Run a validator node on Ubuntu

This guide describes how to set up the node to run as a validator node on a server that participates in the Concordium network. A node receives blocks and transactions from other nodes and propagates information about blocks and transactions to the nodes in the Concordium network. In addition, a validator node also participates in the lottery and produces its own blocks.

Prerequisites

• The node is installed and running.

• If you want to run the node as a validator, you must have generated validator keys. How you generate validator keys depends on which wallet you are using. For an overview of the process, see Validators.

Configure the node with validator keys on Mainnet

1. Move the JSON file with the validator keys you generated to the server that’s running the node. Store it, for example, in /home/user/concordium/validator-credentials.json.

2. In the terminal, enter:

   $sudo systemctl edit concordium-mainnet-node.service
   

3. Add the following snippet to the opened file (the file is empty the first time you open it):

   [Service]
   
   Environment=CONCORDIUM_NODE_BAKER_CREDENTIALS_FILE=%S/concordium-9dd9ca4d19e9393877d2c44b70f89acbfc0883c2243e5eeaecc0d1cd0503f478/validator-credentials.json
   BindReadOnlyPaths=/home/user/concordium/validator-credentials.json:%S/concordium-9dd9ca4d19e9393877d2c44b70f89acbfc0883c2243e5eeaecc0d1cd0503f478/validator-credentials.json
   

   Where you replace the path /home/user/concordium/validator-credentials.json with the actual location of the file.

Note

The path %S/concordium-9dd9ca4d19e9393877d2c44b70f89acbfc0883c2243e5eeaecc0d1cd0503f478/ is the default path to the validators’s state directory, where 9dd9ca4d19e9393877d2c44b70f89acbfc0883c2243e5eeaecc0d1cd0503f478 is the genesis hash.

1. Save the edited file.

2. Restart the node for the changes to take effect. Enter:

   $sudo systemctl restart concordium-mainnet-node.service
   

3. To verify the node is running, enter:

   $sudo systemctl status concordium-mainnet-node.service
   

Configure the node with validator keys on Testnet

1. Move the JSON file with the validator keys you generated to the server that’s running the node. Store it, for example, in /home/user/concordium/validator-credentials.json.

2. In the terminal, enter:

   $sudo systemctl edit concordium-testnet-node.service
   

3. Add the following snippet to the opened file (the file is empty the first time you open it):

   [Service]
   
   Environment=CONCORDIUM_NODE_VALIDATOR_CREDENTIALS_FILE=%S/concordium-b6078154d6717e909ce0da4a45a25151b592824f31624b755900a74429e3073d/validator-credentials.json
   BindReadOnlyPaths=/home/user/concordium/validator-credentials.json:%S/concordium-b6078154d6717e909ce0da4a45a25151b592824f31624b755900a74429e3073d/validator-credentials.json
   

   Where you replace the path /home/user/concordium/validator-credentials.json with the actual location of the file.

Note

The path %S/concordium-b6078154d6717e909ce0da4a45a25151b592824f31624b755900a74429e3073d/ is the default path to the validators’s state directory, where b6078154d6717e909ce0da4a45a25151b592824f31624b755900a74429e3073d is the genesis hash.

1. Save the edited file.

2. Restart the node for the changes to take effect. Enter:

   $sudo systemctl restart concordium-testnet-node.service
   

3. To verify the node is running, enter:

   $sudo systemctl status concordium-testnet-node.service
   

Verify that a node is a validator node

Two epochs must have elapsed before you can see the validator ID of the node on the dashboard.

You can use concordium-client to see the status of the node. For more information, see Concordium Client.

$concordium-client raw GetNodeInfo

...

Consensus type: "Active"

...

In the wallets, a badge is added to the account associated with the validator node. The badge appears as soon as the transaction has been submitted. That is, before the two epochs have elapsed.