How to setup a new TN full node

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Document Owner: @Black_Turtle on Telegram
Document Creator/Editor: @gordobtel on Telegram

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Hosting

3. Turtle Network Node Setup – Step 1

4. Turtle Network Node Setup – Step 2

5. Turtle Network Node Upgrade

6. Other Useful Information

7. Video tutorial

Introduction

The following tutorial will show the full steps in setting-up a Linux Full Node on the Turtle Network.

Note: Knowledge about using SSH is required. All access to the VPS server is securely done via port 22 (SSH).

Hosting

• A Virtual Private Server (VPS) server is required with the following minimum specifications:

  Details	Minimum	Recommended
  Operating System:	Ubuntu 16.04 or 18.04	Ubuntu 20.04 or 22.04
  Hosting type	VPS	VPS
  - CPU	1 CPU vCores	2 CPU vCores (or more)
  - Memory	3 GB Memory	4 GB Memory (or more)
  - Storage	50GB (SSD preferred)	100 GB (SSD preferred)
  Configuration:	Static IP Required	Static IP Required
  Access:	Root Access Required	Root Access Required
  TurtleNetwork (TN) required for a node	1,000 TN	1,000 TN

• Fully patch the Operating System (OS): Login as ‘root’ and execute the following commands:
  • sudo apt update # Fetches the list of available updates
  • sudo apt upgrade # Strictly upgrades the current packages
  • Reboot
• Create a local App user with sudo rights (more secure than using root):
  • Issue the following command: adduser *username* (replace *username* with the preferred username) and it will prompt to set a password.
  • Add the new username into the sudo group with the following command: usermod -aG sudo *username* (replace *username* with the chosen username).
  • Log out as root.
• Add this new user to SSHD config
  • Open /etc/ssh/sshd_config in your editor
  • Add this to the bottom of the file AllowUsers *username* (replace *useruname* with what you chose above)
  • For extra security you can also change the line PermitRootLogin yes to PermitRootLogin no
  • Save the file and exit
  • Type sudo systemctl restart sshd or service sshd restart
  • Now you can log in to the server with your new user

Turtle Network Node Setup – Step 1

Note: All terminal sessions and commands from this step, will be done with the chosen ‘username’ from the ‘Hosting section’.

1. Install the JDK/JRE 11 (64-bit version) with the following commands:

   sudo apt install openjdk-11-jre
   sudo apt install openjdk-11-jdk
   

   Note: Oracle JDK/JRE 11 with 64-bit version is required.

2. Check the installation with the following command:
   • java -version, the output should show information similar to what is shown below:

   openjdk version “11.0.20” 2023-07-18 OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 11.0.20+8-post-Ubuntu-1ubuntu122.04) OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 11.0.20+8-post-Ubuntu-1ubuntu122.04, mixed mode, sharing)

Note: The version might differ.

Turtle Network Node Setup – Step 2

Note: All terminal sessions and commands from this step, will be done with the chosen ‘username’ from the ‘Hosting section’.

Github: https://github.com/TurtleNetwork/TurtleNetwork/releases

1. Download the current .deb package (check the latest release in the above link): wget https://github.com/TurtleNetwork/TurtleNetwork/releases/download/v1.3.16/tn_1.3.16_all.deb (replace /v1.3.16/ with the latest version, replace tn_1.3.16_all.deb with the latest .deb version).

2. Install the downloaded .deb file: dpkg -i tn_1.3.16_all.deb (replace tn_1.3.16_all.deb with the latest .deb version).

3. Create a wallet on the Turtle Network:

   • https://wallet.turtlenetwork.eu then ‘Sign in’ or ‘Get Started’ and create a new account.
   • Important: Save your SEED & password securely and never loose.
   • Login to your wallet and record the following:
     • Wallet Address
     • Wallet Password
     • In Wallet, navigate to the ‘Backup’ item in the top-right section, click, then record your ‘ENCODED SEED’ which will be used later.
     • Log out of wallet
4. Open https://cluster.tnnode.turtlenetwork.eu and access Swagger to do the following:
   • Encrypt your API key, do the following:
     • Click on ‘Utils’ then "/utils/hash/secure"
     • Insert your own ‘custom api key’ in the ‘Value’ section then click ‘Try it Out’
     • Record your ‘custom api key’ and the ‘hash’ value which was generated by the previous command
5. Edit the TN.conf file in /usr/share/tn/:
   • vi /usr/share/tn/conf/tm.conf (or nano /usr/share/tm/conf/tn.conf)
   • Change the following defaults:
     • # P2P Network settings section:
       • remove the ‘#’ then change: node-name = "My MAINNET node" --> change to your custom node name
       • remove the ‘#’ then change: declared-address = "1.2.3.4:6868" --> change to ‘yourstaticip:6860
     • # Wallet settings section:
       • change: password = "ridetheTN!" to your wallet password set in section 4.
       • remove the ‘#’ then change seed = "" to your ENCODED SEED noted in section 4.
     • # Node's REST API settings section:
       • enable = no --> change to ‘yes’
       • bind-address = "127.0.0.1" --> change to 0.0.0.0
       • port = 6859
       • api-key-hash = "H6nsiifwYKYEx6YzYD7woP1XCn72RVvx6tC1zjjLXqsu" --> replace with your own hash key noted in previous section.

6. Start the TN node: sudo service tn start or sudo systemctl start tn

7. Watch the TN node log live (press ctrl+c to cancel): sudo journalctl -u tn.service -f & let it download the blockchain.

8. Browse to https://explorer.turtlenetwork.eu/peers & confirm your node is listed.

9. Implement a Firewall using iptables (extra security):
   • Insert the below data into an executable file called TN_firewall for ease-of-use, basic configuration below:
   • Create file: sudo touch TN_firewall
   • Execute using: sudo ./TN_firewall

#!/bin/sh
######################################
echo "*** Turtle Network Firewall ***"
######################################
#
###################
# Setting variables
###################
#
# Checking for iptables
#######################
IPTABLES=/sbin/iptables
#######################
#
echo "Checking for IPTABLES"

if ! [ -x $IPTABLES ] : then
        echo
        echo "ERROR IN CONFIGURATION: IPTABLES doesn't exist or isn't executable!"
        exit 1
fi
#
#####################
echo "FLUSHING RULES"
#####################
$IPTABLES -P INPUT ACCEPT
$IPTABLES -P FORWARD ACCEPT
$IPTABLES -P OUTPUT ACCEPT

#######################
echo "INPUT CHAIN... "
#######################
$IPTABLES -A INPUT -m state --state RELATED,ESTABLISHED -j ACCEPT
$IPTABLES -A INPUT -m state --state NEW -m tcp -p tcp --dport 53 -j ACCEPT
$IPTABLES -A INPUT -m state --state NEW -m udp -p udp --dport 53 -j ACCEPT
$IPTABLES -A INPUT -p tcp -m tcp --dport 22 -j ACCEPT
$IPTABLES -A INPUT -p tcp -m tcp --dport 80 -j ACCEPT
$IPTABLES -A INPUT -p tcp -m tcp --dport 443 -j ACCEPT
$IPTABLES -A INPUT -p tcp -m tcp --dport 6860 -j ACCEPT
$IPTABLES -A INPUT -i lo -j ACCEPT
$IPTABLES -A INPUT -j DROP

###############################################
echo "*** Turtle Network Firewall Complete ***"
###############################################

Note: Port 80 uses a proxy to forward to port 6859 (unless you have Apache already installed where then you will need to specify :6859 after the url / ip)

Turtle Network Node Upgrade

Note: All terminal sessions and commands from this step, will be done with the chosen ‘username’ from the ‘Hosting section’.

1. Backup your current TN.conf: cp /usr/share/tn/conf/tn.conf /usr/share/tn/conf/tn.conf.backup

2. Stop the TN node: sudo service tn stop or sudo systemctl stop tn

3. Get the updated files (Latest releases: https://github.com/TurtleNetwork/TurtleNetwork/releases)

   • wget https://github.com/TurtleNetwork/TurtleNetwork/releases/download/v1.3.16/tn_1.3.16_all.deb (replace *.deb with the latest .deb version)

4. Install the downloaded .deb file: dpkg -i tn_1.3.16_all.deb (replace *.deb with the latest .deb version)

If you need to resync the entire blockchain because this is mandatory:

Remove TN data folder: `rm -rdf /var/lib/tn/data`

1. Start the TN node: sudo service tn start or sudo systemctl start tn

Other Useful Information

• Review the node log: sudo journalctl -u tn.service -f
• Turtle Node Reporting: http://statistics.turtlenetwork.eu/nodes

Video

Tutorial on node setup