Run a Validator in Tanssi Using Docker¶

Introduction¶

One of Tanssi's core propositions for builders is that it provides Ethereum-grade economic security to every Tanssi-powered network, regardless of its TVL, userbase, or the specifics of the use case. Tanssi's design offers developers a shared security model, alleviating them from having to source enough economic security or negotiate with operators to run nodes opting in for their networks.

The Tanssi protocol achieves this by integrating with external security providers, such as Symbiotic. In this model, different vaults associated with Tanssi provide economic security, and reliable operators provide validation services to the Tanssi network.

In every session, the Tanssi protocol determines how many validators are required to support the entire ecosystem. With the number of validators, the protocol picks those with the higher delegated stake from the allow-listed ones.

In this guide, you'll learn how to spin up a Tanssi validator using the official image release with Docker on Linux systems.

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:

Pull the Docker Image¶

A Docker image is built and published in every release, containing all the necessary dependencies a Tanssi validator requires and the binary file itself.

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

The following command to pull the Docker image:

docker pull moondancelabs/starlight

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

Set Up the Data Directory¶

Running a validator requires syncing with the Tanssi chain and storing its state.

Run the following command to create the directory where your node will store the databases containing blocks and chain states:

mkdir /var/lib/tanssi-data

Set the folder's ownership to the account that will run the Docker image to ensure writing permission:

chown INSERT_DOCKER_USER /var/lib/tanssi-data

Or run the following command if you want to run the node with the current logged-in user:

sudo chown -R $(id -u):$(id -g) /var/lib/tanssi-data

Generate the Node Key¶

To generate and store on disk the session keys that will be referenced on the start-up command, run the following command:

docker run --network="host" -v "/var/lib/tanssi-data:/data" \
-u $(id -u ${USER}):$(id -g ${USER}) \
moondancelabs/starlight key generate-node-key --file /data/node-key

Start Your Node¶

To spin up your node, you must run the Docker image with the docker run command.

Replace INSERT_YOUR_TANSSI_NODE_NAME with a human-readable name and set YOUR_IP_ADDRESS with your public IP address.

docker run --network="host" -v "/var/lib/tanssi-data:/data" \
-u $(id -u ${USER}):$(id -g ${USER}) \
moondancelabs/starlight \
--chain=dancelight \
--base-path=/data/ \
--node-key-file /data/node-key \
--database=paritydb \
--rpc-port=9944 \
--prometheus-port=9615 \
--prometheus-external \
--name=INSERT_YOUR_TANSSI_NODE_NAME \
--listen-addr=/ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/30333 \
--public-addr=/ip4/YOUR_IP_ADDRESS/tcp/30333 \
--state-pruning=archive \
--blocks-pruning=archive \
--telemetry-url='wss://telemetry.polkadot.io/submit/ 0' \
--validator

docker run --network="host" -v "/var/lib/tanssi-data:/data" \
-u $(id -u ${USER}):$(id -g ${USER}) \
--entrypoint "/tanssi-relay/tanssi-relay-skylake" \
moondancelabs/starlight \
--chain=dancelight \
--base-path=/data/ \
--node-key-file /data/node-key \
--database=paritydb \
--rpc-port=9944 \
--prometheus-port=9615 \
--prometheus-external \
--name=INSERT_YOUR_TANSSI_NODE_NAME \
--listen-addr=/ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/30333 \
--public-addr=/ip4/YOUR_IP_ADDRESS/tcp/30333 \
--state-pruning=archive \
--blocks-pruning=archive \
--telemetry-url='wss://telemetry.polkadot.io/submit/ 0' \
--validator

docker run --network="host" -v "/var/lib/tanssi-data:/data" \
-u $(id -u ${USER}):$(id -g ${USER}) \
--entrypoint "/tanssi-relay/tanssi-relay-znver3" \
moondancelabs/starlight \
--chain=dancelight \
--base-path=/data/ \
--node-key-file /data/node-key \
--database=paritydb \
--rpc-port=9944 \
--prometheus-port=9615 \
--prometheus-external \
--name=INSERT_YOUR_TANSSI_NODE_NAME \
--listen-addr=/ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/30333 \
--public-addr=/ip4/YOUR_IP_ADDRESS/tcp/30333 \
--state-pruning=archive \
--blocks-pruning=archive \
--telemetry-url='wss://telemetry.polkadot.io/submit/ 0' \
--validator

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-powered network 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 --entrypoint /chain-network/tanssi-relay moondancelabs/starlight --help

Syncing Your Node¶

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

When the syncing process is finished, your node is ready for the next steps.