Mirror Nodes: The “Other Half” of Hedera

This article was originally published August 1, 2024 on Hgraph.

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Inside Hgraph’s Mission to Redefine the Mirror Node Business and Raise Community Awareness

One common thread among all Hedera enthusiasts is a sense of curiosity and imagination. An appreciation for the unique, quirky and innovative qualities of the network and its technology. We all share similar moments about how we discovered Hedera in our collective story.

However, there's another side to this ongoing story that’s just as fascinating. Most folks aren’t aware of this “other half” of the Hedera network, but when they learn about it, that same curiosity is sparked all over again. We’re talking about mirror nodes, where everything we do on Hedera is stored. This shared curiosity and power of imagination is at the heart of Hgraph’s mission.

Since 2008, public crypto networks have promised transparency. On Hedera, this promise is upheld by mirror nodes. While the Hedera community frequently discusses the “writing” of transactions into the network via consensus nodes, this article will focus on the "other half" of Hedera.

Let's dive into why mirror nodes are so important, their role in the Hedera network, and why support for this infrastructure is essential as we get ready for a new era of growth in the industry.

What are Mirror Nodes?

Do you think you know everything about what makes Hedera unique? Think again.

In the rapidly evolving world of crypto, Hedera stands out with a design that separates transaction validation and data retrieval into two distinct types of nodes: consensus nodes (write) and mirror nodes (read). In crypto, this is an incredibly unique architecture and it ensures Hedera remains scalable, performant, and secure. While consensus nodes validate and write transactions to the ledger, mirror nodes provide crucial read-only access to historical data. These are the two halves.

Often overlooked, mirror nodes are an aspect of Hedera that might actually hold the most exciting possibilities for builders and enthusiasts. Even if you aren’t a developer, there’s plenty to get excited about when exploring mirror nodes.

The Benefits of Two Node Types

The separation of read and write transactions in Hedera’s architecture offers several advantages that set it apart from other public Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs):

• Scalability: By offloading read operations to mirror nodes, consensus nodes can maintain high performance and scalability for transaction processing. In contrast, other DLTs often require all nodes to handle both read and write operations, leading to performance bottlenecks, security trade-offs and slower transaction processing.
• Performance: Specialization enables each node type to optimize its specific function, enhancing overall network performance. Other public DLTs lack this separation, resulting in nodes being less efficient and more prone to slowdowns as the network scales.
• Security: Consensus nodes can focus on maintaining the network's security, while mirror nodes ensure data redundancy and accessibility. This modular division reduces the risk of overload and potential vulnerabilities in the system.

It’s pretty neat huh? Just like how we get excited about ABFT, carbon neutrality, low fixed fees, TPS and fair ordering, mirror nodes are yet another breakthrough and unique aspect of Hedera that many folks haven’t considered. Truly, untapped potential.

This separation not only improves efficiency but also ensures a smoother, more reliable user experience for enterprise, retail, developers, degens and everyone in between.

How Mirror Nodes Work

Architecture and Data Flow

Mirror nodes are like dedicated data managers for the Hedera network and providers like Hgraph offer services (like APIs) to make the data easily accessible. Mirror nodes handle and store dozens of terabytes of historical data, making it easy to look up past transactions and other information.

Here’s a simple breakdown of how they work:

• Receiving Data: Mirror nodes receive a constant stream of transaction data from consensus nodes, which process new transactions. For example, when you send HBAR to someone, the transaction is first recorded on a consensus node. Seconds later, it is offloaded to mirror nodes.
• Organizing Data: This data is initially compressed to save space and then the mirror nodes decompress and organize the data for easy access.
• Storing Data: The organized data is stored in a database, which you can think of as a massive, multi-terabyte spreadsheet with billions of rows. Alternatively, you might imagine it as a big, shared story of everything that’s happened on the network since genesis. Hgraph stores their mirror node data on bespoke hardware infrastructure and providers will also leverage cloud hosting to handle the large volumes of data.
• Providing Access: Mirror nodes make stored data accessible through various tools, such as APIs. Developers and applications can use these tools to quickly retrieve historical data. If we think of the data as a big shared story written by consensus nodes, mirror nodes are the way people can read it.

Keeping Things Running Smoothly

To ensure they operate efficiently, mirror nodes use several techniques:

• Caching: Frequently accessed data is temporarily stored in memory for quick access, reducing the load on the database.
• Indexing: Key pieces of information are indexed, making searches faster, similar to how an index in a book helps you find topics quickly.
• Optimizing Queries: The way questions (queries) are asked to the database is optimized to get answers faster and use resources more efficiently.

• Data Integrity: Mirror nodes utilize cryptographic techniques like hashing to verify data integrity, ensuring that the historical data retrieved is accurate and tamper-proof.
• Data Compression: Techniques such as data compression algorithms are employed to handle large volumes of data efficiently, making storage and retrieval more cost-effective.

By using strategies like this, mirror nodes ensure the Hedera network runs smoothly, efficiently, and securely, providing reliable, trusted access to historical data for all users.

How are Mirror Nodes Used?

You’ve probably interacted with multiple mirror nodes today.

Imagine using your favorite Hedera wallet, like HashPack, to check your transaction history, verify token transfers, view your NFTs, or see your token balances. The seamless experience you enjoy is powered by mirror node providers like Hgraph. In essence, mirror nodes are the key to an excellent user experience on Hedera .

Beyond wallets, mirror nodes support a wide range of applications, here’s a few use case examples:

• Gaming: Record player transactions, in-game purchases, and achievements for transparency and fairness.
• DeFi: A DeFi lending platform uses mirror nodes to track transaction histories, calculate interest accurately, ensure regulatory compliance, and provide detailed financial reports to users.
• Supply Chain Management: A global logistics company utilizes mirror nodes for real-time tracking and verification of goods, ensuring transparency and trust across the supply chain from manufacturer to consumer.
• Advanced Analytics: A marketing firm accesses historical transaction data through mirror nodes to perform advanced analytics, identify trends, and optimize marketing strategies.
• Internet of Things (IoT): A smart city project uses mirror nodes to store and retrieve sensor data, enabling real-time analytics and historical comparisons for traffic management, air quality monitoring, and energy usage optimization.
• NFTs: A digital art marketplace relies on mirror nodes to verify the authenticity and ownership history of NFTs, preventing fraud and ensuring the provenance of digital assets.
• Real-World Assets (RWA): A real estate platform uses mirror nodes to track the ownership and transfer history of properties, ensuring transparency and trust in real estate transactions.
• Additionally: Healthcare, finance, voting systems, real estate, digital identity, education, energy management and countless others.

Without mirror nodes, these applications would struggle to provide the responsive and reliable user experiences that users expect. It would also place a huge burden on the applications to manage the data themselves, incurring higher costs and more overhead.

Challenges and Opportunities

Despite their importance, mirror nodes often lack the necessary support and funding. Mirror node providers can face high operational costs and limited visibility, making it challenging to sustain and expand their services. Storing and managing dozens of terabytes of data with high transaction rates can be costly, and without adequate financial and technical support, the sustainability of mirror node infrastructure is at risk.

As you’re reading this, it might seem like this “other half” of the network has been somewhat neglected with users experiencing glitches, slowdowns and errors during high traffic moments. As more community members discover this other side of Hedera, they quickly realize that mirror nodes hold many of the solutions to the problems we face.

An interesting question to ask is, “would the Hedera network work without mirror nodes?” The short answer is yes, but the long answer further illustrates how important mirror nodes are. Without mirror nodes, Hedera might look something like this:

Consensus nodes would be overwhelmed, handling both transaction processing and data retrieval and unable to provide full historical data on demand. This dual burden would lead to slower transaction confirmations, increased latency, and reduced scalability. The user experience would suffer, and the network could become congested, making it less attractive when compared with other networks.

Now, it’s important to point out this is a purely hypothetical scenario, but it illustrates how mirror nodes are a secret to Hedera’s speed, stability and scalability. This decision to have two distinct node types for read and write transactions was truly a stroke of brilliance that we have yet to fully appreciate.

Hgraph: Redefining the Mirror Node Business

Hgraph is a startup poised for significant growth, yet it is already a leader in providing robust mirror node services within the Hedera ecosystem. By operating reliable and efficient mirror node infrastructure, Hgraph ensures that developers, enterprises, wallets like HashPack, and other stakeholders have the necessary data access for regulatory compliance, data analytics, and decentralized applications (dApps). Despite their critical role, mirror nodes often lack visibility and support, a gap that Hgraph is determined to bridge. Hgraph’s journey is one of resilience and innovation, setting the stage for new, major contributions to the Hedera network.

"In 2022, we started hosting a mirror node to help a small community of Hedera developers gain better access to network data. Coming from a DevOps and Infrastructure background, this has been our way of participating in the network and contributing to the varied use cases teams bring to the network using our nodes. Over the last few years, our user base has grown, and the amount of data produced by the Hedera network has increased significantly. We’re happy to continue offering robust, data-driven solutions for the most enthusiastic developers in the Hedera network."

— Tyler McDonald, CEO at Hgraph

Hgraph stands out with several unique aspects:

• GraphQL API: An ultra flexible, unified API access point that unlocks unlimited possibilities for developers while simplifying the process of data retrieval. This allows dApps to build better data-rich features and save money.
• Data Science Expertise: The Hgraph team includes specialists in data science, enabling sophisticated analytics and insights - turning data into knowledge. This is critical as the community searches for answers in the mountains of transactions.
• Operating Their Own Hardware: Unlike many providers, Hgraph owns and operates its own hardware, ensuring greater control and reliability. This allows them to build some truly unique features specifically for the Hedera ecosystem.
• Long-Term Operation: Hgraph has a proven track record of long-term operation, providing stability and trust within the community. They believe that retail is the stepping stone to enterprise and not a choice between the two.
• Community Involvement: Deep connections within the Hedera community enable Hgraph to stay at the forefront of developments and contribute significantly to the ecosystem. They rely on their customers to understand what to build next.
• Usage by Major Projects: Hgraph’s services are utilized by major projects like HashPack, Swirlds Labs, Deca4, Vavel Games and more, showcasing their reliability and importance. Fun fact: the figures shown on the Hedera homepage are provided by Hgraph’s mirror nodes.
• Software Engineering: The team at Hgraph works with developers across the ecosystem to build tooling, applications and complete experiences. This includes the official open-source Hedera WalletConnect library.
• Hgraph Ecosystem: A growing collection of tools, features and partnerships arriving over the coming weeks and months that bring even more data-rich experiences to Hedera.

Most importantly, Hgraph understands the key to re-defining the mirror node business is embracing the Hedera community and raising awareness for this “other half” of the network. For Hgraph, this is about turning basic infrastructure into beloved products and services.

Growing Awareness for Mirror Nodes

Increasing support and awareness for mirror nodes will have a positive impact on the Hedera ecosystem, ensuring sustainable growth, enhancing network performance, and fostering innovation. By supporting mirror nodes, we unlock new opportunities for data-driven applications and advanced analytics. Making it easier to access useful information from the network allows everyone to stay aligned with our shared objectives.

Look At Yourself in the Mirror Node

This is a call to action for all HBARbarians.

This network relies on mirror nodes to function smoothly. Mirror nodes are one of the most exciting and unique aspects of Hedera and we’re not really talking about them as much as we should. So it's time to rally together and support this crucial infrastructure by raising awareness!

Much the same we raise awareness for verticals like DeFi and NFTs or network features like ABFT and carbon negativity, we can raise awareness for mirror nodes. Supporting mirror nodes isn’t just about maintaining the network; it’s about ensuring that users enjoy the best possible experience and discovering new ways we can scale and grow Hedera.

And, as it turns out, this “other half” of the network is incredibly co´ol and fascinating. You’ll find so many incredible things to explore as you fall down the mirror node rabbit hole!

Unlocking the Full Potential of Hedera

HashPack is best in class when it comes to writing transactions into the network and Hgraph is best in class when it comes to reading transactions from the network. This fresh, holistic approach to the crypto user experience offers a glimpse into what the future holds for Hedera.

The excitement and curiosity surrounding mirror nodes is already growing. Data accessibility in crypto is a broad challenge, but it’s yet another challenge that Hedera is uniquely positioned to tackle head-on. It all comes back to the original promise of crypto: transparency.

So with this fresh outlook, community support and attention to detail, Hgraph is on a mission to transform this complex mirror node infrastructure into beloved products and services. Hgraph plans to launch a completely reimagined account dashboard and new tools so stay tuned to their channels for more updates and early access opportunities.

Additional Reading

Check out some of these resources to continue your journey into the “other half” of Hedera:

• Hgraph main website
• Official Hedera mirror node docs
• Thoughts on Hedera mirror nodes (video)

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