Node Setup

Reset All

Preconditions

• initial setup has been completed
• node server is powered on and connected to the network
• client PC is powered on and able to SSH into the node server
• IMPORTANT: your ISP plan includes unlimited data

Postconditions

• client PC will have the ethereum-node helper scripts installed and configured
• node server will also have the helper scripts installed and configured
• node server will be running geth (EL), prysm-beacon (CL) as services
• you will be ready to setup one or more validators

Configurable Values

As in the initial setup guide, this guide is written using the following configurable values:

• node server SSH port: 55522
• node server hostname: eth-node-mainnet

Steps

All of these steps are performed on the client PC. Most of the work is performed by helper scripts; you just need to run them in the correct order.

• download the ethereum-node helper scripts:

sudo apt install -y git
cd
git clone https://github.com/CoeJoder/ethereum-node.git

• configure the project environment variables:
  • IMPORTANT: ensure that suggested_fee_recipient and withdrawal are set now, if you’re going to be running a validator. This guide does not cover how to update these values later, so do it now. The suggested_fee_recipient is the Ethereum wallet address which will receive tips from user transactions. The withdrawal is the Ethereum wallet address which will receive validator income rewards and also the full withdrawal of funds upon exiting. These can be set to the same address if you’d prefer:

cd ethereum-node

# generate `env.sh`
./tools/setup-env.sh

# change the default values as needed
# for example, you may need to customize the ports if multiple nodes are connected to the same router
# these values will be used throughout the rest of the project and should only be set this once
# `suggested_fee_recipient` and `withdrawal` should be set now if you plan on running a validator
nano ./src/env.sh

• deploy the helper scripts to the node server:

# copy the scripts to the node server, in directory `~/ethereum-node/`
./tools/deploy.sh

• login to the node server via SSH, and review the full list of project environment variables, including any customized values:

ssh -p 55522 eth-node-mainnet
cd ethereum-node

# display all environment variables and confirm they are correct
# if changes are needed, logout and make the changes in the client PC's `env.sh` and run `deploy.sh` again
./print-env.sh
# after reviewing, stay logged in for the next steps

• configure the software firewall and enable it:

# set firewall's rules and enable it
# answer "y" to any continuation prompts
./setup-firewall.sh

• login to your router via web browser, and manually configure port forwarding using the same configuration described by the output of the previous command
• install the Ethereum node software: geth (Execution Layer), prysm-beacon (Consensus Layer), prysmctl, ethdo, and ethereal:

# install EL and CL, and configure them to run as services
./setup-node.sh

# install prysmctl, a CLI utility for common node tasks
./setup-prysmctl.sh

# install ethdo & ethereal, CLI utilities for common Ethereum blockchain tasks
./setup-ethdo.sh

• enable the EL and CL services:

# start each service and follow its log
# press `ctrl + c` to exit the log
./enable-geth.sh
./enable-beacon.sh

Next Steps

You are now ready for validator setup.