Pruning the Execution Client
NOTE
This is meant for geth and nethermind users.
Besu does not need to be pruned.
If you use geth or nethermind as your primary Execution (ETH1) client, you will likely notice that your node's free disk space slowly decreases over time.
The Execution client is by far the biggest contributor to this; depending on how much RAM you allocated to its cache during rocketpool service config, it can grow at a rate of several gigabytes per day!
To handle this, Execution clients provide a special function called pruning that lets them scan and clean up their database safely to reclaim some free space.
Every node operator using Geth or Nethermind will have to prune it eventually.
If you have a 2 TB SSD, you can usually go for months between rounds of pruning.
For 1 TB SSD users, you will have to prune more frequently.
If you have the Grafana dashboard enabled, a good rule of thumb is to start thinking about pruning your Execution client when your node's used disk space exceeds 80%.
When you decide that it's time, the Smartnode comes with the ability to prune it for you upon request.
Read below to learn how it works, and what to expect.
NOTE
Pruning your Execution client is only possible in Docker Mode.
If you use your own Execution (ETH1) client, such as an external client in Hybrid mode or Native mode, you cannot use the Smartnode to prune the Execution client.
You will need to do it manually.
Please refer to the documentation for your Execution client to learn how to prune it.
Prerequisites
Select the client you're using from the tabs below.
Pruning Geth means taking the primary Execution (ETH1) client offline so it can clean itself up.
When this happens, the Smartnode (and your Consensus (ETH2) client) will need some other way to access the ETH1 chain in order to function properly.
The easiest way to provide this is with a fallback node.
If you configured a fall back node using rocketpool service config already, then the Smartnode will automatically switch over to it when your Geth container goes down for maintenance for you.
It will also inform your Consensus (ETH2) client to use the fallback as well.
WARNING
If you don't have a fallback node configured, your node will stop validating during the pruning process.
It will miss all attestations and block proposals until it's finished and has resynced with the network.
You will leak ETH due to missed validations during this time!
With that in mind, the following two conditions are required to successfully prune Geth:
- A working fallback node configured
- At least 50 GB of free space remaining on your SSD
Nethermind is able to stay online while it prunes, meaning you do not require a fallback node to continue attesting.
Note, however, that pruning is an extremely resource-intesive task and you may see an increase in your attestations' inclusion distance and missed attestations during it.
Nethermind does not require any special prerequisites; you are able to prune it at any time.
Starting a Prune
Select the client you're using from the tabs below.
When you want to prune Geth, simply run this command:
If you do not have a fallback client pair enabled, you will receive the following warning:
If you do have one enabled, you will see the following prompt instead:
If you accept, you'll see a few details as the Smartnode prepares things; it should end with a success message:
With that, Geth is now pruning and you're all set!
You can follow its progress with:
Once it's done pruning, it will restart automatically and the Smartnode will resume using it again instead of your fallback.
When you want to prune Nethermind, simply run this command:
You will see the following prompt:
If you accept, you'll see a few messages similar to the following:
With that, Nethermind is now pruning and you're all set!
You can follow its progress with:
Once it's done pruning, it will restart automatically.
