Ledger Pruning

Since some nodes are intended to vote on transactions, while others only view the transactions, the parts of the ledger that are necessary to store can vary between nodes. To maximize efficiency within the network, ledger pruning allows the node host to store only the parts of the ledger that they determine are necessary to carry out their intended operations. In addition to increasing network efficiency, pruning saves nodes storage costs. There are four different types of nodes on Keeta Network, each with different pruning abilities.

Historical Node: Historical nodes do not participate in ledger pruning and maintain the entire history of the ledger dating back to the network’s genesis. These nodes require the most storage since they maintain large amounts of data. They can be called upon for any historical information on any account, token, or transaction that has ever taken place on the network.

Current Node: Current nodes only record and store the most recent blocks for each account. They maintain up-to-date information on the ledger’s most recent activity but not archive all historical data. Representatives must host at least a Current node but can host a Historical node if preferred.

Service Node: Service nodes hold data for a subset of accounts relevant to the node's host. These nodes also maintain updated representative network addresses, voting power, and public account identifiers, which reduces the client burden when interacting with the network.

Listen-only Node: Listen-only nodes don’t record or store account activity—they listen in on network activity in real-time. They can take actions or measurements based on what is happening on the network at any given moment, but they don’t need to maintain storage for that activity since they are not recording any of it.