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Run an Appchain Node Using Docker

Introduction

Running a Tanssi appchain node allows you to connect to and interact with the network using your infrastructure via either HTTP or WebSocket protocols.

Nodes store block data and network state. However, developers can run different kinds of nodes:

  • Full Archive Node - a node storing the entire block data and network state at all block heights. Such nodes are helpful when querying historical data from old blocks. However, a full archive node takes up a lot of space

  • Full Pruned Node - a node storing block data and network state up to some specific number of blocks before the current block height. Such nodes are helpful when querying recent data or submitting transactions through your infrastructure. They require much less space than an archival node but don't store the full network state

In this guide, you'll learn how to quickly spin up a Tanssi appchain node using Docker on a Linux computer. However, it can be adapted to other operating systems.

Note

It is not possible to run an RPC node for Snap appchains as they run on a private network, and their nodes are, therefore, unreachable for syncing.

Checking Prerequisites

Installing Docker

To get started, you'll need access to a computer running a Linux OS and install Docker.

Run the following command to install Docker on a Linux Ubuntu platform:

sudo apt-get install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

And the following command to check the installation:

sudo docker run hello-world

This is what a successful execution in the terminal looks like:

sudo docker run hello-world

Hello from Docker!
This message shows that your installation appears to be working correctly.

To generate this message, Docker took the following steps:
1. The Docker client contacted the Docker daemon.
2. The Docker daemon pulled the "hello-world" image from the Docker Hub.
(amd64)
3. The Docker daemon created a new container from that image which runs the
executable that produces the output you are currently reading.
4. The Docker daemon streamed that output to the Docker client, which sent it
to your terminal.

To try something more ambitious, you can run an Ubuntu container with:
$ docker run -it ubuntu bash

Share images, automate workflows, and more with a free Docker ID:
https://hub.docker.com/

For more examples and ideas, visit:
https://docs.docker.com/get-started/

Pulling the Docker Image

A Docker image is built and published as part of the automated deployment process, either for a Tanssi EVM-compatible appchain or another for a Tanssi Substrate appchain.

A Docker image combines the binary corresponding to the latest stable release of the client node, along with the chain specification file.

The chain specification is generated when registering the appchain in the dApp using the provided parameters for the selected template or is required to be uploaded manually when choosing the custom specs option.

Luckily, running a node requires the right Docker image configured correctly!

EVM-Compatible Appchains

If the Tanssi appchain was registered in the dApp, choose the EVM template or upload a custom specification representing a Tanssi EVM-compatible appchain, then execute the following command to pull the Docker image:

docker pull moondancelabs/dancebox-container-chain-evm-templates

The command will download and extract the image and show the status upon execution:

docker pull moondancelabs/dancebox-container-chain-evm-templates

Using default tag: latest
latest: Pulling from moondancelabs/dancebox-container-chain-evm-templates
31ad3619f756: Already exists
8f3d9759dcde: Pull complete
de5eaba9b289: Pull complete
Digest: sha256:4930d631a8ac7f7852754d4cf77bb3317229d768f44092a00295ba50641b2a33
Status: Downloaded newer image for moondancelabs/dancebox-container-chain-evm-templates:latest
docker.io/moondancelabs/dancebox-container-chain-evm-templates:latest

Simple Substrate Appchains

If the appchain was registered in the dApp, choosing the basic Substrate template or uploading a custom specification file representing a Substrate appchain, then execute the following command to pull the Docker image:

docker pull moondancelabs/dancebox-container-chain-simple-templates

The command will download and extract the image and show the status upon execution, showing a similar output as the previous terminal image.

Start-Up Command

To spin up your node, you must run the Docker image with the docker run command. Note that you'll need to modify the following parameters:

  • Appchain ID - replace YOUR_APPCHAIN_ID with your Tanssi appchain ID within the --chain command. This ID was obtained during the third step of the appchain deployment process and can be retrieved from the dashboard on the dApp. For example, 3001
  • Bootnode - a bootnode is a full archive node that is used to sync the network from scratch. You'll need to retrieve your Tanssi appchain bootnode and replace INSERT_YOUR_APPCHAIN_BOOTNODE with the actual bootnode information

Note

For better performance, it is recommended that you run the optimized binary versions for either Intel's Skylake or AMD's Zen3 architectures.

docker run -ti moondancelabs/dancebox-container-chain-evm-templates \
/chain-network/container-chain-frontier-node \
--chain=/chain-network/container-YOUR_APPCHAIN_ID-raw-specs.json \
--rpc-port=9944 \
--name=para \
--bootnodes=INSERT_YOUR_APPCHAIN_BOOTNODE \
-- \
--name=relay \
--chain=/chain-network/relay-raw-no-bootnodes-specs.json \
--rpc-port=9945 \
--sync=fast \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-0.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWKvtM52fPRSdAnKBsGmST7VHvpKYeoSYuaAv5JDuAvFCc \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-1.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWQYLjopFtjojRBfTKkLFq2Untq9yG7gBjmAE8xcHFKbyq \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-2.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWMAtGe8cnVrg3qGmiwNjNaeVrpWaCTj82PGWN7PBx2tth \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-3.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWLKAf36uqBBug5W5KJhsSnn9JHFCcw8ykMkhQvW7Eus3U \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-0.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWSVTKUkkD4KBBAQ1QjAALeZdM3R2Kc2w5eFtVxbYZEGKd \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-1.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWFJoVyvLNpTV97SFqs91HaeoVqfFgRNYtUYJoYVbBweW4 \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-2.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWP1FA3dq1iBmEBYdQKAe4JNuzvEcgcebxBYMLKpTNirCR \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-3.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWDaTC6H6W1F4NkbaqK3Ema3jzc2BbhE2tyD3YEf84yNLE \

docker run -ti moondancelabs/dancebox-container-chain-evm-templates \
/chain-network/container-chain-frontier-node-skylake \
--chain=/chain-network/container-YOUR_APPCHAIN_ID-raw-specs.json \
--rpc-port=9944 \
--name=para \
--bootnodes=INSERT_YOUR_APPCHAIN_BOOTNODE \
-- \
--name=relay \
--chain=/chain-network/relay-raw-no-bootnodes-specs.json \
--rpc-port=9945 \
--sync=fast \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-0.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWKvtM52fPRSdAnKBsGmST7VHvpKYeoSYuaAv5JDuAvFCc \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-1.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWQYLjopFtjojRBfTKkLFq2Untq9yG7gBjmAE8xcHFKbyq \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-2.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWMAtGe8cnVrg3qGmiwNjNaeVrpWaCTj82PGWN7PBx2tth \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-3.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWLKAf36uqBBug5W5KJhsSnn9JHFCcw8ykMkhQvW7Eus3U \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-0.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWSVTKUkkD4KBBAQ1QjAALeZdM3R2Kc2w5eFtVxbYZEGKd \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-1.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWFJoVyvLNpTV97SFqs91HaeoVqfFgRNYtUYJoYVbBweW4 \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-2.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWP1FA3dq1iBmEBYdQKAe4JNuzvEcgcebxBYMLKpTNirCR \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-3.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWDaTC6H6W1F4NkbaqK3Ema3jzc2BbhE2tyD3YEf84yNLE \

docker run -ti moondancelabs/dancebox-container-chain-evm-templates \
/chain-network/container-chain-frontier-node-znver3 \
--chain=/chain-network/container-YOUR_APPCHAIN_ID-raw-specs.json \
--rpc-port=9944 \
--name=para \
--bootnodes=INSERT_YOUR_APPCHAIN_BOOTNODE \
-- \
--name=relay \
--chain=/chain-network/relay-raw-no-bootnodes-specs.json \
--rpc-port=9945 \
--sync=fast \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-0.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWKvtM52fPRSdAnKBsGmST7VHvpKYeoSYuaAv5JDuAvFCc \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-1.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWQYLjopFtjojRBfTKkLFq2Untq9yG7gBjmAE8xcHFKbyq \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-2.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWMAtGe8cnVrg3qGmiwNjNaeVrpWaCTj82PGWN7PBx2tth \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-3.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWLKAf36uqBBug5W5KJhsSnn9JHFCcw8ykMkhQvW7Eus3U \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-0.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWSVTKUkkD4KBBAQ1QjAALeZdM3R2Kc2w5eFtVxbYZEGKd \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-1.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWFJoVyvLNpTV97SFqs91HaeoVqfFgRNYtUYJoYVbBweW4 \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-2.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWP1FA3dq1iBmEBYdQKAe4JNuzvEcgcebxBYMLKpTNirCR \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-3.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWDaTC6H6W1F4NkbaqK3Ema3jzc2BbhE2tyD3YEf84yNLE \

docker run -ti moondancelabs/dancebox-container-chain-simple-templates \
/chain-network/container-chain-simple-node \
--chain=/chain-network/container-YOUR_APPCHAIN_ID-raw-specs.json \
--rpc-port=9944 \
--name=para \
--bootnodes=INSERT_YOUR_APPCHAIN_BOOTNODE \
-- \
--name=relay \
--chain=/chain-network/relay-raw-no-bootnodes-specs.json \
--rpc-port=9945 \
--sync=fast \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-0.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWKvtM52fPRSdAnKBsGmST7VHvpKYeoSYuaAv5JDuAvFCc \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-1.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWQYLjopFtjojRBfTKkLFq2Untq9yG7gBjmAE8xcHFKbyq \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-2.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWMAtGe8cnVrg3qGmiwNjNaeVrpWaCTj82PGWN7PBx2tth \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-3.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWLKAf36uqBBug5W5KJhsSnn9JHFCcw8ykMkhQvW7Eus3U \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-0.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWSVTKUkkD4KBBAQ1QjAALeZdM3R2Kc2w5eFtVxbYZEGKd \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-1.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWFJoVyvLNpTV97SFqs91HaeoVqfFgRNYtUYJoYVbBweW4 \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-2.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWP1FA3dq1iBmEBYdQKAe4JNuzvEcgcebxBYMLKpTNirCR \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-3.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWDaTC6H6W1F4NkbaqK3Ema3jzc2BbhE2tyD3YEf84yNLE \

docker run -ti moondancelabs/dancebox-container-chain-simple-templates \
/chain-network/container-chain-simple-node-skylake \
--chain=/chain-network/container-YOUR_APPCHAIN_ID-raw-specs.json \
--rpc-port=9944 \
--name=para \
--bootnodes=INSERT_YOUR_APPCHAIN_BOOTNODE \
-- \
--name=relay \
--chain=/chain-network/relay-raw-no-bootnodes-specs.json \
--rpc-port=9945 \
--sync=fast \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-0.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWKvtM52fPRSdAnKBsGmST7VHvpKYeoSYuaAv5JDuAvFCc \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-1.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWQYLjopFtjojRBfTKkLFq2Untq9yG7gBjmAE8xcHFKbyq \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-2.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWMAtGe8cnVrg3qGmiwNjNaeVrpWaCTj82PGWN7PBx2tth \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-3.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWLKAf36uqBBug5W5KJhsSnn9JHFCcw8ykMkhQvW7Eus3U \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-0.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWSVTKUkkD4KBBAQ1QjAALeZdM3R2Kc2w5eFtVxbYZEGKd \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-1.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWFJoVyvLNpTV97SFqs91HaeoVqfFgRNYtUYJoYVbBweW4 \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-2.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWP1FA3dq1iBmEBYdQKAe4JNuzvEcgcebxBYMLKpTNirCR \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-3.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWDaTC6H6W1F4NkbaqK3Ema3jzc2BbhE2tyD3YEf84yNLE \

docker run -ti moondancelabs/dancebox-container-chain-simple-templates \
/chain-network/container-chain-simple-node-znver3 \
--chain=/chain-network/container-YOUR_APPCHAIN_ID-raw-specs.json \
--rpc-port=9944 \
--name=para \
--bootnodes=INSERT_YOUR_APPCHAIN_BOOTNODE \
-- \
--name=relay \
--chain=/chain-network/relay-raw-no-bootnodes-specs.json \
--rpc-port=9945 \
--sync=fast \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-0.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWKvtM52fPRSdAnKBsGmST7VHvpKYeoSYuaAv5JDuAvFCc \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-1.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWQYLjopFtjojRBfTKkLFq2Untq9yG7gBjmAE8xcHFKbyq \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-2.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWMAtGe8cnVrg3qGmiwNjNaeVrpWaCTj82PGWN7PBx2tth \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-3.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWLKAf36uqBBug5W5KJhsSnn9JHFCcw8ykMkhQvW7Eus3U \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-0.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWSVTKUkkD4KBBAQ1QjAALeZdM3R2Kc2w5eFtVxbYZEGKd \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-1.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWFJoVyvLNpTV97SFqs91HaeoVqfFgRNYtUYJoYVbBweW4 \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-2.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWP1FA3dq1iBmEBYdQKAe4JNuzvEcgcebxBYMLKpTNirCR \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-3.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWDaTC6H6W1F4NkbaqK3Ema3jzc2BbhE2tyD3YEf84yNLE \

Note

Only the historical state of the last 256 finalized blocks are kept in the local database by default. To run a full archive node, you must set the --state-pruning archive flag. More information is in the flags section.

Fetching Bootnode Information

Bootnode information can be read directly from Tanssi itself. For example, you can use the Polkadot.js explorer to get the bootnodes for a specific appchain in the Dancebox TestNet.

To do so, take the following steps:

  1. Select dataPreservers as the module to query
  2. Set the storage query to bootNodes
  3. Provide your Tanssi appchain ID
  4. Click on the + sign

Getting the bootnode

Full Node Example for Demo EVM Appchain

The following example spins up a full archive RPC node for the demo EVM appchain deployed on Dancebox with an ID of 3001.

docker run -ti moondancelabs/dancebox-container-chain-evm-templates \
/chain-network/container-chain-frontier-node \
--chain=/chain-network/container-3001-raw-specs.json \
--rpc-port=9944 \
--name=para \
--state-pruning=archive \
--blocks-pruning=archive \
--bootnodes=/dns4/fraa-dancebox-c1-rpc-0.a.dancebox.tanssi.network/tcp/30333/p2p
/12D3KooWHbs1SetugtcwHUYEAN2j1gE2TW8vmqgfcbcELy4x9hqg \
-- \
--chain=/chain-network/relay-raw-no-bootnodes-specs.json \
--rpc-port=9945 \
--name=relay \
--sync=fast \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-0.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWKvtM52fPRSdAnKBsGmST7VHvpKYeoSYuaAv5JDuAvFCc \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-1.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWQYLjopFtjojRBfTKkLFq2Untq9yG7gBjmAE8xcHFKbyq \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-2.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWMAtGe8cnVrg3qGmiwNjNaeVrpWaCTj82PGWN7PBx2tth \
--bootnodes=/dns4/frag3-stagenet-relay-val-3.g.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWLKAf36uqBBug5W5KJhsSnn9JHFCcw8ykMkhQvW7Eus3U \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-0.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWSVTKUkkD4KBBAQ1QjAALeZdM3R2Kc2w5eFtVxbYZEGKd \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-1.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWFJoVyvLNpTV97SFqs91HaeoVqfFgRNYtUYJoYVbBweW4 \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-2.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWP1FA3dq1iBmEBYdQKAe4JNuzvEcgcebxBYMLKpTNirCR \
--bootnodes=/dns4/vira-stagenet-relay-validator-3.a.moondev.network/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWDaTC6H6W1F4NkbaqK3Ema3jzc2BbhE2tyD3YEf84yNLE \

Run Flags

The flags used in the docker run command can be adjusted according to your preferences and hardware configuration. The following ones are some of the most note-worthy:

  • --name INSERT_NAME - a human-readable name for this node
  • --rpc-port INSERT_PORT - specifies the JSON-RPC TCP port the node listens on
  • --unsafe-rpc-external - exposes the RPC service on all the interfaces
  • --state-pruning INSERT_STATE_PRUNING_TYPE - specifies when the Tanssi appchain state should be removed from the database. The pruning type can be either archive (which makes the node behave as a full node keeping all the state), archive-canonical (which keeps only the state of finalized blocks), or any number (representing the number of blocks whose states are kept)
  • --blocks-pruning INSERT_BLOCKS_PRUNING_TYPE - specifies how many blocks should be kept in the database. The pruning type can be either archive (which makes the node behave as a full node keeping all the blocks), archive-canonical (which keeps only finalized blocks), or any number (representing the amount of finalized blocks to keep)
  • --detailed-log-output - enables detailed log output

For a complete list of available flags, their description, and possible values, run the following command:

docker run -ti moondancelabs/dancebox-container-chain-evm-templates \
/chain-network/container-chain-frontier-node \
--help

Syncing Your Node

Once your node spins up, the syncing process displays lots of log information from the node configuration, the relay chain, and the node itself. Some errors are expected to be displayed at the beginning of the process, disappearing once the chain gets synced to the last block.

docker run ....
2024-02-08 18:30:04.093 INFO tokio-runtime-worker substrate: [Parachain] 💤 Idle (0 peers), best: #0 (0x4a2b…7de3), finalized #0 (0x4a2b…7de3), ⬇ 0 ⬆ 0
2024-02-08 18:30:06.368 INFO tokio-runtime-worker substrate: [Relaychain] ✨ Imported #14139635 (0x8c41…8df6)
2024-02-08 18:30:08.809 INFO tokio-runtime-worker substrate: [Relaychain] 💤 Idle (8 peers), best: #14139635 (0x8c41…8df6), finalized #14139632 (0xa9a8…cab9), ⬇ 32.7kiB/s ⬆

Note

The length of the syncing process is directly proportional to the size of the chain you are syncing to.

Last update: June 18, 2024
| Created: February 10, 2024