Client Providers

Client software is the essential underlying backbone that enables actions being executed on a blockchain network. Based on the user's specific role, whether stakers, developers, infrastructure providers, or observers, they all use different node setups and software clients that are adjusted according to their specific requirements and roles.

Node Setups

There are three basic setups in which an execution client of the network can be operated.

Node Type	Description	Use Case	Typical Execution Clients
Light Node	Downloads block headers and verifies only part of the chain.	Wallets and Mobile dApps, Low-Resource Devices	Helios, Nimbus-Eth2, Lodestar
Full Node	Stores recent state and verifies all transactions and blocks.	RPC Endpoints, Stakers, Regular Node Operaters	Geth, Erigon, Nethermind, Besu
Node + Slasher Service	Runs a proof‑of‑stake slasher service on top of regular node services.	Staking Institutions, Watchers, Advanced Node Operaters	Geth, Erigon, Nethermind, Besu
Archive Node	Stores all historical state since genesis.	Indexers, Block Explorers, Data Analytic Services	Erigon, Geth

tip

Further details about hardware requirements can be found on the Node Specifications page.

Supported Clients

Any Ethereum client can be set up to join the open LUKSO Network effectively. This can be done by using the publicly available network configuration. It should be noted, however, that some clients have been officially tested, which not only guarantees their compatibility but also ensures correct behavior within the network itself. Moreover, this testing has been carried out to ensure that the process of entering into staking is easy and not complicated for users.

Verified Support

Within the LUKSO CLI v 0.24.1 the following clients are officially tested and supported by the LUKSO Network Team.

Consensus Client	Version	Github	Docs	Chat	System Support	Language	CLI Staking
Lighthouse	6.0.1	🔗	📘	💬	Linux, Win, macOS, ARM	Rust	✅ Yes
Prysm	5.2.0	🔗	📘	💬	Linux, Win, macOS, ARM	Go	✅ Yes
Teku	24.12.1	🔗	📘	💬	Linux, Win, macOS	Java	✅ Yes
Nimbus-Eth2	24.10.0	🔗	📘	💬	Linux, Win, macOS, ARM	Nim	❌ No

Execution Client	Version	Github	Docs	Chat	System Support	Language
Besu	24.12.2	🔗	📘	💬	Linux, Win, macOS	Java
Erigon	2.61.0	🔗	📘	💬	Linux, Win, macOS, ARM	Go
Geth	1.14.13	🔗	📘	💬	Linux, Win, macOS, ARM	Go
Nethermind	1.30.3	🔗	📘	💬	Linux, Win, macOS, ARM	.NET

Further Assistance

If you have client-specific issues, it's best to contact the software providers directly. While LUKSO orchestrates the network, client maintainers have more hands-on knowledge about the software tools and supported infrastructure.

Provider Differences

Each client has different runtime requirements, optimization, and unique features.

tip

There is no preferred client. What’s most important is maintaining Client Diversity to ensure network resilience.

Client	Description	Benefits
Geth	Most widely used Ethereum client, maintained by the Ethereum Foundation. Longstanding and stable.	Default in many setups, strong community support, and broad tooling compatibility
Erigon	Modern execution client focused on performance and modularity. Optimized for archive and historical data access.	Ideal for data-heavy applications, efficient disk use, and fast synchronization times
Nethermind	Performance-oriented client built with analytics and customizability in mind.	Excellent logging, modular design, and strong support for advanced node operators
Besu	Enterprise-ready client maintained by the Hyperledger Foundation. Supports public and private network use cases.	Permissioned features, great for institutional and consortium chain deployments
Prysm	Popular consensus client with a clean terminal interface and great user experience, developed by Prysmatic Labs.	Intuitive tooling, widely adopted, with solid performance and documentation
Lighthouse	Security-first consensus client from Sigma Prime, known for audit quality and reliable performance.	Efficient on low-end hardware, great default for solo stakers and hobbyists
Teku	Institutional-grade client maintained by ConsenSys, with focus on interface integrations and operability.	Preferred by data centers and custodians with strong monitoring and API support
Nimbus-Eth2	Minimalist, resource-light consensus client designed for embedded and ARM devices.	Excellent for mobile, Raspberry Pi, and custom lightweight deployments

Storage Comparison

Disk utilization is not just determined by the clients and additional software, but mainly the node's operation type. The following comparison clarifies the storage requirement for both LUKSO networks and the supported execution clients.

Ethereum Mainnet

Client	Total Full Node Size	Monthly Full‑Node Growth	Yearly Full‑Node Growth	Total Archive Node Size	Yearly Archive Growth
Geth	≈ 1.3 TB	≈ 18 GB	≈ 217 GB	≈ 12 TB	≈ 950 GB
Erigon	≈ 1.0 TB	≈ 16 GB	≈ 193 GB	≈ 3.5 TB	≈ 320 GB
Nethermind	≈ 1.1 TB	≈ 17 GB	≈ 204 GB	≈ 7.5 TB	≈ 690 GB
Besu	≈ 1.4 TB	≈ 19 GB	≈ 220 GB	≈ 12 TB	≈ 950 GB

Disclaimer

Estimated numbers sourced from Geth Y-Chart, Erigon Requirements, Nethermind Documentation, and Besu Resources.
Blockchain created on 30th July 2015, metrics gathered after 9 years and 10 months of uptime.

LUKSO Mainnet

Client	Total Full Node Size	Monthly Full‑Node Growth	Yearly Full‑Node Growth	Total Archive Node Size	Yearly Archive Growth
Geth	≈ 62 GB	≈ 2.6 GB	≈ 31 GB	≈ 572 GB	≈ 286 GB
Erigon	≈ 54 GB	≈ 2.2 GB	≈ 27 GB	≈ 169 GB	≈ 85 GB
Nethermind	≈ 56 GB	≈ 2.3 GB	≈ 28 GB	≈ 361 GB	≈ 181 GB
Besu	≈ 67 GB	≈ 2.7 GB	≈ 32 GB	≈ 574 GB	≈ 287 GB

Disclaimer

Estimated numbers from the LUKSO Validator Community and Ethereum-based client projections.
Blockchain created on 23rd May 2023, metrics gathered after 2 years of uptime.

LUKSO Testnet

Client	Total Full Node Size	Monthly Full‑Node Growth	Yearly Full‑Node Growth	Total Archive Node Size	Yearly Archive Growth
Geth	≈ 7.4 GB	≈ 310 MB	≈ 3.7 GB	≈ 67 GB	≈ 34 GB
Erigon	≈ 6.4 GB	≈ 260 MB	≈ 3.2 GB	≈ 20 GB	≈ 10 GB
Nethermind	≈ 6.8 GB	≈ 280 MB	≈ 3.4 GB	≈ 43 GB	≈ 22 GB
Besu	≈ 8.0 GB	≈ 320 MB	≈ 3.8 GB	≈ 69 GB	≈ 34 GB

Disclaimer

Estimated numbers from LUKSO Testnet Operators and Ethereum-based client projections.
Blockchain created on 3rd May 2023, metrics gathered after 2 years of uptime.

tip

Details on the additional Slasher Service's database growth, can be found on the Node Specifications page.

Size Differences

All execution clients store the same, verifiable blockchain state, yet their disk sizes vary widely through different trade‑offs in database layouts, compression, pruning policies or snapshot schedules.

Client	Storage Schema	Description
Geth	LevelDB Trie + Freezer	Uses a Merkle-Trie in LevelDB and moves old blocks to a Freezer directory. There is no auto-pruning, meaning every state is kept unless manually expired, therefore has one of the larger footprints across clients.
Erigon	Flat & Caplin	Uses flat key-value tables with staged syncing and Caplin compression file format to strip out redundant historical trie node data. With aggressive pruning and a column-oriented layout, it has the lowest growth in size with around 20% less than Geth, most significantly as archive node with around 33% of Geth's or Besu's size.
Nethermind	RocksDB & Hybrid Prune	Stores it's state in RocksDB and sweeps stale old trie nodes via hybrid pruning. Growth around 15% smaller than Geth, but higher than Erigon as the schema stores more historical receipts and keeps a chunk of pre‑prune snapshots. It's archive size sits in the middle with around 25% less than Geth or Besu.
Besu	Bonsai & Forest Tries	Ships with two different storage layouts for regular and full archive setups. While the Forest Trie is a classic archive, the default Bonsai Trie is a flat table layout for regular nodes, only writing leaf nodes and log deltas within a Merkle-Trie. Additional prune commands can reduce occupied space further and make the client extremely modular.