Initial Setup

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Preconditions

• all required hardware is obtained
• router has OpenWRT installed and is connected to the internet
• LAN is secured by a strong WiFi encryption protocol and a strong password, or Wifi is disabled
• client PC has Mint installed and is connected to the router by ethernet cable or WiFi
• client PC has a password manager installed, such as KeePassXC
• node server is fully assembled with a mouse, keyboard, and monitor attached
• node server is connected to the router by ethernet cable
• node server is powered off (not just hibernating or sleeping)

Postconditions

• node server will be running headless Ubuntu Server, with the latest firmware & software
• node server will auto-mount its EXT4-formatted secondary drive upon startup
• client PC user will be configured for secure login to the server via SSH terminal
• flash drives will have:
  • Ubuntu Server - the latest Ubuntu Server ISO disk image
  • Mint - the latest the Mint ISO disk image
  • Data - a single bootable FAT32 disk partition
• you will be ready to setup the Ethereum node software

Configurable Values

This guide is written using the following configurable values:

• router IP address: 192.168.1.1
• node server IP address: 192.168.1.25
• node server timezone: America/Los_Angeles
• node server SSH port: 55522
• node server hostname: eth-node-mainnet
• node server username: coejoder
• client PC SSH key: ~/.ssh/eth-node-mainnet_ed25519

Steps

1. Download Mint and Ubuntu Server

On the Client PC:

• browse to the Linux Mint download page and download an .iso file of your choice
• plug-in a USB flash drive, launch the program USB Image Writer, select the .iso image, and select the flash drive. Click Verify to verify the integrity of the .iso, and then click Write
• safely eject the flash drive, unplug it, and label it as Mint
• browse to the Ubuntu Server download page and download the latest .iso file
• plug-in the next flash drive and repeat same process as above using USB Image Writer, labeling this one as Ubuntu Server

2. Update BIOS of the Node Server

These are the steps for updating the BIOS of the NUC10i7FNH, the recommended node server device in Hardware Requirements.

On the Client PC:

• plug-in the next USB flash drive
• wipe the drive and create a bootable FAT32 partition:

# list all SCSI drives and identify the intended USB flash drive
lsblk -I 8 -ndo PATH,SIZE,VENDOR,MODEL

# once identified, assign its device path to the variable `flashdrive`
# e.g., /dev/xyz
flashdrive=/dev/xyz

# unmount any mounted partitions of the USB flash drive
sudo umount ${flashdrive}?*

# wipe the existing partitions & create a new bootable FAT32 partition
sudo fdisk $flashdrive
# Command (m for help): o
# Command (m for help): n
# Select (default p): <Enter>
# Partition number (1-4, default 1): <Enter>
# First sector (2048-120164351, default 2048): <Enter>
# Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (2048-120164351, default 120164351): <Enter>
# Do you want to remove the signature? [Y]es/[N]o: y
# Command (m for help): t
# Hex code or alias (type L to list all): b
# Command (m for help): a
# Command (m for help): w

# format the new partition and label it "DATA"
sudo mkfs.vfat -n DATA ${flashdrive}1

# safely eject the drive
sudo eject $flashdrive

• unplug the flash drive and plug it back in. It should be auto-mounted by the operating system
• browse to BIOS & Firmware for NUC10i7FNH and download the latest BIOS update
• extract the .zip file, open the extracted folder Capsule File for BIOS Flash through F7 and copy the .CAP file to the flash drive
• safely eject the flash drive, unplug it, and label it as Data

On the Node Server:

• plug the Data flash drive into the front USB port
• power-on the node server and immediately press F7 repeatedly until the BIOS flash screen is displayed
• select the flash drive from the list, and select the .CAP file
• when the BIOS update is complete, shutdown the node server by holding the power button for about 12 seconds (until all lights go out), then remove the flash drive

3. Install Ubuntu Server

On the Node Server:

• plug the Ubuntu Server flash drive into the front USB port
• power-on the node server and immediately press F10 repeatedly until the Boot Menu appears
• select the USB flash drive from the options
• select Try or Install Ubuntu Server
• update the installer when prompted
• keep accepting the default options until you arrive at network configuration
• on the network configuration screen, select the eth adapter, choose Edit IPv4, choose Manual, then enter:
  • Subnet: 192.168.1.0/24
  • Address: 192.168.1.25
  • Gateway: 192.168.1.1
  • Name servers: 192.168.1.1
• keep accepting the default options until you arrive at storage configuration
• on the storage configuration screen, select Use Entire Disk, choose the NVMe disk, deselect Setup this disk as an LVM group, then go to the next screen
• confirm that the Used Devices section shows the NVMe disk with two partitions: a FAT32 partition mounted at /boot/efi, and an EXT4 partition mounted at /, then go to next screen
• pick a username, password, and server name. Save the password in your client PC’s password manager, then go to next screen:

Your name: coejoder
Your server's name: eth-node-mainnet
Pick a username: coejoder
Choose a password: ********
Confirm your password: ********

• decline to use Ubuntu Pro when prompted and go to next screen
• select Install OpenSSH Server and Allow password authentication over SSH and go to next screen
• decline to install additional software when prompted and go to next screen
• when installation is complete, follow the on-screen instructions. It will reboot and present a terminal command prompt. Leave it there and begin the setup of the client PC

4. Configure SSH

On the Client PC:

• login as the local user that will be interacting with the node server. If this PC is your main Desktop computer, your existing user account is fine to use
• edit /etc/hosts and add an entry at the bottom which associates the node server’s static IP address to its hostname:

sudo nano /etc/hosts

# append this entry to the file, then save and close it (ctrl+s, ctrl+x)
192.168.1.25 eth-node-mainnet

• try logging into the node server via SSH, entering the password for coejoder@eth-node-mainnet (the password chosen during Ubuntu Server installation) when prompted:

ssh coejoder@eth-node-mainnet
# Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])? yes
# coejoder@eth-node-mainnet's password: <password>

# you should now be logged into the node server `eth-node-mainnet` as `coejoder`
# logout and continue to next step (type `exit` or press `ctrl+d`)
exit

• create a SSH public/private keypair secured with a passphrase and save the passphrase in your password manager:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -a 100 -f ~/.ssh/eth-node-mainnet_ed25519
# Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): <passphrase>
# Enter same passphrase again: <passphrase>

• add the public key to the node server, entering the password for coejoder@eth-node-mainnet when prompted:

ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/eth-node-mainnet_ed25519.pub coejoder@eth-node-mainnet
# coejoder@eth-node-mainnet's password: <password>

• create a directory for SSH sockets

mkdir -p ~/.ssh/sockets/

• create or edit ~/.ssh/config and add a section to the bottom of the file:

nano ~/.ssh/config

# append this entry to the file, then save and close it (ctrl+s, ctrl+x)
Host eth-node-mainnet
  User coejoder
  AddKeysToAgent 1h
  ControlMaster auto
  ControlPath ~/.ssh/sockets/%C
  ControlPersist 600
  ForwardAgent yes
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/eth-node-mainnet_ed25519
  IdentitiesOnly yes
  PreferredAuthentications publickey

• login to the node server again, and update the SSH server settings:

ssh coejoder@eth-node-mainnet
# coejoder@eth-node-mainnet's password: <password>

sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

# find and change these options:

  #Port 22
  #PasswordAuthentication yes
  #PermitEmptyPasswords no

# to these:

  Port 55522
  PasswordAuthentication no
  PermitEmptyPasswords no

# then save and close the file (ctrl+s, ctrl+x)
# stay logged in for the next step

• while still logged into the node server, uninstall cloud-init and delete its configuration files:

sudo apt purge cloud-init
sudo rm -rf /etc/cloud/ && sudo rm -rf /var/lib/cloud/
sudo rm -f /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/50-cloud-init.conf

• update system firmware:

sudo fwupdmgr update

• restart the node server, wait one minute, then try logging in using key+passphrase:

sudo reboot

# you will be kicked out as it reboots
# after a minute or so, log back in
ssh -p 55522 eth-node-mainnet
# Enter passphrase for key '.../.ssh/eth-node-mainnet_ed25519': <passphrase>

# you should now be logged in again
# the above ssh command is what you will use to login from now on
# for now, stay logged in and continue to the next step

5. Format and Mount Secondary Drive

On the Client PC:

• while logged into the node server via SSH, partition and format the secondary drive:

# list all SCSI drives and identify the secondary drive
lsblk -I 8 -ndo PATH,SIZE,VENDOR,MODEL

# once identified, assign its device path to the variable `secondary_drive`
# e.g., /dev/xyz
secondary_drive=/dev/xyz

# unmount any mounted partitions of the secondary drive
sudo umount ${secondary_drive}?*

# wipe the existing partitions & create a new EXT4 partition
sudo fdisk $secondary_drive
# Command (m for help): g
# Command (m for help): n
# Select (default p): <Enter>
# Partition number (1-128, default 1): <Enter>
# First sector (2048-120164351, default 2048): <Enter>
# Last sector (2048-1250164703, default 1250162687): <Enter>
# Do you want to remove the signature? [Y]es/[N]o: y
# Command (m for help): w

# format the new partition
sudo mkfs.ext4 -L SECONDARY -E lazy_itable_init=0 ${secondary_drive}1

• create a mount point and configure auto-mounting

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/secondary
sudo nano /etc/fstab

# append this entry to the file, then save and close it (ctrl+s, ctrl+x)
LABEL=SECONDARY /mnt/secondary ext4 errors=remount-ro,noatime 0 1

• reboot the node server and confirm that the secondary drive is auto-mounted

sudo reboot
# wait for node server to reboot

ssh -p 55522 eth-node-mainnet
# Enter passphrase for key '.../.ssh/eth-node-mainnet_ed25519': <passphrase>

mount -l | grep SECONDARY
# it should output something like:
# /dev/wxy1 on /mnt/secondary type ext4 (rw,noatime,errors=remount-ro,stripe=8191) [SECONDARY]

6. Finish Up

On the Client PC:

• while still logged into the node server via SSH, shutdown the node server

sudo shutdown now

On the Node Server:

• disconnect the mouse, keyboard, and monitor
• move the node server to its permanent home, likely near the router and UPS battery backup
• plug-in the network cable and the power cable, then power it on

On the Client PC:

• log into the node server via SSH, install the latest system updates, remove orphaned dependencies, set the timezone, and sync the system clock via NTP:

ssh -p 55522 eth-node-mainnet
# Enter passphrase for key '.../.ssh/eth-node-mainnet_ed25519': <passphrase>

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt autoremove
sudo timedatectl set-ntp on
sudo timedatectl set-timezone America/Los_Angeles

• logout and enjoy a refreshing beverage, you’ve earned it!

Next Steps

You are now ready for node setup.