Launching GHOST TestNet 3.1 [~1 HR]

Introduction

Welcome to the GHOST TestNet 3.1 Launch Guide. In TestNet 2.0 we had 140 Nodes and ability to send $CSPR. With TestNet 3.1 there is a ton of stuff coming including further GHOST Eye updates, staking, slashing, etc. All existing TestNet 2.0 and 3.0 Full Nodes MUST update to TestNet 3.1 to take advantage of new functionality.

1. Prerequisites

Before you can proceed with launching you GHOST Node please make sure to go though the following guide:

1. GHOST Chain Startup Guide – create the proper environment and install GHOST Chain.
2. Testing Connectivity Guide – test whether or not you node can become a Boot Node and set proper firewall rules.

2. GHOST Chain Key Generation

Start with creating the following directory:

sudo mkdir /etc/ghost

Get your username:

whoami

Give the user permission to the directory and substitute {USERNAME} for the one from previous command:

sudo chown {USERNAME} /etc/ghost

Generating Node Keys

To generate the node key use the following command:

~/ghost/ghost-node/target/release/ghost key generate-node-key --bin --file=/etc/ghost/node-key

3. Launching GHOST TestNet 3.1

Go to ghost-node directory:

cd ghost/ghost-node

Remove ghost ledger:

sudo rm -rf /var/lib/ghost/chains/casper_staging_testnet

Make sure ghost-node is up to date:

git pull origin main

Recompile ghost-node using starter.sh and --release flag. Make ghost-node service being able to be started by default user using --make-global:

./scripts/starter.sh --release --make-global

The default option is capitalized which is N, you can also press Enter to choose the default option. In this case we want to recompile so type y and press Enter to proceed:

'cargo build --release ' is what you want? [y/N]:

Recompiling will take some time!

Check GHOST Node version, the output should be ghost 0.7.197-8a0cbb94b4d:

ghost --version

Check checksum the output should be ad653233c978bfd00c5e4525b17628632bc4319c5f5f4b4dcc2f050ef3c3d145:

sha256sum /etc/ghost/casper.json

Create running ghost-node service that starts on system boot using --unit-file flag. And we must set up the ghost-node launch command by setting arguments using --set-arguments flag:

./scripts/starter.sh --unit-file --set-arguments

Only change the defaults if you are advanced otherwise press Enter for the following prompts.

If this is your first node simply press Enter to proceed with the default. If this is your second node you should type a different port here, for example 30334, and then you should open this port on your firewall and create a dedicated port forwarding rule on your router as specified in the Testing Connectivity Guide:

specify p2p protocol TCP port (default: 30333):

To choose default options press Enter here:

specify JSON-RPC server TCP port: (default: 9945): 
specify the chain specification (default: /etc/ghost/casper.json):
specify node's secret key file for p2p networking (default: /etc/ghost/node-key):

It is recommended that you give your node a Name you can recognize:

specify name for the node (default: RANDOM_NAME):

Validator Node vs Full Node

GHOST Chain consists of 3 types of nodes:

• Boot Node – a type of node that other nodes can connect to in order to verify their legitimacy
• Validator Node – a type of node that has $GHST Staking Capability
• Archival Node – a type of node that will store the archive of the GHOST Chain ledger

If you want to be a Full Node type y:

disable validator mode? [y/N]: N

If you want to be a Validator Node type N:

disable validator mode? [y/N]: N

You can press Enter here:

enable prometheus? [y/N]:

Boot Node

For the following prompt:

list of bootnodes if any:

Paste one of the following Boot Node address:

/dns/bootnode69.chain.ghostchain.io/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWF9SWxz9dmy6vfndQhoxqCa7PESaoFWEiF8Jkqh4xKDRf

/dns/bootnode70.chain.ghostchain.io/tcp/30333/p2p/12D3KooWP3h5dSdqcpvsCr7fp1jyfqDj291QDZ68a4gY6VQ8T1nW

/dns/ghostvision.mywire.org/tcp/30333/p2p/12D3KooWR5JJQ9mALPpnSxfZm5M23AByitSfxpei9ZDghU1NLNeW

/dns/ghostvision.mywire.org/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWDs4i6VoK4dpwGSUVtZENzSmsbQk3tF63gYT745x7eAb2

/dns/ghostvision.mywire.org/tcp/30335/p2p/12D3KooWJMiF7LUmDZ17NJRi9yHusHG4hrLGxoPv6sS7K2Vpn9P2

/ip4/84.247.181.131/tcp/30333/p2p/12D3KooWJXBYA7cUQLLenEfT7hmCjBJ6fyikDy8YhNz4aLfwbBC8

/ip4/47.199.13.160/tcp/30333/p2p/12D3KooWQHiwqRokC3BmDrZ9LszxwFj7vjJ2adJDZPVQvRJXSA42

/ip4/85.190.242.68/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWEcJAQHs59gD3hDWU5UXxc9nNQcS6dPe3cnFtL8bBuEnw

/ip4/47.199.13.160/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWB4758nu1pXuFiawKZ6R8ZRYzHS367afPnyJKScmLQ81x

/ip4/47.199.13.160/tcp/30335/p2p/12D3KooWRHyMrQDqQLbEtADi84FBtxn4gu7iu9VKtFPvhHLsoSsF

/ip4/47.199.13.160/tcp/30336/p2p/12D3KooWD6YmEzC44HDZ5pDbQ8MU2V2i3e9vq7ay1pE7QoAC37e2

/ip4/47.199.13.160/tcp/30337/p2p/12D3KooWJbwRwvYxZCVtzw7hUq3CuA9LrzotgEcAT6zkc9sc81w4

/dns/Fujisan1.mywire.org/tcp/30333/p2p/12D3KooWHZubqyhyU68wfWvhtXJCdSH6mJW8DPz45xK2zG6eXkHo

/dns/Fujisan2.mywire.org/tcp/30334/p2p/12D3KooWEKzDvyMu7JiJUhKmzXPAxp66eb5nFtEDqBPzepX3HK9p

/dns/Fujisan3.mywire.org/tcp/30335/p2p/12D3KooWHtCncs582VHGXPLqHy2aYe2cBY5qLt9U7RFwn2U2cQQT

/dns/Fujisan4.mywire.org/tcp/30336/p2p/12D3KooWFetfT6Ha8wxsvT4NhBjKvLdNDSWRSQQquXGmQBhxLRuV

Changing unit-file name is optional, otherwise press Enter:

[?] name for the unit file (default: ghost-node.service)

IF ERROR and [!] user ghost not found pops up press y:

[!] user ghost not found
[?] do you want to create ghost user? (NOT RECOMMENDED: current root) [y/N]:
[+] make ghost owner of /var/lib/ghost
[+] prepare unit file for the ghost-node.service
[+] reloading systemd because of updated unit file

DO NOT enable ghost-node.service press Enter:

[?] do you want to start the ghost-node.service? [y/N]:

DO NOT start ghost-node.service press Enter:

[?] do you want to enable the ghost-node.service? [y/N]:
[+] execution finished

Restart ghost-node:

sudo systemctl restart ghost-node

Enable ghost-node:

sudo systemctl enable ghost-node

To see the logs produced by your ghost-node:

journalctl -f -u ghost-node

To exit journalctl -f -u ghost-node Press CTRL + C.

Finally, go to GHOST Telemetry so see your node live on the map.

Congratulations! You have an operational GHOST Node.

Existing Full Nodes Migrating to TestNet 3.1

Only follow this section if you currently have a GHOST TestNet 2.0 or GHOST TestNet 3.0 Full Node.

Stop ghost-node process:

sudo systemctl stop ghost-node

Remove old GHOST TestNet Ledger:

sudo rm -r /var/lib/ghost/chains/casper_staging_testnet

Go to ghost-node directory:

cd /home/ghost/ghost-node

Pull the most recent GHOST Chain PR from GHOST GIT:

git pull origin main

Recompile your GHOST Node:

./scripts/starter.sh --release --make-global

Check GHOST Node version, the output should be ghost 0.7.197-8a0cbb94b4d:

ghost --version

Check checksum the output should be ad653233c978bfd00c5e4525b17628632bc4319c5f5f4b4dcc2f050ef3c3d145:

sha256sum /etc/ghost/casper.json

Restart GHOST Node:

sudo systemctl restart ghost-node

Check GHOST Node log:

journalctl -f -u ghost-node

Troubleshooting

For future troubleshooting be aware of the following commands:

Update GHOST Node

Go to GHOST directory:

cd ghost/ghost-node

Pull the most recent GHOST Node Repo:

git pull origin main

Set arguments. In one of the prompts it is recommended that you give your node a Name you can recognize:

./scripts/starter.sh --set-arguments
## do all steps

Check GHOST Node log:

journalctl -f -u ghost-node

To exit journalctl -f -u ghost-node Press CTRL + C.

Delete GHOST Chain ledger

sudo systemctl stop ghost-node

sudo rm -rf /var/lib/ghost

./scripts/starter.sh --unit-file

sudo systemctl start ghost-node

Check session keys

./scripts/starter.sh --check-keys --insert-keys

sudo ls -l /var/lib/ghost/chains/casper_staging_testnet/keystore/

sudo systemctl restart ghost-node.service

Systemd-journal Permission

Find your user:

whoami

Replace $USER with your user:

sudo usermod -aG systemd-journal $USER

Replace $USER with your user:

sudo usermod -aG adm $USER

Create new group:

newgrp systemd-journal

To see the logs produced by your ghost-node:

journalctl -f -u ghost-node

Miscellaneous

To soft reload the entire system:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

To stop ghost-node:

sudo systemctl stop ghost-node

To restart ghost-node:

sudo systemctl restart ghost-node

To see the logs produced by your ghost-node:

journalctl -f -u ghost-node

What is GHOST Chain?