to clarify what a miner is, so that we do not accidentally confuse the terminology further. A miner generates blocks by selecting legitimate transactions, but the miner must operate a complete block because it does not have access to the entire history of the transaction information in the network, so it does not know which transactions in the network are legitimate and which are not.

A node can be a miner, but it does not have to be. The difference lies in the function of the node. A miner creates new blocks of information in the ledger that contain information, while a node that is not a miner acts as a point for storing data, much like a traditional database found in traditional technology. In simple words, a node that creates new blocks of information is called a miner.

What is a Master Node and what is its place in the network?

Apart from nodes and miners, there is also a node called Masternode. A master node differs from the other nodes on the network by being more powerful in terms of technical specifications. For example, a Master node has more RAM than a regular node, so it can run more operations compared to regular nodes.

In the traditional sense, a master node is very comparable to running a large server on the network. The master node is available 24/7 and is often used to enforce network rules

Overall, this is what a node represents and the function it can perform on the network. As you can see, a node is in no way similar to a Blockchain Data API, and the two terms should not be confused. A Data API is something completely different, but many people manage to mix them together, but this is normal because Blockchain is such a large field.

If you are interested in the Blockchain Data API, be sure to check out Chaingateway.io. As their hero section says, they bring a game-changing Blockchain Data API that builds a bridge between Blockchain and the real world. Chaingateway brings the REST API to the regular web developer so he or she can use the blockchain as they wish.