An indexed reference of the network.
Protocol, cryptography, governance, ecosystem. Each entry is a plain markdown file in the repository — links to the raw source sit at the top of every page so agents can read it directly.
- #alerting
- #architecture
- #asus
- #bios
- #bmc
- #chain-fusion
- #cloud-engine
- #compliance
- #concept
- #core-concept
- #cryptography
- #data-center
- #decentralization
- #dell
- #deployment
- #dns
- #economics
- #faq
- #firmware
- #gen-1
- #gen-2
- #gigabyte
- #governance
- #hardening
- #hardware
- #hsm
- #ic-os
- #idrac
- #infrastructure
- #ipmi
- #ipv4
- #ipv6
- #legal
- #maas
- #maintenance
- #monitoring
- #networking
- #nitrokey
- #nns
- #node-provider
- #onboarding
- #operations
- #operator
- #procurement
- #protocol
- #proxmox
- #recovery
- #registry
- #remuneration
- #rewards
- #rmu
- #runbook
- #security
- #sovereignty
- #supermicro
- #teleport
- #troubleshooting
- #uefi
- #useful-work
Start at a reference hub
Node Provider Documentation
How independent operators run the hardware that hosts the Internet Computer — the role, the current onboarding status, the lifecycle from proposal to operation, and the rewards.
§ HubInternet Computer Protocol
The network protocol that combines independently operated node machines into a single sovereign cloud — tamperproof, unstoppable, self-governing.
§ HubChain-key cryptography
The threshold-cryptography engine that gives each subnet its own signing key — without any single party ever holding the private material.
§ HubCloud engines
Sovereign subnets you configure — choose nodes, providers, and locations. The traditional-cloud experience, hosted on the Internet Computer.
Sorted newest first.
Validation of Candidate Node Machines
How prospective node operators check whether their planned machines actually improve network decentralization, using the community optimization model and the IC target topology.
Updating a Node's IPv4 Address and Domain Name
Two procedures — IC-OS reinstall and a non-disruptive dfx call — for updating the public IPv4 address and domain name of an existing node.
Updating Node Firmware
How to obtain firmware packages from the server vendor — chiefly Dell — and the support-ticket workflow for getting direct download links.
IC-OS UEFI Configuration — Gen-2 Supermicro
BIOS and UEFI settings for Gen-2 Supermicro node machines — advanced ACPI, CPU, NB, xGMI, memory, PCIe, and Trusted Computing settings required by IC-OS.
IC-OS UEFI Configuration — Gen-2 Gigabyte
BIOS and UEFI settings for Gen-2 Gigabyte node machines — Trusted Computing, CPU, PCI subsystem, and AMD CBS settings required by IC-OS.
IC-OS UEFI Configuration — Gen-2 Dell
BIOS and UEFI settings for Gen-2 Dell node machines — processor, boot mode, integrated devices, system security, and miscellaneous settings required by IC-OS.
IC-OS UEFI Configuration — Gen-2 ASUS
BIOS and UEFI settings for Gen-2 ASUS node machines — Trusted Computing, AMD CBS, CPU, and PCI subsystem settings required by IC-OS.
IC-OS UEFI Configuration — Gen-1 Supermicro
BIOS and UEFI settings for Gen-1 Supermicro node machines — advanced settings (boot feature, ACPI, CPU, NB, PCIe) and boot mode required by IC-OS.
IC-OS UEFI Configuration — Gen-1 Dell (PowerEdge R6525)
BIOS and UEFI settings for the Gen-1 Dell PowerEdge R6525 — iDRAC password reset, processor, boot, integrated devices, and miscellaneous settings required by IC-OS.
Troubleshooting Failed NNS Proposals
What to do when a Network Nervous System proposal you submitted as a node provider fails to validate or fails to adopt.
Thirty-Day Moving Average ICP/XDR Conversion
How the Cycles Minting Canister computes the 30-day moving average ICP/XDR exchange rate that converts XDR-denominated node provider rewards into ICP at minting time.
RMU Build: Teleport Setup
Provision the Teleport container on the Gen-1.5 RMU, install the Teleport software, share RMU services through Teleport, and reference notes on roles, tokens, and upgrades.
RMU Build: Proxmox Setup
Install and configure Proxmox VE on the Gen-1.5 RMU — installation, repositories, container templates, ISO images, and LAN bridge networking.
RMU Build: Prerequisites
Networking, hardware, domain, and installation-media requirements to gather before starting the Gen-1 to Gen-1.5 RMU build runbook.
RMU Build: MaaS Setup
Provision the MaaS (Metal as a Service) container on the Gen-1.5 RMU, install MaaS, share it via Teleport, perform the initial configuration, and reserve a DHCP range for BMCs.
RMU Build: Best Practices and Reference
Recommended hardening and operational add-ons for the Gen-1.5 RMU — Proxmox firewall, RACADM, Dell OpenManage Enterprise, SuperMicro firmware updates, BMC console access, OPNsense GUI, and network/cabling reference tables.
Reward Configuration Guide
How a node provider submits the reward configuration proposal that registers their nodes with the Network Nervous System and starts the reward stream.
Removing a Node From the Registry
How to remove a node's record from the registry when its allowance is full and the underlying machine has been hardware-replaced or retired.
Proof of Useful Work
The Internet Computer's membership and consensus model — dedicated standardised hardware doing real computation, governed by the NNS, instead of hashing or pure stake.
Performance-based Rewards
How the Performance-based Rewards (PBR) v1 schedule scales monthly node rewards according to block-maker failure rates relative to subnet baseline.
Node Provider Troubleshooting
Index of the troubleshooting guides node providers reach for first — deployment errors, unhealthy nodes, networking, and failed NNS proposals — plus how to read a node's identity from its console.
Node Provider Self-declaration
The identity declaration and good-faith statement a prospective node provider files before the NNS votes on their onboarding proposal.
Node Provider Roadmap
The end-to-end path to becoming a node provider on the Internet Computer, organized as six milestones from education through ongoing node management.
Node Provider Remuneration
How node providers are paid — the minting cadence, the XDR conversion, and the reward tables for each hardware generation and geography.
Node Provider Onboarding
The technical procedure for becoming an accepted node provider on the Internet Computer, from tool installation through NNS proposal and node operator records.
Node Provider Maintenance Guide
Day-to-day responsibilities for keeping node machines healthy on the Internet Computer — monitoring, common maintenance tasks, scheduled outages, and peer support.
Node Provider Legal Guide
Guidance on establishing a legal entity for node-provider operations and on local regulatory and tax compliance.
Node Provider FAQ
Common questions about running node machines on the Internet Computer — hardware compliance, RAID, HSMs, encryption, and the limits of provider access to canister state.
Node Provider Networking Guide
Networking requirements for connecting node machines to the Internet Computer — bandwidth, IPv4/IPv6, switch layout, BMC isolation, and monitoring.
Node Provider Machine Hardware Guide
Hardware specifications and validated server configurations for node machines that join the Internet Computer — Gen-1 legacy and current Gen-2.
Node Provider Domain Name Guide
How to assign domain names and DNS records to IPv4-enabled node machines, with a walk-through of a typical Cloudflare configuration.
Troubleshooting Node Deployment Errors
Diagnostic guide for the common failure modes encountered while installing IC-OS on a node machine — registration errors, blank consoles, missing drives, network failures, and how to get a shell in SetupOS.
Node Deployment Guide (Gen-2)
Step-by-step runbook for installing IC-OS on Gen-2 node hardware using a node-operator private key — the current non-HSM deployment path.
Node Deployment Guide (Gen-1, with HSM)
Step-by-step runbook for installing IC-OS on Gen-1 node hardware using a NitroKey HSM — the legacy deployment path used by providers onboarded before the no-HSM flow.
Node Deployment config.ini Reference
Reference for the node_reward_type field in the IC-OS installer config.ini — how to look up the correct value, what happens when it is missing, and how to verify the value after deployment.
Node Provider Alerting Options
Available monitoring and alerting tools that node providers can use to watch their node machines and data centers.
NitroKey HSM Installation Runbook
Legacy runbook for initializing a NitroKey HSM with the OpenSC tooling, generating the EC keypair, and deriving the node operator principal — only required for Gen-1 onboarding.
Moving a Node Between Data Centers
The six-step sequence for relocating a node machine to a new data center while keeping operator allowances and reward configurations consistent.
Manual Node Recovery Guide
The procedure node providers run, under direction from DFINITY, to bring a node back online during an announced subnet recovery.
iDRAC Access and TSR Logs
How to reach the iDRAC out-of-band controller on Dell node machines and pull a Technical Support Report (TSR) for hardware diagnosis.
RMU build — Gen-1.5
Process for building a new Remote Management Unit to convert a Gen-1 site into a Gen-1.5 site — the staged path that adds remote access and tooling to the original Genesis hardware.
Gen-1 Node Provider onboarding Gen-2 node machines
How an existing Gen-1 node provider can register and onboard Gen-2 node machines — the proposal flow, identity step, and topology limits that apply.
Gen-1 Node Onboarding After 48 Months
How Gen-1 node providers continue earning rewards beyond their initial 48-month window, including reward reconfiguration, optional HSM removal, and excess machine handover.
Decentralization and Security Guide
Operational practices that node providers should follow to defend the Internet Computer's decentralization — independence, supply-chain hygiene, physical security, and key handling.
Data Center and ISP Guide
How node providers should approach selecting a data center and an ISP — distributing across countries, gathering quotes, and finalizing a colocation contract.
Checking Node CPU and Memory Speed
How to use a live Ubuntu USB and sysbench to measure memory bandwidth on a node, plus the firmware and BIOS fixes for known underperforming configurations.
Changing the Node Provider or Data-Center Principal
NNS proposal procedures for replacing a lost or transferred node provider principal, replacing a corrupted node operator HSM, and updating data-center principal records.
Changing the IPv6 Addresses of Nodes
Why an IPv6 change forces a node redeployment, and the safe sequence for retiring the old node and bringing the replacement online.
BMC Password Reset Guide
How to reset the baseboard-management-controller password on the BMC variants used in the node fleet — ASUS, Gigabyte, Dell iDRAC9, and Supermicro.
Adding Additional Node Machines to an Existing Allowance
How an existing node provider with unused allowance brings additional node machines onto the network without going through the full onboarding flow.