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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.

·May 4, 2026·3 min read

A node provider whose operator record still has unused allowance can add further node machines without repeating the full onboarding flow. The decision rule is the same one that gates new providers: the additional machines must advance the network's decentralization rather than concentrate it. This procedure documents the steps and the evidence required at each one.

[!WARNING] No new node machines are being onboarded by default. The network reached its target topology in December 2023. New machines are approved only when subnet demand warrants more capacity. Confirm with the Node Provider Matrix channel before starting.

Step 1 — Decide how many machines to add

Determine how many additional node machines you want to bring online within your existing allowance. Allowance is tracked per node operator record on the Internet Computer Dashboard.

Step 2 — Validate the candidate machines

Run the candidate machines through the Validation of Candidate Node Machines procedure. The validation tooling checks whether the proposed nodes support the network's current decentralization objectives — country, data center, ISP, and ownership distribution.

Step 3 — Assemble the evidence packet

If the validation outcome is positive, capture the evidence:

A PDF with screenshots and configuration settings for the optimization tooling.
The SHA-256 hash of that PDF.

Add the PDF to your node provider wiki entry (or equivalent public record) so reviewers can audit it.

Step 4 — Submit the NNS proposal

Submit the NNS reward configuration proposal that brings the new machines under your operator record. In the proposal summary include:

A link to the validation evidence PDF.
The hash of the PDF.
A short justification of why the additional machines support network decentralization.

If the proposal is adopted, proceed with deployment using the Gen-2 Node Deployment Guide.

When candidates do not support decentralization

If the validation tool indicates the candidates would reduce decentralization, do not add them — with one narrow exception: machines that were ordered before 1 December 2023 and are already in active onboarding. In that case, include evidence in the NNS reward configuration proposal that the machines were ordered before that date and are mid-onboarding.

Step 5 — Update reward configuration

After deployment, update your reward configuration so the new machines are paid. See the Reward Configuration Guide.

Node Provider Maintenance Guide — the parent runbook.
Validation of Candidate Node Machines — the validation procedure.
Reward Configuration Guide — required so the new nodes earn rewards.
Removing a Node From the Registry — the inverse operation.

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 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.
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.
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.

For agents

The plain-markdown source is available at /wiki/adding-additional-nodes/source.md. Agents should read that rather than parse this page.