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Running a Validator

Requirements​

  • TWO unix hosts, one for Validator Node, and one for the Private Fullnode ("VFN"). libra code targets Ubuntu 22.4
  • Recommended specs:
    • Validator: 300GB SSD harddrive, 8 core CPU, 16G RAM
    • VFN: 100G storage, 8 core CPU, 16G RAM
  • Separate static IP addresses for the machines, or appropriate DNS mapping.

Firewall​

note

During testnet and devnet operation, you will likely open port 8080 on your Validator to allow outside access to the RPC endpoint, which is an API that runs as part of the libra service. VFNs and public fullnodes should by default serve port 8080 RPC for operability.

Validator​

The following ports must be open: 6180, 6181

  • 6180 should be open on all interfacess 0.0.0.0/0, it's for consensus and uses noise encryption.
  • 6181 is for the private validator fullnode network ("VFN"), the firewall should only allow the IP of the fullnode to access this port.

VFN​

note

This node does not serve transactions and does not participate in consensus, it relays data out of the validator node, and transactions into the validator.

The following ports must be open: 6181, 6182, 8080

  • 6181 is for the private validator fullnode network ("VFN"), it should only allow traffic from the Validator node IP address above.
  • 6182 is for the the PUBLIC fullnode network. This is how the public nodes that will be serving JSON-RPC on the network will receive data and submit transactions to the network.
  • 8080 is the RPC port and we suggest VFNs and public fullnodes to serve this port by default for operability.

Setting up a Validator​

These instructions target Ubuntu.

1.1. Set up an Ubuntu host with ssh access, e.g. in a cloud service provider.

1.2. Associate a static IP with your host, this will be tied to you account. This address will be shared on the chain, so that other nodes will be able to find you through the peer discovery mechanism.

1.3. Libra binaries should be run in a linux user that has very narrow permissions. Before you can create binaries you'll need some tools installed probably by sudo and likely in root.

1.4. Use tmux to persist the terminal session for build, as well as for running the nodes and tower app. Also this setup requires git and make, which might be installed already on your host. If not, perform the following steps now:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y git tmux jq build-essential cmake clang llvm libgmp-dev pkg-config libssl-dev lld libpq-dev

1.5. Install Rust

curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh -s -- --default-toolchain stable -y

# restart your bash instance to pickup the cargo paths
source ~/.bashrc

Create Binaries​

It is recommended to perform the steps from 1.7 onwards inside tmux. Short tmux instruction:

1.6 Start a new tmux session

# start a new tmux session
tmux new -t libra-setup

1.7 Clone this repo:

git clone https://github.com/0LNetworkCommunity/libra-framework
cd ~/libra-framework

1.8 Build the source and install binaries: This takes a while, ensure your are still inside the tmux session to avoid your session gets disconnected.

cargo build --release -p libra

1.9 Making the libra binary globally executable and persistent

note

This assumes the libra binary is already built and located at ~/libra-framework/target/release/libra.

# Copy libra binaries to cargo bins path
sudo cp -f ~/libra-framework/target/release/libra* ~/.cargo/bin/

# Check libra execution and version 
libra version

You will now need sync your validator to the latest block and register your validator.​

Start Node​

libra node --config-path ~/.libra/validator.yaml

Setup as a service(optional)​

Install Service

note

use can this service template instead of running in tmux

sudo nano /lib/systemd/system/libra-node.service

Systemd template​

[Unit]
Description=Libra Node Service

[Service]
User=nodeuser
Group=nodeuser

LimitNPROC=1048576
LimitNOFILE=1048576

#Environment="RUST_LOG=warn"
WorkingDirectory=/home/nodeuser/.libra
ExecStart=/home/nodeuser/libra-framework/target/release/libra node --config-path /home/nodeuser/.libra/validator.yaml

Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=3s

StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal
SyslogIdentifier=libra-node

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
Alias=libra-node.service

# config the service and start
sudo systemctl enable libra-node
sudo systemctl start libra-node

Reload and start system service

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

sudo systemctl enable libra-node

sudo systemctl start libra-node

Check the service is operating correctly

sudo systemctl status libra-node

TMUX basics​

  1. New session: tmux new -t <SESSION_NAME>
  2. Detach from Session: press Ctrl-b and then d
  3. rejoin unnamed session, if only one session exists: tmux a
  4. rejoin unnamed session by id: tmux ls to get the ID and then tmux a -t <SESSION_ID>
  5. rejoin named session: tmux a -t <SESSION_NAME>
  6. kill session: attach to the session --> press Ctrl-b, then type :kill-session and press ENTER