NiceNode: Run a node at home, the easy way

Hey everyone!
I’m excited to share some updates since Epoch 2 and our updated Roadmap. I would greatly appreciate any feedback on updates, roadmap input, or new idea suggestions!
Best, Johns

Updates since Epoch 2

Updates since December 1 2023

  • Impact dashboard (MVP) at https://impact.nicenode.xyz showing active monthly node counts
    • First time work for infra done, so additional changes and dashboards will be easier moving forward
  • Internal changes to better support running nodes for any given chain-id
    • Helps OP Stack nodes in NiceNode be able to support new chains that haven’t been explicitly added into NiceNode
  • Early user testing and integration for new OP Stack clients - Hildr (Java) and Magi (Rust)
    • Github discussion with Hildr team here
  • Cleanup configuration for Sepolia and Holesky networks as Goerli network was deprecated
  • Setup end-to-end testing framework for NiceNode to improve app reliability and reduce manual testing
  • OP Stack and Arbitrum node changes and testing for Blob support in the Ethereum Dencun upgrade (EIP 4844)
  • Add fun “node” options (maybe better described as “server”) Minecraft and Home Assistant and testing a new version of Radicle - decentralized github
  • Testing potential Mac stability improvements with Podman v5
    • NiceNode uses Podman to run nodes
    • Podman v5 uses Apple native Virtual Machine software which vastly improves node performance on Mac
    • Release in ~1-2 months
  • Small changes and testing to prepare for Arbitrum Orbit node support

Roadmap (roughly prioritized)

Updated March 1 2024

  • "Improve internal “operations” of the app - such as handling node and Podman updates smoothly is still a high priority
  • Add optional SSD IOPS speed test to the add node flow
    • Eth nodes require high (~10K IOPS) SSDs
  • Permissionless / Decentralized node options
    • Make the available node options permissionless by allowing users to enter their own “Node Library” HTTP API
  • DVT staking protocols were not ready for testing as early as we anticipated and we need to improve NiceNode before staking is ready
  • “Improve the reliability on Mac and Windows by contributing to Podman - which is an open-source alternative to DockerDesktop on Mac and Windows” - remains time-consuming and difficult and we think our time is best spent on improving NiceNode while the Podman team is working on Mac & Windows reliability
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