Gateway FAQ & Troubleshooting

• Gateway protocol rewards are calculated as 0.1% of the protocol balance (0.05% after August 2025) split between all gateways in the network. A change in the protocol balance or the number of gateways in the network between epochs will result in the reward for an individual gateway changing.

• The Observer rewards are separate from protocol rewards, and if your gateway is selected as an observer for an epoch, assuming it performs its duties well, it will receive additional rewards

The observer selection process uses a weighted random selection method that considers multiple factors beyond just stake:

• Stake Weight (SW): Ratio of your total staked ARIO tokens (including delegated stake) to the network minimum
• Tenure Weight (TW): How long your gateway has been part of the network (capped at 4 after 2 years)
• Gateway Performance Ratio Weight (GPRW): Ratio of epochs where you correctly resolved names vs total participation
• Observer Performance Ratio Weight (OPRW): Ratio of epochs where you successfully submitted reports vs total observer periods

A composite weight (CW) is calculated as: CW = SW × TW × GPRW × OPRW

Up to 50 gateways are chosen as observers per epoch. If there are more than 50 gateways, selection is randomized based on these normalized weights. Even with a high stake, other factors like performance and tenure affect your chances of being selected.

• There is a 90 day locking period when withdrawing stake, either from delegated stake or operator stake on your gateway. This locking period can be skipped, for a fee. The fee starts at 50% of the withdrawal amount, and goes down over time. If you selected instant withdrawal, you paid the fee to skip the locking period.

• The minimum operator stake for gateways (10,000 ARIO) cannot be instantly withdrawn, it is subject to the full 90 day locking period, and withdrawal can only be started by removing your gateway from the network.

• If possible, leave your original server running while you prepare the new one
• Set up the new server following the same steps you used to set up the original server
  • This includes setting up SSL certificates for the new server
• You must use the same gateway wallet when setting up the new server
• The observer wallet may be changed at any point, but requires extra steps. It is recommended you use the original observer wallet as well
• Once the new server is set up, change your DNS A records to point at the new server
• After your DNS records are set and you have verified your gateway is operating correctly, shut down the original server
• No changes need to be made in the network contract or on ar://gateways

• Yes
• Configure your new domain to point at your gateway, including setting up SSL certificates
• Update your NGINX (or other reverse proxy) server to recognize the new domain. This usually requires a restart of NGINX
• Update the ARNS_ROOT_HOST variable in your .env and restart the gateway
• Using ar://gateways, update your gateway settings to change the FQDN in the contract
• Your gateway is now using the new domain name for normal operation.

• Visit your gateway in a browser and see if your SSL certs are expired. This is the most common issue causing sudden stops in proper operation.

• Try restarting nginx, it sometimes has trouble looking at the new certs without a restart.

• Make sure ARNS_ROOT_HOST is properly set in your .env file. Updating this requires restarting your gateway.
• Make sure you have a DNS record set for *.<your-gateway-domain>. Since ArNS names are served as subdomains, you need to make sure all subdomains are pointed at your gateway.
• If your gateway is attempting to resolve the name, but times out, it's most likely a CU issue.

• AR.IO gateways are very robust, they can handle temporary errors gracefully and not affect normal operation. You should only be concerned if the error is consistent or it is causing your gateway to not function properly.

• Observers generate and submit their reports at specific times throughout the epoch. This is to ensure a healthy network throughout the entire epoch, not just at the start.
• Your observer wallet must match the observer wallet associated with your gateway in the AR.IO contract. You can check this by navigating to your gateway in ar://gateways.

• This happens when a request to a CU fails, and your gateway receives an html failure message instead of the expected JSON response. This will normally clear up on its own after congestion on that CU dies down, but if it is persistent try switching to a different CU.

• This is normal. It means you have reached the current Arweave block and need to wait for more before you can index them.

• This is normal. If a gateway fails to resolve an arns name within 3 seconds, it will fall back to a trusted gateway (arweave.net by default) to help resolve the name.

• There are many reasons a gateway could fail an epoch. Following these steps is usually enough to identify and correct the issue:
  • Try to visit your gateway in a browser and see if your SSL certs are bad
  • Try to resolve an ArNS name on your gateway. If it fails to resolve, check the console and your gateway logs for errors
  • Look at the observation reports that failed your gateway, they will list the reason for failure