Introduction

Setup an ETH2 node quickly with ~2 commands. Simple shell scripts contain community best practices to remove tedious setup. Supports servers, home solo stakers, pool node operators.

(Don't blindly run scripts near sensistive data)

Pre-reqs

1. Set up cloud vps with a ssh pub key or local server a. Prefer a bare metal vps as it wont finish syncing on cloud b. Recommended specs based on Geth and Prysm
   • 2 - 4+ TB SSD or NVMe
   • 16-64+GB of RAM
   • 4-8+ cores
   • ubuntu 20+ d. SSH in, set up your server.
   • set swraid 1 & swraidlevel 0 for full disk access and better performance
   • Note: Fingerprint will change, you will need to rm it from known-hosts after setup every time -> nano ~/.ssh/known_hosts and remove the last line corresponding to your new server or run: sed -i '' -e '$ d' ~/.ssh/known_hosts e. (Optional) Configure VSCode to work with your server https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/remote/ssh
   • cmd shift p -> add new remote host -> ssh [email protected]. -> connect

Quickstart

Installation

1. Download these scripts, initially as root via running this from the terminal; we will automatically create a eth user for safety.

git clone https://github.com/chimera-defi/eth2-quickstart
cd eth2-quickstart
chmod +x run_1.sh

2. Run server setup script

./run_1.sh

• will upgrade ubuntu and installed programs,
• guide the user on manual steps
• setup firewalls, do security hardening,
• install needed programs for setting up a node

4. After it finishes, verify the results and run sudo reboot
   Log back in as the new non-root user eth@ip

• configure exports.sh

5. Log back in as the new non-root user eth@ip

• configure exports.sh
• Run./run_2.sh
  this will setup:
  • prysm
  • geth
  • mev-boost
  • setup systemctl for eth2 services
  • Also contains commands to begin syncing prysm and geth

6. Start your services via systemctl to confirm successful installation! eth1, beacon-chain & validator

   sudo systemctl start eth1
   sudo systemctl start cl
   sudo systemctl start validator
   sudo systemctl start mev
   

   Verify they work normally

   sudo systemctl status eth1
   sudo systemctl status cl
   sudo systemctl status validator
   sudo systemctl status mev
   

Sync and configure

Note: You may be able to skip this step now with checkpoint urls added

1. Sync prysm instantly / faster thanks to provided checkpoint files in this repo

   sudo systemctl stop cl
   sudo systemctl stop validator
   $(echo $HOME)/prysm/prysm.sh cl --checkpoint-block=$PWD/prysm/block_mainnet_altair_4620512-0xef9957e6a709223202ab00f4ee2435e1d42042ad35e160563015340df677feb0.ssz --checkpoint-state=$PWD/prysm/state_mainnet_altair_4620512-0xc1397f57149c99b3a2166d422a2ee50602e2a2c7da2e31d7ea740216b8fd99ab.ssz --genesis-state=$PWD/prysm/genesis.ssz --config-file=$PWD/prysm/prysm_beacon_conf.yaml --p2p-host-ip=$(curl -s v4.ident.me)
   

   Remember to restart the beacon-chain and validator afterwards.

   sudo systemctl restart cl
   sudo systemctl restart validator
   

2. Continue using prysm docs to set up the validator using new or old imported keys : https://docs.prylabs.network/docs/install/install-with-script#step-5-run-a-validator-using-prysm

   • Create a pass.txt file in ~/prysm with your wallets password to enable using the validator service

3. To speed up geth sync you can try to restart it with other flags in its config, but most likely it will just take a little time running in the background. Benchmark is 1-3 days.

Setup public RPC endpoint using Nginx

Setup a secure uncensored outward facing Ethereum RPC for you and your friends! It's been faster than Infura/alchemy etc for me.

1. [Optional RPC] Once geth & prysm are synced, install nginx
   ./install_nginx.sh
   and verify it is working and configured correctly if you want to use the RPC.
   Use the following command to verify locally:

   curl -X POST http://<ip>/rpc --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_chainId","params":[],"id":32}' -H 'Content-Type: application/json'
   

   Replace <ip> w/ $(curl v4.ident.me) for local.
   Replace <ip> with your domain name to see if it works for real from a different host.
   Use https to check SSL.

2. Setup a domain (Optional, helps w/ public RPC)
   a. Get a website - e.g. via namecheap
   b. Setup DNS records from it to point to your servers public IP
   c. Setup Nginx on your server to handle requests and provide a rpc

3. Setup SSL for your domain. You will need to use sudo su to switch back to super user to properly install NGINX an SSL with the provide scripts.

• There are 2 options to configure SSL and NGINX:

• ./install_acme_ssl.sh will use sensible defaults, letencrypt, acme.sh and nginx to setup certificates.

• You can otherwise use ./install_ssl_certbot.sh to use certbot.

• See here for troubleshooting: https://www.nginx.com/blog/using-free-ssltls-certificates-from-lets-encrypt-with-nginx/

  a. A lot of the work will be done for you by the script
  b. Follow the tutorials here after they finish: https://certbot.eff.org/
  c. Verify it works using curl -X POST http://$(curl -s v4.ident.me)/rpc --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_chainId","params":[],"id":32}' -H 'Content-Type: application/json'

4. Confirm mev boost is configured and working correctly

• https://github.com/flashbots/mev-boost/wiki/Testing
• Check validators register properly (Note: Need a 0x prefix on the validator pub key) https://boost.flashbots.net/mev-boost-status-updates/query-validator-registration-status-now

5. Further security hardening tips: (TODO)

• Disable root login after everything is confirmed to be working by setting PermitRootLogin no in /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Troubleshooting & tips

• need to update? just run ./update.sh
• make sure the files are executable

chmod u+x run1.sh..

• check disk space and setup

df -hT

• Use on goerli - do the following before running run_2.sh
  • There is a Goerli checkpt url in exports.sh; change the prysm cp url to it
  • Add --prater to the prysm start cmds in install_prysm.sh
  • Add --goerli to the geth start cmd in install_geth.sh

Benefits:

• Save at least 2 days compared to CoinCashew and Somersats guides using the automated scripts and included prysm checkpoint state here!!
• Get your own uncensored & unmetered RPC node!
• Simplified script will follow sane defaults from tutorials to get you set up seamlessly and prompt for extra input not added in exports.sh
• Includes firewall and client rules to prevent scanning private IPs/limit to public, to avoid Abuse alerts from cloud / bare metal hosting providers

We try to setup guideline to quickly, safely and secury setup ETH2 capable nodes on a cloud vps or bare metal server.
Addditionally, there's firewall rules and settings for the clients to not cause alerts from your infra provider.

The goal is to allow soverign individuals to set up independent validators, and validating services easily.
On their own hardware, in their own location, safe from government overreach and censorship.

Additionally, by using a vps, they can more easily offer a censorship resistant rpc node for their fellow etherians.

Credits

This was made possible by the great guides written by:

• Someresat
  https://someresat.medium.com/guide-to-staking-on-ethereum-ubuntu-prysm-581fb1969460?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

and

• coincashew
  https://www.coincashew.com/coins/overview-eth/guide-or-how-to-setup-a-validator-on-eth2-mainnet/part-i-installation/installing-execution-client

Additionally the beacon checkpoint states have been made available by the servers run for the community of:
https://Sharedstake.org And https://sharedtools.org

Contact for qs / collab:

[email protected]

Twitter: https://twitter.com/chimeradefi