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Run a non-validator node

Overview

This guide demonstrates how to run a non-validator node on the Saigon testnet using Docker. A non-validator node is also known as an RPC (remote procedure call) node.

Prerequisites

Install Docker Engine and the Docker Compose plugin:

Run the node

  1. Set up directories:

    mkdir -p ~/ronin/docker
    cd ~/ronin

    Create a directory for chain data:

    mkdir -p chaindata/data/ronin
  2. In the docker directory, create a docker-compose.yml file with the following configuration:

    version: "3"
    services:
    node:
    image: ${NODE_IMAGE}
    stop_grace_period: 5m
    stop_signal: SIGINT
    hostname: node
    container_name: node
    ports:
    - 127.0.0.1:8545:8545
    - 127.0.0.1:8546:8546
    - 30303:30303
    - 30303:30303/udp
    - 6060:6060
    volumes:
    - ~/ronin/chaindata:/ronin
    environment:
    - SYNC_MODE=full
    - PASSWORD=${PASSWORD}
    - NETWORK_ID=${NETWORK_ID}
    - RONIN_PARAMS=${RONIN_PARAMS}
    - VERBOSITY=${VERBOSITY}
    - MINE=${MINE}
    - GASPRICE=${GASPRICE}
    - GENESIS_PATH=${GENESIS_PATH}
    - ETHSTATS_ENDPOINT=${INSTANCE_NAME}:${CHAIN_STATS_WS_SECRET}@${CHAIN_STATS_WS_SERVER}:443

    This compose file defines the node service that pulls a Ronin node image from the GitHub Container Registry.

  3. In the docker directory, create an .env file and add the following content, replacing the <...> placeholder values with your information:

    # The name of your node that you want displayed on https://ronin-stats.roninchain.com/
    INSTANCE_NAME=<INSTANCE_NAME>

    # The latest version of the node's image as listed in https://docs.roninchain.com/validators/setup/upgrade-validator
    NODE_IMAGE=<NODE_IMAGE>

    # The password used to encrypt the node's private key file
    PASSWORD=<PASSWORD>

    MINE=false

    NETWORK_ID=2021
    GASPRICE=20000000000
    VERBOSITY=3

    CHAIN_STATS_WS_SECRET=xQj2MZPaN72
    CHAIN_STATS_WS_SERVER=ronin-stats-ws.roninchain.com

    CONFIG_PATH=config.testnet.json
    GENESIS_PATH=testnet.json
    DEPLOYMENT=test

    RONIN_PARAMS=--http.api eth,net,web3 --txpool.pricelimit 20000000000 --txpool.nolocals --discovery.dns enrtree://AJCNIAXQIPO55NW3QE2NUBBDMPYZDOQUCAEUS65NHQFMUUFES5KOW@saigon.nodes.roninchain.com
  4. (Optional) Download the snapshot from the ronin-snapshot repo:

    cd ~/ronin/chaindata/data/ronin/
    wget -q -O - <snapshot URL from the README file in the repo> | tar -I zstd -xvf -
  5. Start the node:

    cd ~/ronin && docker-compose up -d

    This command pulls a Ronin node image and starts the service you defined.

  6. Review the log:

    docker logs node -f --tail 100
  7. After a few minutes, check the status of your node on the Ronin Analytics page, the Testnet section. If it's green, the node is connected and up to date with the network.