How to Become a Node Provider: A Step-by-Step Guide

This page serves as a guide designed to facilitate the process of becoming a Node Provider (NP) for the Internet Computer (IC) network. For those seeking to contribute to the network's decentralized infrastructure by hosting operational nodes, this guide offers a structured and informed approach. Drawing upon insights sourced from the IC wiki and discussions within the IC Forum, this page provides a visual overview of the step-by-step journey, accompanied with text that gives more information about each step. By adhering to this guide, potential NPs will confidently navigate the intricacies, ensuring they are well-prepared to establish their role as NPs for the IC.

NPs who have successfully completed this onboarding process are strongly encouraged to contribute their insights and wisdom to enhance this resource. Your valuable contributions can further enrich the guide. Collaboration is at the core of the Internet Computer community, and your participation can contribute to the success of new NPs!

1. Gather DC and ISP quotes

The initial step in becoming a Node Provider (NP) revolves around establishing partnerships with Data Center(s) (DC) and Internet Service Provider(s) (ISP) to host operational IC nodes. For ensuring decentralization, it is highly beneficial to distribute nodes across multiple countries and data centers. Additionally, proposing new countries and/or data centers for hosting nodes can increase the likelihood of acceptance during the later stage (step 6). Although not as stringent, a similar principle applies to the selection of ISPs.

At present, there are no mandatory technical certifications required for DCs, but this might change in the future. The sole requirement is verifiability of the DC's location once its proposal is submitted in step 6, as stated in this forum post.

Suggested approach:

Visit the world map on the homepage of the IC dashboard. Identify countries where there are no nodes in operation. For decentralization purposes, it is highly recommended to set up nodes in these countries.
Check the “Data centers'' page of the IC dashboard for the country of interest. Verify if there are any DCs in that region with IC nodes present. For better network decentralization, opt for data centers companies different from those already hosting IC nodes.
Contact DCs and request a quote. This template is an example request. Feel free to adapt it to your (local) needs.
- The template is quite comprehensive but the key information that should be included in the DC’s quote are:
  1. Monthly Recurring Costs (MRC) of colocation (renting rack space within the data center)
  2. Non-Recurring Costs (NRC), like one-off setup fees
  3. Cost structure for the services provided by their hands & eyes team (if present)
Contact ISPs and request a quote. This template is an example request. Feel free to adapt it.
- Similar to the DCs, at this stage you are only interested in the MRC and NRC.
If possible, visit the sites of the most promising data centers to assess suitability and professionalism of their staff.
Utilize the received quotes to make a financial analysis according to the Node Provider Remuneration Model. This will aid in determining the optimal number of nodes to host.
Finalize a provisional contract with a selected data center. This contract can serve as supporting documentation for your declaration as a node provider (step 4).

To assist with any follow-up questions from data centers regarding the technical aspects of your project, refer to the documentation provided below.

2. Establish a (local) legal entity

While not mandatory, establishing a legal entity as a Node Provider is highly recommended.

Creating a legal entity provides protection in the event of any legal issues, debts, or liabilities related to the operation of these nodes. It safeguards your personal assets from being utilized to resolve such discrepancies.
Moreover, operating under a legal entity enhances your credibility, increasing the likelihood of your proposal being accepted by the community.
With a legal entity in place, you gain the ability to enter into contracts and agreements using the entity's name, offering an additional layer of protection for the legal relationships involved in running an IC node, such as the DC contract.

However, it's worth noting that running a node as an individual is also possible. The choice ultimately lies with you.

3. Order and setup your hardware wallet

As part of the onboarding process (Step 6), you will require a hardware wallet. Once you have acquired your hardware wallet, you can proceed to configure it by following the instructions provided here. Once these initial setup steps are finished, you will be prepared to move forward with the actions outlined in step 6.

4. Preparation of documents for NP self declaration

Anyone interested in becoming a node provider is required to submit a proposal to be voted on by the community. This begins with a self declaration where the following documents need to be prepared and submitted.

Self declaration - A document to declare you intent to become a node provider
Identity proof - Any document that proves the identity of the signers of the self-declaration to the community. Examples include:
- Proof of company registration through an official database
- Company registration/license
- ID/Passport

Both documents are mandatory. Templates for these documents can be found here.

Some supporting documents that are not mandatory but would strengthen any node provider self declaration include:

Company/personal website
Link to Github account/organization
Datacenter contract

Publish the documents to the self declaration page on the IC wiki.

5. Node provider onboarding to the Network Nervous System (NNS)

Now that you have your hardware wallet and also a DC contract in place, you can complete the steps outlined in the node provider onboarding wiki page seamlessly.

Here are supplementary actions that should be completed following specific steps to optimize and streamline your onboarding experience:

Once you have completed step 9 on the node provider onboarding wiki page, you will have successfully created a proposal that is waiting for the NNS to vote. To facilitate this process, it is best to create a post in this forum thread to raise awareness of your proposal. You can use this as a template for the post.
Once your NP registration has been accepted, you may complete step 10 on the node provider onboarding wiki page. At the end of this step, you will have successfully created a proposal to register your DC to the network (if it is a new DC). Similar to the previous step, to facilitate the voting process of your proposal, it is advised to create a post in this forum thread to raise awareness of your proposal. You can use this as a template for the post.

Once your NP and DC registration have been accepted, you may order the hardware (Step 6) for the nodes and have them delivered to the DC you registered so that they can be racked and stacked. This can be done while you complete the rest of the steps outlined in the node provider onboarding wiki page.

6. Order hardware

The hardware specifications can be found here. Note that buying the hardware has a lead time of up to 6 months.

Ordering the hardware directly after the acceptance of your NP and DC registration by the NNS is the safest option. However, in practice, if you are fully aware of the associated risks, ordering the hardware at an earlier stage can be done as well.

7. Rack and stack

Follow the instructions in the Gen-2 Data Center Runbook, or provide them to the hands and eyes team on site so that the set-up of the nodes in the rack is according to community standards.

8. Onboard nodes to the IC

Now that your nodes have been racked and stacked, they can be added to the IC by following the steps outlined in the IC-OS Installation Runbook.

Once this has been completed, you will have successfully completed step 12 in the node provider onboarding wiki page.

9. Add nodes to the reward configuration

Finally, you must complete step 13 in the node provider onboarding wiki page. This step will create a proposal to add your nodes to the reward configuration. Once this proposal has been accepted, you will have successfully been onboarded as a node provider on the IC.