smom-dbis-138/docs/deployment/VALIDATOR_RPC_DEPLOYMENT.md

Validator and RPC Node Deployment Strategy

Core Requirements

Validator Nodes

• Deployment: ALL non-US Commercial Azure regions (42 regions)
• VM Size: Standard_D4_v2 (4 vCPUs) - MUST be the SAME across ALL regions
• VM Family: Dv2 Family
• Count: 1 validator per region (minimum for consensus)
• Purpose: Consensus and block validation
• Critical: All validator nodes must use identical VM specifications

RPC Nodes (Core Backbone)

• Deployment: ALL non-US Commercial Azure regions (42 regions)
• VM Size: Standard_D8s_v6 (8 vCPUs) - MUST be the SAME across ALL regions
• VM Family: Dsv6 Family
• Count: 1 RPC node per region (core backbone)
• Purpose: Internal networking, core backbone infrastructure
• Critical: RPC nodes are the internally networked backbone - must be in ALL regions

System Nodes

• Deployment: ALL regions (required for AKS)
• VM Size: Standard_D2_v2 (2 vCPUs)
• VM Family: Dv2 Family
• Count: 1 system node per region
• Purpose: AKS system pool

Sentry Nodes

• Deployment: Distributed as needed based on quotas
• VM Size: Standard_D4_v2 (4 vCPUs)
• VM Family: Dv2 Family
• Count: 0-1 per region (distributed)
• Purpose: P2P connectivity
• Note: Can be distributed based on quota availability

All 42 Non-US Commercial Azure Regions

#	Region	Code	Validator	RPC	System	Sentry
1	Belgium Central	bc	✅	✅	✅	⚪
2	Brazil South	bs	✅	✅	✅	⚪
3	Brazil Southeast	bse	✅	✅	✅	⚪
4	Canada Central	cc	✅	✅	✅	⚪
5	Canada East	ce	✅	✅	✅	⚪
6	Central India	ci	✅	✅	✅	⚪
7	Chile Central	chc	✅	✅	✅	⚪
8	East Asia	ea	✅	✅	✅	⚪
9	France Central	fc	✅	✅	✅	⚪
10	France South	fs	✅	✅	✅	⚪
11	Germany North	gn	✅	✅	✅	⚪
12	Germany West Central	gwc	✅	✅	✅	⚪
13	Indonesia Central	ic	✅	✅	✅	⚪
14	Israel Central	ilc	✅	✅	✅	⚪
15	Italy North	in	✅	✅	✅	⚪
16	Japan East	je	✅	✅	✅	⚪
17	Japan West	jw	✅	✅	✅	⚪
18	Jio India Central	jic	✅	✅	✅	⚪
19	Jio India West	jiw	✅	✅	✅	⚪
20	Korea Central	kc	✅	✅	✅	⚪
21	Korea South	ks	✅	✅	✅	⚪
22	Malaysia West	mw	✅	✅	✅	⚪
23	Mexico Central	mc	✅	✅	✅	⚪
24	New Zealand North	nzn	✅	✅	✅	⚪
25	North Europe	ne	✅	✅	✅	⚪
26	Norway East	no	✅	✅	✅	⚪
27	Norway West	nw	✅	✅	✅	⚪
28	Poland Central	pc	✅	✅	✅	⚪
29	Qatar Central	qc	✅	✅	✅	⚪
30	South Africa North	san	✅	✅	✅	⚪
31	South Africa West	saw	✅	✅	✅	⚪
32	Southeast Asia	sea	✅	✅	✅	⚪
33	South India	si	✅	✅	✅	⚪
34	Spain Central	sc	✅	✅	✅	⚪
35	Sweden Central	swc	✅	✅	✅	⚪
36	Switzerland North	sn	✅	✅	✅	⚪
37	Switzerland West	sw	✅	✅	✅	⚪
38	UAE Central	uac	✅	✅	✅	⚪
39	UAE North	uan	✅	✅	✅	⚪
40	UK South	uks	✅	✅	✅	⚪
41	UK West	ukw	✅	✅	✅	⚪
42	West Europe	we	✅	✅	✅	⚪
43	West India	wi	✅	✅	✅	⚪

Legend: ✅ = Required, ⚪ = Optional (distributed)

Per-Region Configuration

Standard Configuration

node_count = {
  system     = 1  # Required for AKS
  validators = 1  # Required in ALL regions (SAME VM size)
  sentries   = 0  # Optional, distributed as needed
  rpc        = 1  # Required in ALL regions (core backbone)
}

vm_families = {
  system     = "Standard_D2_v2"       # 2 vCPUs - Dv2 Family
  validators = "Standard_D4_v2"       # 4 vCPUs - Dv2 Family (SAME across ALL)
  sentries   = "Standard_D4_v2"        # 4 vCPUs - Dv2 Family (distributed)
  rpc        = "Standard_D8s_v6"      # 8 vCPUs - Dsv6 Family (SAME across ALL)
}

Quota Requirements Per Region

• Dv2 Family: 6 vCPUs (system: 2, validators: 4, sentries: 0)
• Dsv6 Family: 8 vCPUs (RPC: 8)
• Total: 14 vCPUs per region (minimum)

With sentries:

• Dv2 Family: 10 vCPUs (system: 2, validators: 4, sentries: 4)
• Dsv6 Family: 8 vCPUs (RPC: 8)
• Total: 18 vCPUs per region (with sentries)

Total Deployment Summary

Global Resources

• Total Regions: 42 (all non-US Commercial Azure)
• Total Validator Nodes: 42 (1 per region, SAME VM size)
• Total RPC Nodes: 42 (1 per region, core backbone)
• Total System Nodes: 42 (1 per region, AKS)
• Total Sentry Nodes: 0-42 (distributed as needed)
• Total Nodes: 126-168 nodes

Total vCPUs

Minimum (without sentries):

• Dv2 Family: 252 vCPUs (6 per region × 42)
• Dsv6 Family: 336 vCPUs (8 per region × 42)
• Total: 588 vCPUs

Maximum (with sentries):

• Dv2 Family: 420 vCPUs (10 per region × 42)
• Dsv6 Family: 336 vCPUs (8 per region × 42)
• Total: 756 vCPUs

Key Design Principles

1. Validator Consistency

• Same VM size (Standard_D4_v2) across ALL 42 regions
• Ensures consistent performance and behavior
• Simplifies monitoring and management
• Critical for consensus reliability

2. RPC Backbone

• RPC nodes in ALL 42 regions for core backbone
• Internally networked for high availability
• Critical infrastructure component
• Same VM size (Standard_D8s_v6) across all regions

3. Flexible Distribution

• System nodes: Required in all regions (AKS)
• Sentry nodes: Distributed based on quotas and needs
• Allows optimization per region

Deployment Configuration

The configuration is defined in terraform/multi-region-global.tf:

• Uses local.standard_validator_vm_size = "Standard_D4_v2" for all validators
• Uses local.standard_rpc_vm_size = "Standard_D8s_v6" for all RPC nodes
• Automatically generates configuration for all 42 regions
• Ensures consistency across all regions

Monitoring

Validator Monitoring

• Monitor all 42 validator nodes
• Ensure all use Standard_D4_v2
• Track consensus health across regions
• Alert on any validator VM size deviations

RPC Backbone Monitoring

• Monitor all 42 RPC nodes
• Ensure all use Standard_D8s_v6
• Track internal networking health
• Monitor cross-region connectivity

Benefits

1. Consistent Validators: Same VM size ensures uniform behavior
2. Resilient Backbone: RPC nodes in all regions for redundancy
3. Global Coverage: 42 regions provide worldwide presence
4. Flexible Scaling: System/sentry nodes can be adjusted per region
5. High Availability: Geographic redundancy across all regions