How does ledger nano send a transaction?

[Strovu]

Hi I would like to know how the ledger nano works exactly? What is the route of a transaction, how does it reach a given blockchain.

For example if I send a bitcoin transaction with a ledger nano, I don't have the block chain or a full node on my ledger nano or computer and I can see the ledger nano uses different ports to send the signal to a cloudfare ip address. So it doesn't seem to be broadcasting the transaction directly to the blockchain but pass through some kind of protected server...

Does anyone know how it works or how this kind of wallet works in general to broadcast the transaction, I guess ligth wallets kind of work that way too.

If they use servers, how many are they? 2-3 or hundreds of them?

[Lucius]

If you use Nano S/X in combination with Ledger Live then your transaction after it is approved by you logically must somehow be forwarded to the blockchain - and in this case the Ledger servers will be responsible for that. I don't know if there is any technical data on the number and configuration of these servers, and I don't see why the company would disclose it publicly. In case you use Nano HW with any other software (Electrum for example) then your device communicates with the servers used by that software.

[TryNinja]

They never disclosed how many servers they have. What Lucius said above is correct.

No, it connects to a Bitcoin Core/Cash/2x server running on our infrastructure.

A curiosity I just found out: their servers keep logs on your addresses and transactions.

[o_e_l_e_o]

So it doesn't seem to be broadcasting the transaction directly to the blockchain but pass through some kind of protected server.

"The blockchain" isn't a single entity which receives transactions from the whole world to one single place/server/node. The bitcoin network is created from thousands of full nodes interacting with each other. When you want to broadcast a transaction, you have to send it to a node, which will then relay that transaction to other nodes, which will each relay it to more nodes, and so on, until it has propagated through the entire network. If you do not run your own node which can broadcast transactions, then you have to send them to someone else's node to be broadcast.

If they use servers, how many are they? 2-3 or hundreds of them?

Depends on the wallet software you are using to broadcast your transaction. Ledger probably run a couple of servers for users to connect to via Ledger Live. Electrum has over 100 public servers you can choose from.