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Run a validator

Overview​

This guide demonstrates how to run a validator node on the mainnet using Docker.

Before you start​

Docker​

Private key​

Generate a private key for your validator node as described in Generate keys.

System requirements​

Recommended system requirements for running a validator node on the mainnet:

  • 8-core CPU
  • 32 GB RAM
  • 700 GB high-speed SSD
  • x86-64 architecture

These requirements are rough guidelines, and each node operator should monitor their node to ensure good performance for the intended task. The size of your node will also grow over time.

Run the node​

  1. Set up directories:

Create a node directory:

mkdir ~/ronin

Go to the newly created directory:

cd ~/ronin

Create a chain data directory:

mkdir -p chaindata/data/ronin
  1. Create a file called docker-compose.yml:
vim docker-compose.yml
  1. Paste the following into docker-compose.yml:
version: "3"
services:
  node:
    image: ${NODE_IMAGE}
    stop_grace_period: 5m
    stop_signal: SIGINT
    hostname: node
    container_name: node
    ports:
      - 127.0.0.1:8545:8545
      - 127.0.0.1:8546:8546
      - 30303:30303
      - 30303:30303/udp
      - 6060:6060
    volumes:
      - ~/ronin/chaindata:/ronin
    environment:
      - SYNC_MODE=full
      - PASSWORD=${PASSWORD}
      - PRIVATE_KEY=${VALIDATOR_PRIVATE_KEY}
      - BOOTNODES=${BOOTNODES}
      - NETWORK_ID=${NETWORK_ID}
      - RONIN_PARAMS=${RONIN_PARAMS}
      - VERBOSITY=${VERBOSITY}
      - MINE=${MINE}
      - GASPRICE=${GASPRICE}
      - ETHSTATS_ENDPOINT=${INSTANCE_NAME}:${CHAIN_STATS_WS_SECRET}@${CHAIN_STATS_WS_SERVER}:443
      - BLS_PASSWORD=${BLS_PASSWORD}
      - BLS_PRIVATE_KEY=${BLS_PRIVATE_KEY}
      - BLS_AUTO_GENERATE=${BLS_AUTO_GENERATE}
      - ENABLE_FAST_FINALITY=${ENABLE_FAST_FINALITY}
      - ENABLE_FAST_FINALITY_SIGN=${ENABLE_FAST_FINALITY_SIGN}
      - BLS_SHOW_PRIVATE_KEY=${BLS_SHOW_PRIVATE_KEY}

This compose file defines the node service, which pulls the Ronin node image from the GitHub Container Registry.

  1. Create an .env file to store configuration parameters for the service:
vim .env
  1. Paste the following into .env and replace placeholder values (like INSTANCE_NAME) with your node's information:
# The name of your node that you want displayed on https://stats.roninchain.com/
INSTANCE_NAME=INSTANCE_NAME

# The latest version of the node's image as listed in https://docs.roninchain.com/validators/setup/upgrade-validator
NODE_IMAGE=NODE_IMAGE

# Your validator private key without the 0x prefix
VALIDATOR_PRIVATE_KEY=VALIDATOR_PRIVATE_KEY

# The password used to encrypt the node's private key file
PASSWORD=PASSWORD

# BLS Wallet features
# Your BLS private key without the 0x prefix
BLS_PRIVATE_KEY=BLS_PRIVATE_KEY_WITHOUT_0x

# The password used to encrypt the BLS private key file
BLS_PASSWORD=BLS_PASSWORD

# Whether to participate in the finality vote broadcast
ENABLE_FAST_FINALITY=true

# Whether to produce the finality vote
ENABLE_FAST_FINALITY_SIGN=true

# Whether to automatically generate BLS private key
BLS_AUTO_GENERATE=false

# Whether to show the raw BLS private key after decryption
BLS_SHOW_PRIVATE_KEY=false

MINE=true

BOOTNODES=enode://cfa5f00c55eba79f359c9d95f5c0b2bb8e173867ffbb6e212c6799a52918502519e56650970e34caf1cd17418d4da46c3243588578886c3b4f8c42d1934bf108@104.198.242.88:30303,enode://f500391c41906a1dae249df084a3d1659fe602db671730b2778316114a5f7df44a0c6864a8dfffdc380fc81c6965dd911338e0e2591eb78a506857015d166250@34.135.18.26:30303,enode://fc7b8ceafe16e6f79ab2da3e73d0a3163d0c28efe0778863102f8f27758986fe28c1540a9a0bbdff29ab93ad1c5803462efe6c98165bbb404d9d099a55f1d2c9@130.211.208.201:30303
NETWORK_ID=2020
GASPRICE=20000000000
VERBOSITY=3

CHAIN_STATS_WS_SECRET=WSyDMrhRBe111
CHAIN_STATS_WS_SERVER=ronin-stats-ws.roninchain.com

RONIN_PARAMS=--http.api eth,net,web3,consortium --miner.gaslimit 100000000 --miner.gasreserve 10000000

An alternative to setting the boot node is to use node discovery via DNS (see REP-0005). In the .env file, make the following changes:

  1. Delete the BOOTNODES=... line.
  2. Append --discovery.dns enrtree://... at the end of the RONIN_PARAMS line.

We provide a DNS node list for node operators:

  • Saigon testnet: enrtree://AJCNIAXQIPO55NW3QE2NUBBDMPYZDOQUCAEUS65NHQFMUUFES5KOW@saigon.nodes.roninchain.com
  • Mainnet: enrtree://AIGOFYDZH6BGVVALVJLRPHSOYJ434MPFVVQFXJDXHW5ZYORPTGKUI@nodes.roninchain.com
  1. (Optional) Download the snapshot from ronin-snapshot
cd ~/ronin/chaindata/data/ronin/
wget -q -O - <snapshot URL> | tar -I zstd -xvf -
  1. Start the node:
cd ~/ronin && docker-compose up -d

This command pulls a Ronin node image and starts the service you defined.

  1. Review the log:
docker logs node -f --tail 100
  1. After a few minutes, check the status of your node on the Ronin Network Status page. If it's green, the node is connected and up to date with the network.

Verify the node is working​

Whenever you wish to verify that your node is working, run the following command:

docker-compose logs node | head -n 20

Verify that the account address in the response matches your registered consensus address.

node       | Using account acf8bf98d1632e602d0b1761771049af21dd6597

Also, check the node's availability on Ronin Network Status.