Prerequisites:

• Operating System: Ubuntu 18.04 or Linux Kernel 5.16.
• Hardware Requirements:
  • CPU: 4 Cores
  • Memory: 16GB RAM
  • Storage: 1TB SSD/HDD
  • Network: Minimum 20Mb bandwidth with a dedicated IP address

Node Initialization:

Currently, compiling from binaries is not supported as the network is not open-source during the testnet phase. Therefore, Docker is the recommended method to operate nodes.

Using Docker:

You can run a node using the Docker image provided by the Bool team with the following command:

docker run -p 30333:30333 boolnetwork/bnk-node:alpha-testnet --validator --chain=alpha_testnet --name <your_node_name>

Additional Options:

• To run the node in the background, add the d flag:

  docker run -d -p 30333:30333 boolnetwork/bnk-node:alpha-testnet --validator --chain=alpha_testnet --name <your_node_name>
  
  

• To persist the node's data on the host machine, use the v flag to mount a volume:

  docker run -d -v ./data:/data -p 30333:30333 boolnetwork/bnk-node:alpha-testnet --validator --chain=alpha_testnet --name <your_node_name>
  
  

• If you plan to run an RPC service accessible externally for applications or third-party tools like Polkadot.js, include the following flags:

  docker run -d -p 30333:30333 -p 9933:9933 -p 9944:9944 boolnetwork/bnk-node:alpha-testnet --validator --chain=alpha_testnet --name <your_node_name> --unsafe-rpc-external --unsafe-ws-external
  
  

  • -unsafe-rpc-external: Allows the node to listen to all RPC interfaces.
  • -unsafe-ws-external: Allows the node to listen to all WebSocket interfaces.

Viewing Help Information:

For more details and available options, you can view the help information by running:

docker run --rm boolnetwork/bnk-node:alpha-testnet --help

Example Output:

Upon successful initialization, you should see output similar to:

2024-01-30 08:08:26 BoolNetwork Node
2024-01-30 08:08:26 ✌️  version 0.10.0-f53ea677650
2024-01-30 08:08:26 ❤️  by BoolNetwork, 2022-2024
2024-01-30 08:08:26  Chain specification: BoolNetwork Alpha Testnet
2024-01-30 08:08:26   Node name: <your_node_name>
2024-01-30 08:08:26  Role: AUTHORITY
2024-01-30 08:08:26  Database: RocksDb at /bool/.local/share/bnk-node/chains/boolnetwork_alpha_testnet/db/full
...

Troubleshooting:

If your node experiences synchronization issues, such as an unstable number of peers or frequent disconnections, consider the following steps: