---
title: Node Provider Roadmap
slug: node-provider-roadmap
description: The end-to-end path to becoming a node provider on the Internet Computer, organized as six milestones from education through ongoing node management.
tags:
  - node-provider
  - onboarding
  - governance
  - infrastructure
date: 2026-05-04
related:
  - node-provider-documentation
  - node-provider-onboarding
  - node-provider-self-declaration
  - validation-of-candidate-nodes
---

This entry lays out the full lifecycle of becoming a node provider on the
Internet Computer. It is a roadmap rather than a deep technical guide:
each milestone points at the focused entry that covers it.

For the role itself and current onboarding status, start with
[Node Provider Documentation](/wiki/node-provider-documentation/).

## Milestone one: education

Two preparatory steps before anything operational:

1. **Learn about the Internet Computer.** Read the introductory material
   on this site and at internetcomputer.org to understand subnets, the
   Network Nervous System (NNS), "useful work", and ICP tokens.
2. **Learn what the role involves.** Node providers run node machines
   on the network and earn rewards in return. Concretely they:
   - meet the published skill, hardware, and networking requirements,
   - onboard themselves as a provider through the NNS,
   - onboard each node machine,
   - perform their own maintenance when issues arise.

Acceptance is decided by the NNS — the Internet Computer's on-chain
governance system. ICP token-holders vote on whether to admit a new
provider.

## Milestone two: requirements

The role expects practical infrastructure skills:

- purchasing and racking server hardware,
- preparing USB-based OS installers,
- comfortable command-line operation,
- diagnosing network connectivity issues,
- understanding the operational differences between IPv6 and IPv4,
- following standard security best practices.

A Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification or equivalent
experience is strongly recommended.

Background reading before applying:

- [Node Provider Machine Hardware Guide](/wiki/node-hardware-guide/)
- [Node Provider Networking Guide](/wiki/node-networking-guide/)
- [Decentralization and Security](/wiki/decentralization-and-security/)
- [Node Provider Legal Guide](/wiki/node-provider-legal-guide/)

## Milestone three: provider onboarding

Four steps to take before acquiring any hardware:

1. **Join the Node Provider Matrix channel** to ask requirement
   questions and meet existing providers.
2. **Complete a self-declaration** of identity and good intent — see
   [Node Provider Self-declaration](/wiki/node-provider-self-declaration/).
3. **Order and set up a hardware wallet** (Ledger Nano) for managing
   ICP tokens and NNS neurons.
4. **Submit the onboarding proposal.** Create a node provider ID and
   submit it to the NNS for community vote — see
   [Node Provider Onboarding](/wiki/node-provider-onboarding/).

## Milestone four: node onboarding preparation

Once accepted as a provider, prepare the infrastructure:

1. **Obtain hardware** matching the published specification.
2. **Sign data-center contracts** in suitable jurisdictions.
3. **Configure networking and rack the nodes** per the networking
   guide.
4. **Reset the BMC password** on each machine — a critical security
   step before the node ever sees the public network.

## Milestone five: node machine onboarding

With NNS approval and hardware in place, install IC-OS on each node
and have the candidate machines validated against the network's
decentralization targets — see
[Validation of Candidate Node Machines](/wiki/validation-of-candidate-nodes/).

> [!NOTE]
> Every provider is asked to deploy at least two nodes with **IPv4
> reachability and a registered domain name** in every data center they
> operate in. Additional nodes beyond that pair can run on IPv6 only.

Two installation paths exist depending on hardware generation:

- [Gen-2 Node Deployment Guide](/wiki/node-deployment-gen-2/) — current,
  no HSM.
- [Gen-1 Node Deployment Guide](/wiki/node-deployment-gen-1/) — legacy,
  uses an HSM.

> [!WARNING]
> DFINITY does **not** offer live support for node providers attempting
> to onboard nodes. The community Matrix channel and the developer
> forum are the support channels.

After all nodes are running, submit a **reward configuration proposal**.
Without it, rewards are not paid even if the nodes are healthy.

## Milestone six: node management

Operating the fleet day to day:

- [Node Provider Maintenance](/wiki/node-provider-maintenance/) —
  routine operation.
- [Node Provider Troubleshooting](/wiki/node-provider-troubleshooting/) —
  diagnosing issues.
- [Troubleshooting Failed NNS Proposals](/wiki/troubleshooting-failed-nns-proposals/) —
  when a governance step fails.
- [Node Provider Alerting Options](/wiki/node-alerting-options/) —
  monitoring.
- [Node Provider FAQ](/wiki/node-provider-faq/) — common questions.

Unanswered questions should be raised in the Node Provider Matrix
channel.

## Related

- [Node Provider Documentation](/wiki/node-provider-documentation/) — the role overview and current onboarding status.
- [Node Provider Onboarding](/wiki/node-provider-onboarding/) — the technical onboarding procedure.
- [Validation of Candidate Node Machines](/wiki/validation-of-candidate-nodes/) — checking whether new nodes improve decentralization.
- [Node Provider Self-declaration](/wiki/node-provider-self-declaration/) — declaring identity and good intent.