Validators on Ethereum 2.0 are being offered multiple clients to choose from, select and install in order to run their node. While they serve the same purpose they use different implementation technologies, some are customizable and some are targeted for personal or enterprise use. Based on these criterias and more differences which can be read from their documentation, each validator can pick the one preferred or best suited.
As we speak there are 4 production ready clients that you can select and install. There are others in the making or in different developments phases that you can explore as well. The full list is available on the Ethereum Wikipedia.
On the Ethereum Launchpad you will find the production ready clients.
Eth2 clients are meant to keep track of transactions on Ethereum blockchain and check the new blocks. The clients distribution is a key factor for Ethereum's long term security and stability. They play the same role as Witness on Hive. Each client serves the same goal, but can distinguish itself through different features offered.
Prysm client is developed by Prysmatic Labs and is a Go implementation of the Ethereum 2.0 protocol with the focus on usability, security and reliability. It comes with a GPL-3.0 license.
- Discord: https://discord.gg/KSA7rPr
- Installation instructions: https://docs.prylabs.network/docs/getting-started/
- Github project: https://github.com/prysmaticlabs/prysm/
Lighthouse client is developed by Sigma Prime and is a Rust implementation of the Ethereum 2.0 protocol with the focus on security and speed. It comes with a Apache 2.0 license.
- Discord: https://discord.gg/cyAszAh
- Installation instructions: https://lighthouse-book.sigmaprime.io/
- Github project: https://github.com/sigp/lighthouse
Teku client is developed by ConsenSys and is a Java implementation of the Ethereum 2.0 protocol with the focus on institutional use and security fulfilments. It comes with a Apache 2.0 license.
- Discord: https://discord.gg/7hPv2T6
- Installation instructions: https://docs.teku.pegasys.tech/en/latest/HowTo/Get-Started/Build-From-Source/
- Github project: https://github.com/PegaSysEng/teku
Nimbus client is developed by Status and is a Nim (Python-like syntax compiled in C) implementation of the Ethereum 2.0 protocol with the focus on embedded systems and personal mobile devices. It comes with a Apache 2.0/MIT license and is a research project.
- Discord: https://discord.gg/XRxWahP
- Installation instructions: https://nimbus.team/docs/
- Github project: https://github.com/status-im/nim-beacon-chain
There is quite a variety of Eth2 clients and some might fit better than others to your needs. After having the hardware in place, this is the second decision you need to make and select and install your client that will be used to keep track and confirm new blocks on Ethereum blockchain. As Eth2 and Eth1 converge there are few other things to get in line to become a validator. There is a difference in the Validator clients presented here which run over Eth2 and the Clients running on Eth1 and which are required to process incoming deposits which are from Eth1 to Eth2. It is needed to run both a Validator client for Eth2 and a client for Eth1 in parallel. We'll cover the Eth1 clients into a next post.