Installing a Validator Node
This page will guide you through the process of installing and updating a validator node.
Install your node(s)
After preparing the user permissions, the script configurations, and the keys, the actual node installation can begin. The Validator script is a multi-purpose tool for managing your node, it is accessible to Mainnet, Devnet or Testnet.
Following these few steps, we will work on installing the MultiversX Network validator node to get it up and running on your local machine.
For installation, one must start the scripts by:
cd ~/mx-chain-scripts
./script.sh
After that, a menu will appear with the following options. Select the option 1 to install the node.
1) install
2) observing_squad
3) multikey_group
4) upgrade
5) upgrade_multikey
6) upgrade_squad
7) upgrade_proxy
8) remove_db
9) start
10) start_all
11) stop
12) stop_all
13) cleanup
14) github_pull
15) add_nodes
16) get_logs
17) benchmark
18) quit
Please select an action:1
As an alternative, the installation can be triggered by executing the following command:
~/mx-chain-scripts/script.sh install
- When asked, indicate the number of nodes you want to run, i.e.
1 - When asked, indicate the name of your validator, i.e.
Valar - Quit the menu without starting (we need keys first) by using
18 - quit
Prepare your keys
Create a new folder "VALIDATOR_KEYS" to serve as a local backup when updating:
cd ~
mkdir -p ~/VALIDATOR_KEYS
Generate a certificate file containing your Validator key by running the keygenerator:
./elrond-utils/keygenerator
Copy the generated validatorKey.pem file to the config folder of your node(s), and repeat for each node.
cp validatorKey.pem ~/elrond-nodes/node-0/config/
Each node needs its unique validatorKey.pem file
Then copy the validatorKey.pem file - in ZIP form - to the $HOME/VALIDATOR_KEYS/ folder . This is important for your node to be able to restart correctly after an upgrade.
zip node-0.zip validatorKey.pem
mv node-0.zip $HOME/VALIDATOR_KEYS/
Repeat the above process for all your “n” nodes. When complete, please refer to our Key management section for instructions about how to properly backup and protect your keys.
Start the node(s)
~/mx-chain-scripts/script.sh start
Start the node visual interface
Once the node has started, you can check its progress, using the TermUI interface. Navigate to your $HOME/elrond-utils directory and start the TermUI, one for each of your nodes:
cd $HOME/elrond-utils
./termui -address localhost:8080
Your first node is called node-0 and it is a REST API that will run on port 8080 by default. The next node is node-1on port 8081, and so on.
Update your node(s)
Upgrade your node by running the script and selecting either of these options:
14 - github_pulldownloads the latest version of the scripts4 - upgrade9 - start18 - quit
~/mx-chain-scripts/script.sh
These are the basic steps. Please carefully read the on-screen instructions, refer to the scripts readme file. You can also ask any questions in the MultiversX Validators chat
Mandatory: Backup your keys
Your private keys are needed to run your node. Losing them means losing control of your node. A 3rd party gaining access to them could result in loss of funds.
Find them in $HOME/elrond-nodes/node-0/config [be mindful of your “n” nodes]
Create a safe backup for them on storage outside of the server running your node(s).
Migration from old scripts
Before the release of the current mx-chain-scripts, there were the elrond-go-scripts-testnet, elrond-go-scripts-devnet and elrond-go-scripts-mainnet for setting up nodes
on the testnet, devnet and mainnet respectively. Those three repositories have been deprecated because elrond-go-scripts can be used to manage nodes regardless of their target network (testnet, devnet or mainnet).
If one wants to migrate from the old scripts to the new ones, it is generally possible to do so while preserving the validator keys, current node installation, DB and logs. These are the steps to be followed:
- clone the
mx-chain-scriptsrepo near the old one (elrond-go-scripts-testnet/elrond-go-scripts-devnet/elrond-go-scripts-mainnet); assuming the old scripts were located in the home directory, run the following:
cd ~
git clone https://github.com/multiversx/mx-chain-scripts
- configure the new scripts as described in the sections above;
- make sure you set the new
ENVIRONMENTvariable declared within~/mx-chain-scripts/config/variables.cfg; it must contain one of"testnet","devnet"or"mainnet"; - call the
migrateoperation on the scripts:
cd ~/mx-chain-scripts
./script.sh migrate
Be careful as to not mix the previous installation network with the new one. This might lead to unpredictable results.
Choosing a custom configuration tag or branch
This option should be only used when debugging or testing in advance of a pre-release tag. Use this on your own risk!
The power of the scripts set has been leveraged with a new addition: the possibility to tell the scripts a specified tag or branch (not recommended using a branch due to the fact that an unsigned commit might bring malicious code or configs)
To accomplish this, edit the variables.cfg file
cd ~/mx-chain-scripts/config
nano variables.cfg
locate the OVERRIDE_CONFIGVER option and input a value there, something like tags/T1.3.14.0.
The tags/ prefix will tell the scripts to use the tag and not search a branch called T1.3.14.0.
Call the upgrade command on the scripts to install the desired configuration version.
Resetting the value to "" will make the scripts to use the released version.
The OVERRIDE_CONFIGVER is not backed up when calling github_pull operation.
Troubleshooting
If the node fails to start and the termui window shows messages like:
termui websocket error, retrying in 10s...
termui websocket error, retrying in 10s...
termui websocket error, retrying in 10s...
a good method to check what the node is trying to do at startup (and fails) is to issue this command:
sudo journalctl -f -u elrond-node-XXX.service
by replacing XXX with the actual node instance on the machine: 0, 1, 2, 3...