Validator Basics

7 examples to get you started with validator operations - 4 basic and 3 intermediate. Covers voting, consensus participation, RPC vs validator roles, and staking on Agave 4.1.1.

Prerequisites

• Solana CLI 3.0.10 for cluster queries.
• Server meeting Solana hardware guidelines for mainnet validation (see Hardware & Networking).

solana --version
solana validators --url mainnet-beta | head

Basic Examples

1. Query the Validator Set

Validators publish vote accounts on-chain.

solana validators --url mainnet-beta --output json-compact | head -c 2000

• Each validator has a vote account and identity keypair.
• Stake weights determine leader schedule influence.
• delinquent flag marks missed voting thresholds.

Related: Vote Accounts & Staking

2. Distinguish Validator vs RPC Node

Not every RPC server is a staking validator.

# Validator runs agave-validator with --vote-account
# RPC-only may run agave-validator without voting or a dedicated RPC plugin

• Validators vote on tower BFT consensus.
• RPC nodes serve getBlock, sendTransaction to apps.
• Many operators run separate RPC fleet from voting validator.

Related: Agave Client

3. Check Cluster Version

Validators must stay on compatible Agave versions.

solana cluster-version --url mainnet-beta

• Network upgrades coordinate via release channels (Agave 4.1.1 ecosystem).
• Lagging versions risk delinquency or fork incompatibility.
• Monitor #validator-operators announcements before upgrades.

4. Read Epoch Info

Stake rewards and leader schedule rotate per epoch.

solana epoch-info --url mainnet-beta

• Epoch length in slots (~2 days on mainnet).
• slotIndex tracks progress within epoch.
• Plan maintenance windows around epoch boundaries when possible.

Related: Monitoring & Epoch Ops

Intermediate Examples

5. Identity vs Vote Key

Operators protect distinct key roles.

Identity keypair: pays for vote txs, receives priority fee tips (config-dependent)
Vote account: on-chain stake delegation target

• Store keys in hardware modules or HSM for production.
• Rotate identity carefully - update on-chain registrations.

6. Stake-Weighted QoS Awareness

Staked validators receive better transaction scheduling (SWQoS).

solana stakes <VOTE_ACCOUNT> --url mainnet-beta

• More stake improves inclusion under congestion.
• Jito-Solana adds bundle/MEV paths (Jito-Solana).

Related: Stake-Weighted QoS

7. Client Selection

Agave is default; Firedancer/Frankendancer and Jito-Solana are alternatives.

Related: Firedancer / Frankendancer

Stack versions: This page was written for Agave 4.1.1, Solana CLI 3.0.10, Anchor 0.32.1, anchor-lang 0.32.1, Rust 1.91.1, @solana/kit 7.0.0, Surfpool 0.12.0, and LiteSVM 0.6.x.