--- sidebar_position: 8 --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.lium.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Node Tier: Secure vs Spot Every node starts on **Secure**. A Secure node earns rental income plus [idle pay](../rewards/emission.mdx): pay from the shared pool while it is rented and while it waits for a rental. A Secure node takes a penalty if you interrupt a rental. A **Spot** node earns rental income. It gets idle pay only while it is not rented and a Lium [Default Job](./default-jobs.md) runs on it (see [Idle pay on Spot](#idle-pay-on-spot)). It takes no penalty if you interrupt a rental. Renters see a Spot badge on it. Idle pay goes only to accounts that hold their own keys. An account that signed up with e-mail or Google (not released yet) earns rental income on either tier and no idle pay. It can still switch tiers: a Secure node still takes the penalty if you interrupt a rental, and a Spot node does not. Its Change Tier dialog shows no idle pay. You can switch any node that is not rented to **Spot**: | | Secure (default) | Spot | |--------------------------------|------------------|------| | Rental income | yes | yes | | Idle pay | yes | only while a Lium Default Job runs, capped at the Secure rate | | Penalty on rental interruption | yes | no | | "Spot" badge shown to renters | no | yes | ## Requirements - The node must not be currently rented ## Changing the tier 1. Open the node details page in the Provider Portal. 2. Click **Change Tier** in the top toolbar (between *Add Notice Period* and *Remove*). 3. Select **Secure** or **Spot** and confirm. When an account that holds its own key selects Spot on a Secure node, the dialog shows the idle pay this node earned in the last 30 days, rented time included. On Spot the node keeps only the idle pay described in [Idle pay on Spot](#idle-pay-on-spot), so it can earn less than that figure. If that number is not available yet, the dialog says so. The current tier is shown in the **General** section as the `TIER` badge. :::info Renter visibility Renters see a **Spot** badge on these nodes in the rental UI and are aware the pod may be interrupted without compensation. ::: ## Idle pay on Spot Every Spot node gets idle pay, whether you set it to Spot yourself or Lium moved it there because your account is demoted. It is paid while it is not rented and a Lium Default Job runs on it. Lium sets the Spot rate per GPU-hour for each GPU model and GPU count, and it changes daily. It is never above the idle rate a Secure node with the same GPUs would be listed at. This pay comes from the part of the emission that would otherwise be burned (see [Subnet emission](../rewards/emission.mdx#the-three-pools)). If that part is too small in a cycle, Spot idle pay is scaled down, and it is 0 when nothing is left. A Spot node earns no idle pay: - while it is rented, or while some of its GPUs are rented; - while no Lium Default Job runs on it, for example when your own Default Job holds it; - while Lium has no Spot rate for its GPU model and count yet; - while Lium has set it to Spot for another reason: a banned hotkey, hardware pinned by Lium, or an open self-rent or untrusted-renter rental. It earns 0 there; - when a Secure node with the same GPUs would have no idle rate, for example a GPU count with no priced tier; - while it fails validation, new rentals are paused, it runs an outdated executor image, or your Discord is not connected, the same as on Secure. The node's incentive history names the reason for each cycle that paid nothing (see [Monitoring](./monitoring.md#to-do-cards)). ## When your account is demoted The tier you set is not always the tier renters see. If your [penalty coverage](../rewards/penalties.mdx#effect-on-your-node-tier) rises above the limit on that page, every node of your account is listed as Spot, whatever its setting says. It earns rental income and the [Spot idle pay](#idle-pay-on-spot) described above, not Secure idle pay. The portal shows this on three screens: - The node page. The `TIER` badge reads **SPOT** with the note *account demoted*. A yellow box above the General section gives the coverage, the limit, the date the account is back on its own setting at the latest, and the next refresh time. - The **Change Tier** dialog. The same box appears above the tier selector. Changing a node to Secure changes only the setting. Renters keep seeing Spot until the coverage drops below the limit. - The **Overview** page of an e-mail or Google account. The box appears at the top. The coverage is recomputed at 00:00 and 12:00 UTC. A tier changes only at those times. A penalty counts for the length of the coverage window after it is applied. The "back by" date is the refresh after your newest counted penalty leaves that window. If a new penalty is applied before then, the date moves. The badge reads **SECURE** only when the account is not demoted and the node is set to Secure.