Configuration and Security

Each Arx node must declare its hardware capabilities, as this impacts the node's workload eligibility and potential revenue.

Accurate declarations are incentivized to ensure reliable performance, with penalties for nodes that overstate their capacity and fail to meet task requirements. Nodes can upgrade their specifications over time, but hardware reductions are subject to conditions to ensure that they do not impact the performance of their active Clusters. See the Staking Overview section for more.

Keyshare Management and Security Considerations

Arx nodes handle key shares crucial for participating in MPC protocols within Clusters and these shares cannot be compromised.

These key shares are securely stored and managed, often utilizing Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) for enhanced confidentiality and data integrity. TEEs provide isolated enclaves that safeguard key shares from unauthorized access, ensuring that only trusted processes within the node can interact with them.

Beyond this, other security considerations exist. This includes the integration of both physical and cloud-based systems to maximize uptime and prevent penalties for non-participation. The physical systems refer to the deployment of Arx node hardware in secure, redundant on-premise setups to ensure reliability. Meanwhile, cloud-based systems leverage scalable and distributed infrastructure provided by trusted providers to enhance failover protection and availability.