Deploy a multi-node blockchain network

In this tutorial we will learn and practice how to start a blockchain network with a validator set of your choosing using Muta. In this case, we will build a four validators' blockchain running on a single server with a single Muta binary , but the process generalizes to more nodes and more complex deploy environment in a straight-forward manner.

Overview

This tutorial assumes that you already have Muta compiled on your computer from when you completed the Create Your First Muta Chain Tutorial. If you do not, please install and compile Muta framework first.

In this case, we will build a blockchain network with four validators (Alice, Bob, Bill and Ben). And Alice will be the bootstrap node. The tutorial is divided into several sections:

Firstly, each participant should generate their own key-pairs.
And then, create the genesis block and config the node.
With custom chain spec distributed to all participants, we will run the bootstraps node firstly, and then start the other node to connect to bootstraps node.

Generate key-pairs

Install Muta-keypair

Muta-keypair is a tool the generates keys specifically designed to be used with Muta. Install it by following command:

cargo +nightly install --git https://github.com/nervosnetwork/muta.git --bin muta-keypair

Run the help command，then you can see the operation guide:

$ muta-keypair -h
muta_keypair 0.1
Muta Dev <muta@nervos.org>
a tool to generate keypairs for muta

USAGE:
    muta-keypair [OPTIONS]

FLAGS:
    -h, --help       Prints help information
    -V, --version    Prints version information

OPTIONS:
    -c, --common_ref <common_ref>           common_ref for bls signature, it will be randomly generated if not passed
                                            [default: ]
    -n, --number <number>                   Number of keypairs to generate [default: 4]
    -p, --private_keys <private_keys>...    Generate keypairs from a given private key vector

:::note common_ref is a required parameter used when generating BLS signature. And all the validators in a same network should share a common common_ref. So, in here, one option is to let bootstraps node generating common_ref first, and then distribute it to the other node. Another option for validators is to consult together to come up with a string used as common_ref after hex encoding. :::

In this case, bootstraps node will generate a common_ref randomly, and then pass it to the other node.

Generate Key-pairs

Alice (bootstraps node) generates her key-pairs:

$ muta-keypair -n 1
{
  "common_ref": "0x7446645045376b553041",
  "keypairs": [
    {
      "index": 1,
      "private_key": "0x5b2041e3f47aaf2d44407d3bdf415a4f55bf377352448c4217393f5c34fe270d",
      "public_key": "0x0299b6d1ad1961cf7a99b581d103a9f977531f77d67e994bfcd9a7fd82ad230a49",
      "address": "0x991ce94e75332da2160363d78b73955738d7a3bc",
      "bls_public_key": "0x04076b9ee33b9ef2c5f6f7bf8507dd2e17c65f8b67bee2ca874dde747ef69d7f18ec927de1adca930da61b071d6075ea10172342d0fb50b977b919ab0e4e8306261002b1ed27990b9d6dded5583b91d8801615baee901ed09a2333fc57770d84c8"
    }
  ]
}

After Alice passes the common_ref to Bob, Bill and Ben, they generates his own key-pairs:

$ muta-keypair -n 3 -c 75695962523835457669
{
  "common_ref": "0x75695962523835457669",
  "keypairs": [
    {
      "index": 1,
      "private_key": "0x28f53779b60e261ba68cdccefcc6a152136df8cb794e067ec76dc5a02c8f2ccf",
      "public_key": "0x0299b6d1ad1961cf7a99b581d103a9f977531f77d67e994bfcd9a7fd82ad230a49",
      "address": "0x78ef0eff2fb9f569d86d75d22b69ea8407f6f092",
      "bls_public_key": "0x0413584a15f1dec552bb12233bf73a886ed49a3f56c68eda080743577005417635c9ac72a528a961a0e14a2df3a50a5c660641f446f629788486d7935d4ad4918035ce884a98bbaaa4c96307a2428729cba694329a693ce60c02e13b039c6a8978"
    },
    {
      "index": 2,
      "private_key": "0x8b41630934fc7df92a016af88aae477bd173118fb72113f31db8a950230b029f",
      "public_key": "0x030a1cd0213b86976c9e14c1aa8d0167a50c8a5c929f72fcbeaae35d84afa1c2b7",
      "address": "0xa55e1261a73116c755291140e427caa0cbb5309e",
      "bls_public_key": "0x040e7b00b59d37d4d735041ea1b69a55cd7fd80e920b5d70d85d051af6b847c3aec5b412b128f85ad8b4c6bac0561105a80fa8dd5f60cd42c3a2da0fd0b946fa3d761b1d21c569e0958b847da22dec14a132121027006df8c5d4ccf7caf8535f70"
    },
    {
      "index": 3,
      "private_key": "0x8e065679aa8b1185406c7514343073cd8c1695218925c9b2d5e98c3483d71d81",
      "public_key": "0x027c805020b226a050c317c68d50cb7b0a7d682b5614e23a61c5c08a722c2d44aa",
      "address": "0x103252cad4e0380fe57a0c73f549f1ee2c9ea8e8",
      "bls_public_key": "0x041611b7da94a7fb7a8ff1c802bbf61da689f8d6f974d99466adeb1f47bcaff70470b6f279763abeb0cec5565abcfcb4ce13e79b8c310f0d1b26605b61ac2c04e0efcedbae18e763a86adb7a0e8ed0fcb1dc11fded12583972403815a7aa3dc300"
    }
  ]
}

From the output we can see, each participant not only has their own keys generated，but also possessed their bls_public_key. Reocord all of these information carellful, we will use it in following steps.

Create the Genesis Block

Now that each participant has their own keys generated, in this part, we will create the genesis block for this chain.

Alice find devtool/chain/genesis.toml which contains all the info of genesis block, but it's still filled with default configuration.

Pay attention to following three fields:

The portion of this file Alice needs to pay attention is the verifier_list, in which all the origin validators's info need to be filled.
Since Overlord consensus protocol supports weghted votes, in here, we can also set propose_weight and propose_weight.
And don't forget to modify common_ref.

:::note More info of the other parameters in genesis.toml can be explored in configuration guide. :::

After knowing that, Alice adds the other nodes' info into verifier_list , give each validator a weight of 1, modify common_ref and keep the other fields unchanged. Then the genesis.toml looks like this:

timestamp = 0
prevhash = "0x44915be5b6c20b0678cf05fcddbbaa832e25d7e6ac538784cd5c24de00d47472"

[[services]]
name = "asset"
payload = '''
{
    "id": "0xf56924db538e77bb5951eb5ff0d02b88983c49c45eea30e8ae3e7234b311436c",
    "name": "MutaToken",
    "symbol": "MT",
    "supply": 320000011,
    "issuer": "0xf8389d774afdad8755ef8e629e5a154fddc6325a"
}
'''

[[services]]
name = "metadata"
payload = '''
{
    "chain_id": "0xb6a4d7da21443f5e816e8700eea87610e6d769657d6b8ec73028457bf2ca4036",
    "common_ref": "0x7446645045376b553041",
    "timeout_gap": 20,
    "cycles_limit": 999999999999,
    "cycles_price": 1,
    "interval": 3000,
    "verifier_list": [
        {
            "bls_pub_key": "0x040386a8ac1cce6fd90c31effa628bc8513cbd625c752ca76ade6ff37b97edbdfb97d94caeddd261d9e2fd6b5456aecc100ea730ddee3c94f040a54152ded330a4e409f39bfbc34b286536790fef8bbaf734431679ba6a8d5d6994e557e82306df",
            "address": "0x12d8baf8c4efb32a7983efac2d8535fe57deb756",
            "propose_weight": 1,
            "vote_weight": 1
        },
        {
            "bls_pub_key": "0x040e7b00b59d37d4d735041ea1b69a55cd7fd80e920b5d70d85d051af6b847c3aec5b412b128f85ad8b4c6bac0561105a80fa8dd5f60cd42c3a2da0fd0b946fa3d761b1d21c569e0958b847da22dec14a132121027006df8c5d4ccf7caf8535f70",
            "address": "0xa55e1261a73116c755291140e427caa0cbb5309e",
            "propose_weight": 1,
            "vote_weight": 1
        },
        {
            "bls_pub_key": "0x0413584a15f1dec552bb12233bf73a886ed49a3f56c68eda080743577005417635c9ac72a528a961a0e14a2df3a50a5c660641f446f629788486d7935d4ad4918035ce884a98bbaaa4c96307a2428729cba694329a693ce60c02e13b039c6a8978",
            "address": "0x78ef0eff2fb9f569d86d75d22b69ea8407f6f092",
            "propose_weight": 1,
            "vote_weight": 1
        },
        {
            "bls_pub_key": "0x041611b7da94a7fb7a8ff1c802bbf61da689f8d6f974d99466adeb1f47bcaff70470b6f279763abeb0cec5565abcfcb4ce13e79b8c310f0d1b26605b61ac2c04e0efcedbae18e763a86adb7a0e8ed0fcb1dc11fded12583972403815a7aa3dc300",
            "address": "0x103252cad4e0380fe57a0c73f549f1ee2c9ea8e8",
            "propose_weight": 1,
            "vote_weight": 1
        }
    ],
    "propose_ratio": 15,
    "prevote_ratio": 10,
    "precommit_ratio": 10,
    "brake_ratio": 7,
    "tx_num_limit": 20000,
    "max_tx_size": 1024
}
'''

Finally Alice shares the genesis.toml with all the other validators in the network. In this case, since these four nodes will run in the same binanry, we can just keep one genesis.toml file under devtool/chain directory.

:::note In production environment, it's highly recommended that bootstraps node create the genesis block first and shared the resulting genesis.toml file with the other validators. Because it's quite easy to get a slightly different genesis block which will break consensus if each participant generates the file themselves. :::

Config node parameters

After creating the genesis block, Each validators need to config the node. Node configuration parameters can be found in devtool/chain/config.toml.

The fields of this file we need to pay more attention are:

privkey: private key of this node
Under [network], listening_address = "0.0.0.0:1337" specifies the address that your node will listen.
[[network.bootstraps]], specifies the information of bootstraps node that your node will connect, including the public key and listening address. Bootstrap node can leave this filed empty.

Alice configures her node

After adding required infomation and leaving [[network.bootstraps]] empty , config.toml in Alice's node looks like:

data_path = "./devtools/chain/data/1"
privkey = "0x592d6f62cd5c3464d4956ea585ec7007bcf5217eb89cc50bf14eea95f3b09706"

[network]
listening_address = "0.0.0.0:1337"
rpc_timeout = 10

[graphql]
graphiql_uri = "/graphiql"
listening_address = "0.0.0.0:8000"
graphql_uri = "/graphql"
workers = 0 # if 0, uses number of available logical cpu as threads count.
maxconn = 25000
max_payload_size = 1048576

[mempool]
pool_size = 20000
broadcast_txs_size = 200
broadcast_txs_interval = 200

[executor]
light = false

[logger]
filter = "info"
log_to_console = true
console_show_file_and_line = false
log_path = "logs/"
log_to_file = true
metrics = true
# you can specify log level for modules with config below
# modules_level = { "overlord::state::process" = "debug", core_consensus = "error" }

Others' configuration

For Bob:

Bob adds his private key, specifies his [network] and got Alice's infomation to fill into [[network.bootstraps]]. ( In this case, we also modifies lisening_adress under [graphql], since these four nodes are on the same server).

Then the config.toml in Bob's node looks like:

data_path = "./devtools/chain/data/2"
privkey = "0x8b41630934fc7df92a016af88aae477bd173118fb72113f31db8a950230b029f"

[network]
listening_address = "0.0.0.0:1338"
rpc_timeout = 10

[[network.bootstraps]]
pubkey = "0x02fa3a27712962a70e3e474363f38661f6a9e56f9cc91efd0d343713d51f3fa355"
address = "localhost:1337" # Replace it with your IP

[graphql]
graphiql_uri = "/graphiql"
listening_address = "0.0.0.0:8001"
graphql_uri = "/graphql"
workers = 0 # if 0, uses number of available logical cpu as threads count.
maxconn = 25000
max_payload_size = 1048576

[mempool]
pool_size = 20000
broadcast_txs_size = 200
broadcast_txs_interval = 200

[executor]
light = false

[logger]
filter = "info"
log_to_console = true
console_show_file_and_line = false
log_path = "logs/"
log_to_file = true
metrics = true
# you can specify log level for modules with config below
# modules_level = { "overlord::state::process" = "debug", core_consensus = "error" }

For Ben:

(click here to view)

data_path = "./devtools/chain/data/2"
privkey = "0x8b41630934fc7df92a016af88aae477bd173118fb72113f31db8a950230b029f"

[network]
listening_address = "0.0.0.0:1339"
rpc_timeout = 10

[[network.bootstraps]]
pubkey = "0x02fa3a27712962a70e3e474363f38661f6a9e56f9cc91efd0d343713d51f3fa355"
address = "localhost:1337" # Replace it with your IP

[graphql]
graphiql_uri = "/graphiql"
listening_address = "0.0.0.0:8002"
graphql_uri = "/graphql"
workers = 0 # if 0, uses number of available logical cpu as threads count.
maxconn = 25000
max_payload_size = 1048576

[mempool]
pool_size = 20000
broadcast_txs_size = 200
broadcast_txs_interval = 200

[executor]
light = false

[logger]
filter = "info"
log_to_console = true
console_show_file_and_line = false
log_path = "logs/"
log_to_file = true
metrics = true
# you can specify log level for modules with config below
# modules_level = { "overlord::state::process" = "debug", core_consensus = "error" }

For Bill:

(click here to view)

data_path = "./devtools/chain/data/2"
privkey = "0x8e065679aa8b1185406c7514343073cd8c1695218925c9b2d5e98c3483d71d81"

[network]
listening_address = "0.0.0.0:1340"
rpc_timeout = 10

[[network.bootstraps]]
pubkey = "0x02fa3a27712962a70e3e474363f38661f6a9e56f9cc91efd0d343713d51f3fa355"
address = "localhost:1337" # Replace it with your IP

[graphql]
graphiql_uri = "/graphiql"
listening_address = "0.0.0.0:8003"
graphql_uri = "/graphql"
workers = 0 # if 0, uses number of available logical cpu as threads count.
maxconn = 25000
max_payload_size = 1048576

[mempool]
pool_size = 20000
broadcast_txs_size = 200
broadcast_txs_interval = 200

[executor]
light = false

[logger]
filter = "info"
log_to_console = true
console_show_file_and_line = false
log_path = "logs/"
log_to_file = true
metrics = true
# you can specify log level for modules with config below
# modules_level = { "overlord::state::process" = "debug", core_consensus = "error" }

In these case , we name the generated file config-alice.toml, config-bob.toml, config-ben.toml, config-bill.toml under devtools/chain.

Run this network

You've completed all the necessary prep work and you're now ready to launch your chain. We can see these files in our folder:

- devtools
  - chain
    - config-alice.toml
    - config-bob.toml
    - config-ben.toml
    - config-bill.toml
    - genesis.toml

Alice Starts her node first.

Alice, as the bootstrap node, starts her node firstly by running following command：

CONFIG=./devtools/chain/config-alice.toml GENESIS=./devtools/chain/genesis.toml cargo run --example muta-chain --release

Bob, Ben and Bill Join

For Bob, run the following command:

CONFIG=./devtools/chain/config-bob.toml GENESIS=./devtools/chain/genesis.toml cargo run --example muta-chain --release

For Ben, run the following command:

CONFIG=./devtools/chain/config-ben.toml GENESIS=./devtools/chain/genesis.toml cargo run --example muta-chain --release

For Bill, run the following command:

CONFIG=./devtools/chain/config-bill.toml GENESIS=./devtools/chain/genesis.toml cargo run --example muta-chain --release

You should see the console outputs something as follows:

Congratulations! You've started your own blockchain!

How was it? Did this tutorial work? Yes No

Next Step

In this tutorial you've learned to generate your own keypairs, create a genesis block, config your node, and start a multi-node network based on your custom configuration.

#Overview

#Generate key-pairs

#Install Muta-keypair

#Generate Key-pairs

#Create the Genesis Block

#Config node parameters

#Alice configures her node

#Others' configuration

#Run this network

#Alice Starts her node first.

#Bob, Ben and Bill Join

#Next Step