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Validator Architecture

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.canton.network/llms.txt Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Validator Architecture

Internal components of a Canton Network validator node

A validator is the fundamental infrastructure unit on Canton Network. It hosts parties, stores their contract data, and processes transactions on their behalf. Understanding what’s inside a validator helps with deployment planning, troubleshooting, and capacity sizing.

Components of a validator

A validator consists of two main processes and their supporting infrastructure:

flowchart TB
    subgraph Validator["Validator Node"]
        VP[Validator Process]
        subgraph PN["Participant Node"]
            LE[Ledger API]
            CE[Canton Engine]
            CS[(Contract Store)]
        end
        WA[Wallet App]
        DB[(PostgreSQL)]
    end

    APP[Application or backend] --> LE
    PN <--> SYNC[Synchronizer]
    VP --> PN
    WA --> PN
    PN --> DB
    VP --> DB

Participant node

The participant node is the core component. It:

  • Hosts parties and manages their identities
  • Stores contract data for hosted parties in its local database
  • Exposes the Ledger API for applications to submit commands, read transactions, and manage parties
  • Runs the Canton protocol engine that handles transaction processing, validation, and privacy
  • Communicates with synchronizers to submit and receive data transactions
  • Communicates with synchronizers to submit and receive topology transactions

Validator process

The validator process handles Canton Network-specific functionality on top of the participant node:

  • Manages onboarding to the Global Synchronizer
  • Handles traffic purchases using Canton Coin
  • Runs the Splice wallet application for hosted parties
  • Manages automatic operations like traffic top-ups and Canton Coin sweep configurations

Database

Both the participant node and validator process use PostgreSQL for persistent storage. In production, this should be a managed database service (like Cloud SQL or RDS) with appropriate backup and high-availability configuration.

How validators connect to synchronizers

Validators connect to synchronizers through the sequencer endpoint over TLS (port 443). The connection is outbound only — validators do not need to accept incoming connections from the network.

A validator can connect to multiple synchronizers simultaneously. It receives only the transactions relevant to its hosted parties, maintaining privacy even though the synchronizer coordinates across all participants.

Ledger API

The Ledger API is the primary interface for applications to interact with the ledger. You can use the gRPC or JSON API transport to perform:

  • Command submission — Create contracts and exercise choices
  • Transaction stream — Read confirmed transactions as they are committed
  • Active contract set — Query the current set of active contracts
  • Party management — Allocate and manage parties

Applications connect to the Ledger API either directly via gRPC or through the JSON API, which provides an HTTP/JSON layer on top.

Mirrored from Canton Network official documentation (CC-BY-4.0) by CC Privacy Club for learning purposes.