What a node is, what nodes do, and why a network of many independent nodes underpins a decentralised system.
A node is one of the many independent computers that together run and secure a decentralised network. Each node keeps its own copy of the shared records and follows the same rules as every other node.
On the Flare networks, the collective work of many nodes is what keeps the system running and trustworthy.
Nodes receive new information, check it against the shared rules, and keep their copy of the records up to date. Because every node performs these checks independently, an attempt to slip in invalid information would be caught and rejected by the honest majority.
This independent, repeated checking is a big part of why decentralised systems are considered secure by design.
A single computer can fail, be switched off, or be tampered with. A large, geographically spread set of nodes has no such single weakness — if some go offline, the rest carry on. The health of a decentralised network is closely tied to how many independent nodes participate.
This article is part of the Flare Portal wiki — a free, independent educational reference. It is a conceptual overview and not a substitute for primary technical documentation.