Airchain Testnet Validator Setup Guide

Setting up a validator node for Airchain testnet allows you to participate in consensus, secure the network, and earn rewards while testing the latest features of the Junction blockchain.

Hardware Requirements

Before getting started, ensure your system meets these minimum requirements:

CPU: 4 cores or better
Memory: 8GB RAM minimum
Storage: 200GB SSD (NVMe preferred for better performance)
Network: 100 Mbps broadband connection

These are minimum requirements. For optimal performance in a production environment, consider using higher specifications.

Step 1: System Preparation

First, update your system and install the required dependencies:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install curl git wget htop tmux build-essential jq make lz4 aria2c gcc unzip -y

Step 2: Install Go

Airchain's Junction network is built with Go. Install the required version:

cd $HOME
VER="1.21.6"
wget "https://golang.org/dl/go$VER.linux-amd64.tar.gz"
sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go
sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf "go$VER.linux-amd64.tar.gz"
rm "go$VER.linux-amd64.tar.gz"
[ ! -f ~/.bash_profile ] && touch ~/.bash_profile
echo "export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin:~/go/bin" >> ~/.bash_profile
source $HOME/.bash_profile
[ ! -d ~/go/bin ] && mkdir -p ~/go/bin

Step 3: Set Environment Variables

Set up environment variables that will be used throughout the setup process:

echo "export WALLET="wallet"" >> $HOME/.bash_profile
echo "export MONIKER="test"" >> $HOME/.bash_profile
echo "export AIRCHAIN_CHAIN_ID="junction"" >> $HOME/.bash_profile
echo "export AIRCHAIN_PORT="19"" >> $HOME/.bash_profile
source $HOME/.bash_profile

Remember to customize your WALLET and MONIKER values. The moniker is your validator's public name on the network.

Step 4: Download Binary

Download and set up the Junction network binary:

cd $HOME
wget -O junctiond https://github.com/airchains-network/junction/releases/download/v0.1.0/junctiond
chmod +x junctiond
mv junctiond $HOME/go/bin/

Step 5: Initialize Node Configuration

Initialize your node with the specified chain ID and moniker:

junctiond init $MONIKER --chain-id $AIRCHAIN_CHAIN_ID
sed -i -e "s|^node *=.*|node = \"tcp://localhost:${AIRCHAIN_PORT}657\"|" $HOME/.junction/config/client.toml

Step 6: Download Genesis and Address Book

Configure your node with the network's genesis file and address book:

wget -O $HOME/.junction/config/genesis.json https://testnet-files.itrocket.net/airchains/genesis.json
wget -O $HOME/.junction/config/addrbook.json https://testnet-files.itrocket.net/airchains/addrbook.json

Step 7: Configure Seed Nodes and Peers

Set up connections to other nodes in the network:

SEEDS="04e2fdd6ec8f23729f24245171eaceae5219aa91@airchains-testnet-seed.itrocket.net:19656"
PEERS="47f61921b54a652ca5241e2a7fc4ed8663091e89@airchains-testnet-peer.itrocket.net:19656,e78a440c57576f3743e6aa9db00438462980927e@5.161.199.115:26656,d9a5e20668955bdd5c2fc28cffd6f06e23794638@[2a01:4f8:10a:3a51::2]:43456,61e609631e8be6e04c43ed3d7bfef23c064dc912@[2a01:4f8:221:26e0::2]:43456,f786dcc80601ddd33ba98c609795083ba418d740@158.220.119.11:43456,0b1159b05e940a611b275fe0006070439e5b6e69@[2a03:cfc0:8000:13::b910:277f]:13756,c8f6b1a795a6d9cd2ec39faf277163a9711fc81b@38.242.194.19:43456,ddd9aade8e12d72cc874263c8b854e579903d21c@178.18.240.65:26656,552d2a5c3d9889444f123d740a20237c89711109@109.199.96.143:43456,cc27f4e54a78b950adaf46e5413f92f5d53d2212@209.126.86.186:43456,f5b69a02abeb3340ccd266f049ed6aabc7c0ea88@94.72.114.150:43456"
sed -i -e "s/^seeds *=.*/seeds = \"$SEEDS\"/; s/^persistent_peers *=.*/persistent_peers = \"$PEERS\"/" $HOME/.junction/config/config.toml

Step 8: Configure Application Ports

Customize the ports in the app.toml file:

sed -i.bak -e "s%:1317%:${AIRCHAIN_PORT}317%g;
s%:8080%:${AIRCHAIN_PORT}080%g;
s%:9090%:${AIRCHAIN_PORT}090%g;
s%:9091%:${AIRCHAIN_PORT}091%g;
s%:8545%:${AIRCHAIN_PORT}545%g;
s%:8546%:${AIRCHAIN_PORT}546%g;
s%:6065%:${AIRCHAIN_PORT}065%g" $HOME/.junction/config/app.toml

Step 9: Configure Node Ports

Customize the ports in the config.toml file:

sed -i.bak -e "s%:26658%:${AIRCHAIN_PORT}658%g;
s%:26657%:${AIRCHAIN_PORT}657%g;
s%:6060%:${AIRCHAIN_PORT}060%g;
s%:26656%:${AIRCHAIN_PORT}656%g;
s%^external_address = \"\"%external_address = \"$(wget -qO- eth0.me):${AIRCHAIN_PORT}656\"%;
s%:26660%:${AIRCHAIN_PORT}660%g" $HOME/.junction/config/config.toml

Step 10: Configure Pruning Settings

Optimize database size with pruning settings:

sed -i -e "s/^pruning *=.*/pruning = \"custom\"/" $HOME/.junction/config/app.toml
sed -i -e "s/^pruning-keep-recent *=.*/pruning-keep-recent = \"100\"/" $HOME/.junction/config/app.toml
sed -i -e "s/^pruning-interval *=.*/pruning-interval = \"50\"/" $HOME/.junction/config/app.toml

Step 11: Configure Additional Settings

Set gas price, enable Prometheus metrics, and disable indexing:

sed -i 's|minimum-gas-prices =.*|minimum-gas-prices = "0.001amf"|g' $HOME/.junction/config/app.toml
sed -i -e "s/prometheus = false/prometheus = true/" $HOME/.junction/config/config.toml
sed -i -e "s/^indexer *=.*/indexer = \"null\"/" $HOME/.junction/config/config.toml

Step 12: Create Systemd Service

Create a service file for automatic startup and management:

sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/junctiond.service > /dev/null <<EOF
[Unit]
Description=Airchains node
After=network-online.target
[Service]
User=$USER
WorkingDirectory=$HOME/.junction
ExecStart=$(which junctiond) start --home $HOME/.junction
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5
LimitNOFILE=65535
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

Step 13: Reset and Download Snapshot

Reset the node state and download a recent snapshot to speed up synchronization:

junctiond tendermint unsafe-reset-all --home $HOME/.junction
if aria2c -S http://download.josephtran.co/junction_27-06-2024-00-14.lz4 | grep -q "HTTP/1.1 200 OK"; then
  aria2c -x5 -s4 -o junction_27-06-2024-00-14.lz4 http://download.josephtran.co/junction_27-06-2024-00-14.lz4
  lz4 -dc junction_27-06-2024-00-14.lz4 | tar -xf - -C $HOME/.junction
else
  echo "No snapshot available."
fi

Using a snapshot significantly reduces the time needed for your node to synchronize with the network. This can save days of waiting for the blockchain to download.

Step 14: Enable and Start the Service

Start your node with systemd:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable junctiond
sudo systemctl restart junctiond && sudo journalctl -u junctiond -f

Use Ctrl+C to exit the log view once you've confirmed the node is running.

Step 15: Create a Wallet

Create a wallet to store your tokens and identify your validator:

junctiond keys add $WALLET

Make sure to save the seed phrase in a secure location! It's the only way to recover your wallet if needed.

Step 16: Check Balance

Verify you have tokens in your wallet:

junctiond query bank balances $WALLET_ADDRESS

Replace $WALLET_ADDRESS with your actual address. You'll need tokens to create a validator.

Step 17: Check Sync Status

Check if your node is synchronized with the network:

junctiond status 2>&1 | jq

Look for "catching_up": false to confirm synchronization is complete.

Step 18: Create Validator

Once your node is fully synchronized and you have tokens, create your validator:

cd $HOME
# Create validator.json file
echo "{\"pubkey\":{\"@type\":\"/cosmos.crypto.ed25519.PubKey\",\"key\":\"$(junctiond comet show-validator | grep -Po '\"key\":\s*\"\K[^"]*')\"},
    \"amount\": \"1000000amf\",
    \"moniker\": \"test\",
    \"identity\": \"\",
    \"website\": \"\",
    \"security\": \"\",
    \"details\": \"I love blockchain ❤️\",
    \"commission-rate\": \"0.1\",
    \"commission-max-rate\": \"0.2\",
    \"commission-max-change-rate\": \"0.01\",
    \"min-self-delegation\": \"1\"
}" > validator.json
# Create a validator using the JSON configuration
junctiond tx staking create-validator validator.json \
    --from $WALLET \
    --chain-id junction \
    --fees 200amf

Congratulations! If the command executed successfully, you are now running a validator on the Airchain Junction testnet.

Useful Commands

Here are some useful commands for managing your validator:

Check validator status

junctiond query staking validator $(junctiond keys show $WALLET --bech val -a)

Check logs

sudo journalctl -u junctiond -f

Check service status

sudo systemctl status junctiond

Restart service

sudo systemctl restart junctiond

Stop service

sudo systemctl stop junctiond

Delegate more tokens to your validator

junctiond tx staking delegate $(junctiond keys show $WALLET --bech val -a) 1000000amf --from $WALLET --chain-id junction --fees 200amf

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