What is a Solana node?

A Solana node is any server running Solana client software that maintains blockchain state. Nodes can play different roles: validator nodes maintain consensus and produce blocks, while RPC nodes focus on serving API to developers and applications.

What is an RPC node in Solana?

An RPC node is a specialized Solana server that doesn’t produce blocks but instead accepts JSON-RPC requests and responds to them.

What is RPC in Solana?

RPC refers to an application gateway layer for interaction with the Solana blockchain. It is the API endpoint your software talks to and the set of methods that let an app interact programmatically with the blockchain.

What is the RPC URL for the Solana network?

An RPC URL is the network address of a Solana node. Developers, dApps, and wallets connect to this URL to send JSON-RPC calls.

What’s the difference between Solana validator and RPC nodes?

An RPC node usually uses the same Solana validator binary as a consensus node. However, RPC servers usually run in non-voting mode and are tuned to serve API traffic. Validators, in turn, are configured to participate in consensus and block production.