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This page describes terms you may encounter when working with Blockchain Node Engine.
Blockchain theory
Term
Definition
block
An ordered collection of transactions in a cryptocurrency blockchain.
Blocks are immutable, and once added to the blockchain they can
only be removed in the case of a fork in the chain.
block height
The number of blocks confirmed in the history of a blockchain.
The current block height is the number of blocks in the blockchain
minus one.
blockchain
A public, shared database comprised of consecutive groups, or blocks.
Each block references its parent block which results in chains of blocks.
Data cannot be changed in one block without affecting other blocks.
client
Software that runs on your computer that communicates with other
computers in a distributed network.
endpoint
The URL used to access nodes.
For Blockchain Node Engine, JSON-RPC and
WebSocket endpoints are supported.
JSON-RPC endpoint
JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) Remote Procedure Call (RPC).
This is the primary way to interface with nodes. Through JSON-RPC
endpoints, you can deploy smart contracts, interact with smart
contracts (read and write data), relay transactions or pull block
and transaction data.
latency
The average time it takes a node to respond to requests.
node
An instance of client software
running on a computer in a distributed network of computers each running
the same software. For example, each instance of an Ethereum client
running on a computer in a network of other computers running Etherum
client software is a node.
throughput
How fast a blockchain processes transactions.
WebSocket endpoint
If you want to subscribe to updates to the blockchain,
a WebSocket connection can be used. This method allows you to avoid
polling the node for updates and is suitable for real-time updates.
Cloud
Term
Definition
API key
Blockchain Node Engine uses API keys for authentication to the
blockchain nodes' APIs. These API keys have a string,
an ID, and an optional display name.
See
Authenticate using API keys
for more information.
An Ethereum client that provides agreement based on validated data received from the execution
client. See also:
Ethereum, Consensus Clients
execution client
An Ethereum client that is responsible for executing blockchain transactions and storing the
blockchain node state and data. See also:
Ethereum, Execution Clients
JSON-RPC namespace
When using the Ethereum Geth execution client, there are
JSON-RPC namespaces which define the available API. By default,
Blockchain Node Engine disables the admin and debug
namespaces as they contain functions which can potentially impact the
operation of the node. These namespaces can be optionally enabled when
creating a blockchain node.
Mainnet
The primary public Ethereum production blockchain.
See also:
Ethereum Mainnet
Ethereum nodes can be full, archive or light,
with different trade-offs in hardware requirements compared to available functionality:
Full: Stores sufficient blockchain data to fully validate
new blocks, but prunes historical data. Full nodes require a
significant amount of computer hardware and bandwidth resources.
Archive: Stores all of the information from the full
node plus an archive of historical states. Archive nodes require
substantially more disk storage than full nodes.
Light: Downloads only block headers which contain
summary information about the block contents. Light nodes
require less-powerful hardware and lower bandwidth than full or
archive nodes. Please note that Blockchain Node Engine does not currently
support light nodes.
