Step 3: Installing execution client

Your choice of either Besu, Nethermind, Geth, Reth or Erigon.

Only one execution client is required per node.

Execution Client Diversity

• To strengthen Ethereum's resilience against potential attacks or consensus bugs, it's best practice to run a minority client in order to increase client diversity.

• Find the latest distribution of execution clients here: https://clientdiversity.org

EL Diversity as of Dec 2024

Overview of Execution Clients

🛡️ Recommendation 🛡️: Nethermind or Besu

Nethermind

• Nethermind: Open-source Ethereum client written in .NET Core.

• Fast sync speed: Boasts the quickest Execution client syncing performance and is designed so you can start following the chain and attesting while it downloads history in the background.

• Flexible configuration: Rich set of options tailored for node operators.

• Online pruning: Allows database pruning while still online, no need to turn off client.

• Resource-intensive pruning process: May result in noticeable performance degradation for low-power nodes during the process.

Besu

• Hyperledger Besu: Open-source Ethereum client under Apache 2.0 license, written in Java.

• Distinctive features: Uses Bonsai Tries for state storage for enhanced performance and benefits.

• Maintenance-free: Does not require pruning, making it effectively maintenance-free.

Geth

• Geth (Go Ethereum): One of the original Ethereum protocol implementations, written in Go and fully open source under GNU LGPL v3 license.

• Stable and reliable: Oldest and most widely-used Execution Client with a strong reputation.

• Multithreaded: Utilizes the entire CPU for enhanced performance.

• Adjustable RAM usage: Configurable down to 4 GB minimum for Mainnet, accommodating various system specifications.

Erigon

• Erigon: High-performance Ethereum implementation focused on efficiency, faster synchronization, and optimized experience written in Go.

• Born as a Geth fork, completely rewritten for enhanced speed and storage savings.

• Faster archive node synchronization: Achieves full node synchronization in under three days with less than 2TB of storage.

• Supports several popular EVM-compatible blockchains and testnets.

• Efficient state storage: Utilizes a key-value database for improved performance.

• Separate JSON RPC daemon: Enables read-only calls without requiring the same system as the main Erigon binary, even from a database snapshot.

Reth

• Reth: Execution layer (EL) Ethereum client, written in Rust, is compatible with all consensus layer (CL) implementations.

• Developed by Paradigm, licensed under Apache and MIT licenses.

• Capabilities: Sending/receiving transactions, querying logs and traces, and accessing/interacting with smart contracts.

• Prioritizing security, efficiency, and ease-of-use for consumer hardware.

Comparison of Execution Clients

Client	RAM Use	Minimum Database Size	Database Growth	Time to sync
Nethermind	8 GB	0.95 TB	18 GB/week	Fastest, 2hrs+
Besu	12 GB	1.2 TB	10 GB/week	Medium, 16hrs+
Geth	8 GB	1.2 TB	8 GB/week	Fast, 8hrs+
Erigon 3	8 GB	0.92 GB	8 GB/week	Medium, 16hrs+
Reth	10 GB	1.2 TB	4GB/week	Medium, 16hrs+

Notes:

• Time to sync to a state capable beginning attestations depends on the IOPs of your storage drive.

• Initial sync is always resource intensive. Synced operation is relatively resource use light.

• Nethermind, Besu, Geth have the capability to prune the database.