Validator Node Installation Specifications
This page provides specifications for host environments for Volta and EWC validator nodes.
Host Machine Requirements
Validator nodes for Volta and the Energy Web Chain must run on a dedicated server or Virtual Machine only for the purpose of running the client; do not use hosts that already perform other tasks.
You can choose to run your validator node either On-Premise on your own hardware or on a virtual machine / cloud computing instance of your choosing. If you have any questions please contact the EWF NetOps team: netops@energyweb.org
The following specifications are strongly recommended, but validators are free to configure their host machine at their discretion in accordance with relevant internal policies or requirements. Please note that hosting a node on a machine with insufficient CPU, storage, RAM, and/or networking capacity may result in node failure (e.g. unable to connect to peers, unable to synchronize, unable to seal blocks) and require extra labor to reconfigure the host machine.
On-Premise Hardware
A on-premise node should have these specs or higher. For security reasons these resources must be reserved for the validator node and not shared with other workloads.
Modern Multi-core x64 CPU (at least 4 threads, preferably Xeon-class)
8GB RAM (preferably ECC)
Local SSD storage, 300 GB free capacity for blockchain, redundant in RAID-1
1 GBit NIC
Cloud Environments
The following specifications are strongly recommended based on the most common cloud environments used by existing EW Chain validators. You may select any cloud provider of your choosing
Amazon AWS
The following EC2 instance sizes are appropriate to run validators. These resources should be reserved for the validator node and not shared with other workloads.
m5.xlarge
m5.2xlarge
m5a.xlarge
m5a.2xlarge
c5.xlarge
c5.2xlarge
The default EBS storage assigned (normally 8GB) is not large enough to run the node. Make sure to run the node with following EBS storage settings:
General Purpose SSD (gp2)
at least 300GB size
Microsoft Azure
The following Azure VirtualMachine sizes are suitable to run a validator. These resources should be reserved for the validator node and not shared with other workloads.
D4s_v3
DS3_v2
B4ms
Use Premium SSD as attached storage with a size of at least 300GB.
Google Cloud
The following Google Cloud Virtual Machine sizes are suitable to run a validator node. These resources should be reserved for the validator node and not shared with other workloads.
n2-standard-4 and above: https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/general-purpose-machines#n2_machines
Digital Ocean
The following Digital Ocean Virtual Machine sizes are suitable to run a validator. These resources should be reserved for the validator node and not shared with other workloads.
General Purpose Droplet: 16 GB memory, 4vCPU
CPU-Optimized Droplet: 8 GB memory, 4vCPU
Use Block Storage as attached SSD storage with a size of at least 300 GB.
Connectivity Requirements
The following requirements should be met to ensure proper operation:
Wired connection with 100 MBit/s symmetric link to the internet
Low latency connection to next internet hop (<5ms)
No data volume limitations
Even though we recommend a 100MBit/s connection, that connection will likely not be saturated by the node. You can expect 10-30MBit/s when the chain is under load. Traffic will mainly flow on port 30303 (udp/tcp).
Operating System Requirements
The following Linux-based Operating Systems are supported for running a validator node:
Ubuntu Server 18.04 LTS or later
Debian 9.8 or later
CentOS 7 or later
RedHat Enterprise Linux 7.4 or later
Validators can elect other operating systems at their discretion, but may need to customize the installation scripts. Contact netops@energyweb.org for questions and support.
The following section provide a comprehensive guide for installation of one the supported operating systems. All further deployment procedures are based on the installation results.
Ubuntu Server 18.04 LTS
On-Premise
Procedure based on version 18.04.2.
Download the ISO from https://www.ubuntu.com/download/server.
Boot the ISO
Select English as language
Choose a convenient keyboard layout
Choose Install Ubuntu
Let the network auto-configure -or- configure manually if needed. The system needs an internet connection.
Select no proxy and keep the mirror address.
Select Use an entire disk and confirm
Choose user name and host name in next screen. Choose a strong password.
Select Install OpenSSH Server but don’t import keys
Don’t select any snaps and continue
Finish installation and let it boot to the prompt
Login as the created user and run a full system update using 'sudo apt update && sudo apt dist- upgrade -y'
Amazon AWS
Ubuntu AMI's are listed at https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/locator/ec2/. Search for "ebs 18.04 amd64" to get the right version.
Microsoft Azure
The URN for the image is Canonical:UbuntuServer:18.04-LTS:latest
Debian 9.8
On-Premise
Download the NetInst ISO from https://www.debian.org/distrib/netinst
Boot the ISO
Select Install from the boot screen
Select English as language
Select Location based on actual location of the host
Chose a convenient keyboard layout
Let the network auto-configure -or- configure manually if needed. The system needs an internet connection.
Name your host. Change it from debian to something else
Choose a strong root password
Create the user account and choose a strong password
Select the proper timezone
For the partitions use Guided - use entire disk
Select All files in one partition
Finish partitioning and write changes to disk
Select No when ask to scan more disks
Choose a mirror close to the host
Opt-out of the package survey
on the Software Selection select only SSH Server and standard system utilities
Install the grub bootloader to MBR and use the primary disk for that
Finish installation and let it boot to the prompt
Login as root and run a full system update using 'apt update && apt dist-upgrade -y'
Reboot
Amazon AWS
The AMI Id's can be found at https://wiki.debian.org/Cloud/AmazonEC2Image/Stretch
Microsoft Azure
The URN for the image is credativ:Debian:9:latest
CentOS 7
On-Premise
Download the minimal ISO from https://www.centos.org/download/
Boot the ISO
Confirm the automatic boot option Test this media & install CentOS 7
Choose English as language
On the installation summary choose Installation destination and confirm automatic partinioning
Back on the installation summary screen click on Network & Hostname
Change the hostname
Enable the network interface and make sure it is configured properly
Click Done to get back to the summary and click Begin Installation
During installation set a root password
Finish installation and let it boot to the prompt
Login as root and run a system update with 'yum update'
Amazon AWS
The AMI Id's can be found at https://wiki.centos.org/Cloud/AWS#head-78d1e3a4e6ba5c5a3847750d88266916ffe69648
Microsoft Azure
The URN for the image is OpenLogic:CentOS:7.5:latest
Recommended Security Settings
Running a validator node requires raised awareness of host and node security as authorities are a main attack surface to disturb operation of the blockchain. The following security rules are strongly recommended:
No services are permitted to run on the same host that are not part of the validator node package
All incoming connections on all ports except SSH (22/tcp) and the P2P (30303/tcp+udp) port have to be firewalled on the host with DROP rules. To guarantee proper network etiquette, incoming ICMP has to be accepted.
SSH access is only allowed for non-root users
SSH access is only allowed through RSA keys
OpenEthereum or Nethermind client RPC endpoints (HTTP, WebSocket) have to be disabled
System updates have to applied regularly and in a timely manner
Regular (monthly) run of rootkit detectors
If you are using AWS please also check out the additional AWS Security guide.
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