Introduction

Monad Full Node and Validator Guide

Welcome to the BlockPro guide for running a Full Node and Validator on the Monad testnet.

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What this guide covers

This guide walks through:

• server requirements

• server preparation

• full node installation

• validator setup basics

• node upgrades

• useful commands for monitoring and maintenance

Important before you start

This setup example uses a Hetzner Dedicated Server because it is easy to demonstrate and widely available.

However, we do not recommend Hetzner for running a Monad validator.

Why

• Hetzner is not generally considered a crypto-friendly provider

• many validators are already hosted there

• too many validators under the same provider reduce decentralization and add infrastructure concentration risk

If you want to run a validator, it is better to first check where other operators are already hosted and choose a more unique combination of:

• hosting provider

• country

• location

Validator decentralization dashboard

We built our own Monad validator dashboard to help operators choose better infrastructure.

With it, you can check:

• where validators are hosted

• which countries are already crowded

• which hosting providers are overused

• where a more unique deployment would improve decentralization

Dashboard: https://monad-validators-testnet.block-pro.net/

If you are only running a full node, Hetzner can still be acceptable for testing. But for a validator, we strongly suggest choosing a less saturated provider and geography.

Hardware requirements

Cloud providers such as AWS, GCP, Azure, and similar environments are not officially supported by Monad. Bare-metal is the recommended setup. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

Minimum requirements

CPU

• 16 cores

• 4.5 GHz+ base clock

Examples:

• AMD Ryzen 9950X

• AMD Ryzen 7950X

• AMD EPYC 4584PX

RAM

• 32 GB or more

Storage

• 2 TB NVMe dedicated to TrieDB / Execution

• 500 GB for OS + MonadBFT

• PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe or better

Network

• 300 Mbit/s for validator

• 100 Mbit/s for full node

Recommended system requirements

• Ubuntu 24.04+

• Linux kernel >= 6.8.0.60

• HyperThreading / SMT disabled in BIOS

Monad docs warn that kernel versions from 6.8.0.56 through 6.8.0.59 can cause node hangs and stability issues. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

Monad node components

Monad runs as systemd services:

• monad-bft — consensus client

• monad-execution — execution client

• monad-rpc — RPC server

• monad-mpt — one-time TrieDB initialization

• monad-cruft — cleanup service

• otelcol — metrics collector

These services run under the monad user. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

Next step

Continue to the Node Installation page.