This is the third set of these instructions so they have reached the point of not being bleeding-edge. They should be straight-forward (if somewhat lengthy) for most people willing to deal with a Unix command line. People not wanting to do that will need to wait until the GBA can send out microSD cards with the software already loaded.
Everyone setting up a GBBP node should please join our Discord group (https://discord.gg/cDMfKMB8XJ).
Everyone should also provide (and update) their information (and status) on the Node Tracking Spreadsheet at
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BWuOzJKzfT9JG4MKBb8oNN365Wee8dWZLN3oVxbytDE/edit?usp=sharing).
- Raspberry 4 (or later) with 4GB RAM (or more)
current recommended version is the CanaKit Raspberry Pi 4 4GB Starter Kit – 4GB RAM
available from Amazon.com for USD $99.99 (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V5JTMV9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00)
WARNING: Do NOT get a version without a fan! - MicroSD Card (256 GB Class 10 minimun)
* 256GB MicroSD cards pre-loaded with the GBBP Node software can be ordered at cost from https://www.gbaglobal.org/gbbp-sd/
* If you wish to buy and set up your own, the GBA recommends a 256GB or larger card in the $25-35 range
(e.g. https://www.amazon.com/Micro-Center-256GB-Adapter-Memory/dp/B07K81C9XN/ref=sr_1_7_sspa)
WARNING: There are off-brand cards with 1TB storage at cheaper prices, but the reviews are terrible and they are NOT recommended - 30303 Port forwarding
* Find instructions for your router by Googling “port forwarding” followed by your ISP and/or router model.
* Check for success by pointing a web browser at http://portquiz.net:30303/
- (optional) USB keyboard, Monitor (or HDMI-equipped TV) and HDMI cable (micro-HDMI)
- You will also (temporarily) need your usual computer (Windows, Mac or Linux)
The instructions in the included Quick-Start Guide (https://www.canakit.com/pi) are good but the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rcNjgVgc-I is excellent.
First time assembly is likely to take half an hour but could be done in ten minutes once you know what you are doing.
If you have a monitor and mouse, it is STRONGLY recommended that the provided NOOBS MicroSD card be used to test that the Raspberry Pi is functioning correctly
Follow these instructions from https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/how-to-install-ubuntu-on-your-raspberry-pi#1-overview
- Insert MicroSD card into the USB reader provided with your Raspberry Pi and then into your usual computer's USB port
- Download the Imager
- Run the Imager
- In the Imager, Choose OS, select Ubuntu then select from the next pop-up menu
Server 20.04.2 LTS (RPi 3/4/4000) 64-bit server OS with long-term support for arm64 architectures(currently, but not necessarily, the 5th entry down the list) - In the Imager, select the SD card drive
- Click on “WRITE” and wait for the magic to happen… (This magic might take a few minutes)
Unless you have a wired Ethernet connection, configure your wireless information (network name/SSID & password) [same tutorial source]
- With the SD card still inserted in your laptop, open a file manager and locate the “system-boot” partition on the card. It contains initial configuration files that will be loaded during the first boot.
- Edit the network-config file to add your Wi-Fi credentials. An example is already included in the file, you can simply adapt it.
To do so, uncomment (remove the “#” at the beginning) and edit the following lines:
wifis:
wlan0:
dhcp4: true
optional: true
access-points:
<wifi network name>:
password: "<wifi password>"
For example:
wifis:
wlan0:
dhcp4: true
optional: true
access-points:
"home network":
password: "123456789"
Note 1: The network name and password must be enclosed in quotation marks.
Note 2: During the first boot, your Raspberry Pi will try to connect to this network and fail. Simply sudo reboot and it will work.
Note 3: There may be circumstances in the future where a static IP is helpful. If so, follow the steps at the bottom of these instructions below.
- Install PuTTY (https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/latest.html) on your regular machine to ssh to a command line interface on your Pi (easiest)
- Follow the steps at the bottom of these instructions below to install a lightweight GUI accessible via Windows Remote Desktop or VNC
- The default system name is ubuntu (you can either connect to this name or find the IP address on your network equipment and connect).
If trying to use network access, often the Pi will connect about 25% of the time allowing you to complete these instructions that way. If you aren't so lucky, you will either need to use a monitor and keyboard or use your standard non-Windows machine to edit the second partition of the microSD card (Windows WSL will not be able to read it -- though it is promised in the next version of WSL and may be available now vai the Insiders Preview)
Follow one of the sets of the instructions at https://smallbusiness.chron.com/run-command-startup-linux-27796.html
to ensure that the following command is always run at boot up
sudo dhcpcd -4
(if someone could tell me which method is best, I'll put that advice here)
- The default username is ubuntu and password is ubuntu
- You will be prompted to change the password. Write it down and store it in a safe place.
- If you are connected remotely, the session will then close and you will have to reconnect.
- Login with ubuntu as the username and the new password.
Issue the following commands from the command line:
sudo apt install openjdk-11-jre-headless
click Y to proceed, should take about 60 seconds
sudo apt install unzip
should take about 10 seconds
sudo apt update
should take about 10 seconds
sudo apt upgrade
click Y to proceed, should take about 60 seconds
sudo reboot
should take about 60 seconds, remote sessions will need to reconnect
Issue the following commands from the command line:
wget https://dl.bintray.com/hyperledger-org/besu-repo/besu-20.10.4.zip
should take about 10 seconds
unzip besu-20.10.4.zip
should take 10 seconds
cd besu-20.10.4/
bin/besu --help
should show output of help, this is to make sure everything is ok to this point
Issue the following commands from the command line:
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GovtBlockchainAssoc/GBBPNode-RaspberryPi/main/config.toml
should take 1 second
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GovtBlockchainAssoc/GBBPNode-RaspberryPi/main/ibft2Genesis.json
should take 1 second
mkdir gbbp
cd gbbp
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GovtBlockchainAssoc/GBBPNode-RaspberryPi/main/static-nodes.json
should take 1 second
cd ..
Issue the following commands from the command line:
bin/besu --data-path=gbbp --config-file=config.toml --genesis-file=ibft2Genesis.json --min-gas-price=0 --miner-enabled --miner-coinbase=0xC3D693fBE006154eF80C288DB527FaC4bd38ca09 --logging=debug
After several seconds/screenfuls, you will see HELLO, connect and disconnect messages in red and blue followed by endless waiting messages
Ctrl-C
this stops the execution of the Besu node and stops the scrolling so you can review it for the details needed to join the blockchain
- About 25 lines above the hello messages, find the folowing information lines in red and green
2021-02-18 09:41:24.182-05:00 | main | INFO | DefaultP2PNetwork | Enode URL
enode://8fe8ba6f6da225d6aec4ec06983607c9f5d6d86daa760277dace8acf62529a04448c1a68ff9f69c49d0cb1685ff5b93052d2e157acbb3240af5485f9f9796317@127.0.0.1:30303
2021-02-18 09:41:24.183-05:00 | main | INFO | DefaultP2PNetwork | Node address 0xd4e26b34de495b4bab2de440202b16d40b21ed1e
- Issue the following command from the command line to get your public ip address
dig +short myip.opendns.com @resolver1.opendns.com
- Enter your enode, ip address and node address in the spreadsheet at
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BWuOzJKzfT9JG4MKBb8oNN365Wee8dWZLN3oVxbytDE/edit#gid=0
Static IP address setup:
https://linuxconfig.org/how-to-configure-static-ip-address-on-ubuntu-20-04-focal-fossa-desktop-server
GUI setup:
Recommend xfce-desktop using this command: sudo apt install xfce4
(details here: https://itsfoss.com/install-xfce-desktop-xubuntu/)
XRDP setup:
Google any XRDP setup and for troubleshooting; use RDP on Windows)
Example: https://www.tecmint.com/install-xrdp-on-ubuntu/
VNC setup:
Download VNC for Windows so you can connect then use this example:
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-install-and-configure-vnc-on-ubuntu-20-04