Guide: How to stake on ETH2 Medalla Testnet with Lodestar on Ubuntu

{% hint style="danger" %} Nov 24 2020 Update: The new mainnet guide is located here.

Instructions below are now deprecated and for reference only. {% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %} Lodestar is a Typescript implementation of the official Ethereum 2.0 specification by the ChainSafe.io team. In addition to the beacon chain client, the team is also working on 22 packages and libraries. A complete list can be found here. Finally, the Lodestar team is leading the Eth2 space in light client research and development and has received funding from the EF and Moloch DAO for this purpose. {% endhint %}

🏁 0. Prerequisites

👩💻 Skills for operating a eth2 validator and beacon node

As a validator for eth2, you will typically have the following abilities:

operational knowledge of how to set up, run and maintain a eth2 beacon node and validator continuously
a commitment to maintain your validator 24/7/365
basic operating system skills
have learned the essentials by watching 'Intro to Eth2 & Staking for Beginners' by Superphiz
have passed or is actively enrolled in the Eth2 Study Master course
and have read the 8 Things Every Eth2 validator should know.

🎗Minimum Setup Requirements

Operating system: 64-bit Linux (i.e. Ubuntu 20.04 LTS)
Processor: Dual core CPU, Intel Core i5–760 or AMD FX-8100 or better
Memory: 8GB RAM
Storage: 20GB SSD
Internet: Broadband internet connection with speeds at least 1 Mbps.
Power: Reliable electrical power.
ETH balance: at least 32 Goerli ETH
Wallet: Metamask installed

🏋♀ Recommended Hardware Setup

Operating system: 64-bit Linux (i.e. Ubuntu 20.04 LTS)
Processor: Quad core CPU, Intel Core i7–4770 or AMD FX-8310 or better
Memory: 32GB RAM
Storage: 100GB SSD
Internet: Broadband internet connections with speeds at least 10 Mbps
Power: Reliable electrical power with uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
ETH balance: at least 32 Goerli ETH
Wallet: Metamask installed

🔓 Recommended ETH 2 Node Security

If you need ideas or a reminder on how to secure and harden your node, refer to

{% page-ref page="guide-or-security-best-practices-for-a-eth2-validator-beaconchain-node.md" %}

🛠 Setup Ubuntu

If you need to install Ubuntu, refer to

{% page-ref page="../overview-xtz/guide-how-to-setup-a-baker/install-ubuntu.md" %}

🎭 Setup Metamask

If you need to install Metamask, refer to

{% page-ref page="../../wallets/browser-wallets/metamask-ethereum.md" %}

🤖 1. Install a ETH1 node

{% hint style="info" %} Ethereum 2.0 requires a connection to Ethereum 1.0 in order to monitor for 32 ETH validator deposits. Hosting your own Ethereum 1.0 node is the best way to maximize decentralization and minimize dependency on third parties such as Infura. {% endhint %}

Your choice of either OpenEthereum, Geth, Besu or Nethermind.

{% tabs %} {% tab title="OpenEthereum (Parity)" %}

🤖 Install and run OpenEthereum.

mkdir ~/openethereum && cd ~/openethereum
wget https://github.com/openethereum/openethereum/releases/download/v3.0.1/openethereum-linux-v3.0.1.zip
unzip openethereum*.zip
chmod +x openethereum
rm openethereum*.zip

⛓ Start OpenEthereum on goerli chain.

./openethereum --chain goerli

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Geth" %}

🧬 Install from the repository.

sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:ethereum/ethereum
sudo apt-get update -y
sudo apt-get install ethereum -y

🐣 Start the geth node for ETH Goerli testnet.

geth --goerli --datadir="$HOME/Goerli" --rpc

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Besu" %}

🧬 Install java dependency.

sudo apt install openjdk-11-jdk

🌜 Download and unzip Besu.

cd
wget -O besu.tar.gz https://bintray.com/hyperledger-org/besu-repo/download_file?file_path=besu-1.5.0.tar.gz
tar -xvf besu.tar.gz
rm besu.tar.gz
cd besu-1.5.0/bin

⛓ Run Besu on the goerli network.

./besu --network=goerli --data-path="$HOME/Goerli"

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Nethermind" %}

⚙ Install dependencies.

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install libsnappy-dev libc6-dev libc6 unzip -y

🌜 Download and unzip Nethermind.

mkdir ~/nethermind && cd ~/nethermind
wget -O nethermind.zip https://nethdev.blob.core.windows.net/builds/nethermind-linux-amd64-1.8.77-9d3a58a.zip
unzip nethermind.zip
rm nethermind.zip

🛸 Launch Nethermind.

./Nethermind.Launcher

Select Ethereum Node
Select Goerli select Fast sync
Yes to enable web3 / JSON RPC
Accept default IP
Skip ethstats registration {% endtab %} {% endtabs %}

{% hint style="info" %} Syncing the node could take up to 1 hour. {% endhint %}

{% hint style="success" %} Your eth1 node is fully sync'd when these events occur.

OpenEthereum: Imported #<block number>
Geth: Imported new chain segment
Besu: Imported #<block number>
Nethermind: No longer syncing Old Headers {% endhint %}

⚙ 2. Obtain Goerli test network ETH

Join the Prysmatic Labs Discord and send a request for ETH in the -request-goerli-eth channel

!send <your metamask goerli network ETH address>

Otherwise, visit the 🚰 Goerli Authenticated Faucet.

👩💻3. Signup to be a validator at the Launchpad

Install dependencies, the ethereum foundation deposit tool and generate keys.

sudo apt install python3-pip git -y

mkdir ~/git
cd ~/git
git clone https://github.com/ethereum/eth2.0-deposit-cli.git
cd eth2.0-deposit-cli
sudo ./deposit.sh install

./deposit.sh --chain medalla

Follow the prompts and pick a password. Write down your mnemonic and keep this safe, preferably offline.
Follow the steps at https://medalla.launchpad.ethereum.org/ but skip the steps you already just completed. Study the eth2 phase 0 overview material. Understanding eth2 is the key to success!
Back on the launchpad website, upload the deposit_data.json found in the validator_keys directory.
Connect your metamask wallet, review and accept terms.
Confirm the transaction.

{% hint style="danger" %} Be sure to safely save your mnemonic seed offline. {% endhint %}

💡 4. Build Lodestar from source

Install curl and git.

sudo apt-get install git curl

Install yarn.

curl -sS https://dl.yarnpkg.com/debian/pubkey.gpg | sudo apt-key add -
echo "deb https://dl.yarnpkg.com/debian/ stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/yarn.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install yarn

Confirm yarn is installed properly.

yarn --version
# Should output version >= 1.22.4

Install nodejs.

curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_12.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

Confirm nodejs is installed properly.

nodejs -v
# Should output version >= v12.18.3

Install and build Lodestar.

cd ~/git
git clone https://github.com/chainsafe/lodestar.git
cd lodestar
yarn install
yarn run build

{% hint style="info" %} This build process may take up to an hour. {% endhint %}

Verify Lodestar was installed properly by displaying the help menu.

yarn run cli --help

🔥 5. Configure port forwarding and/or firewall

Specific to your networking setup or cloud provider settings, ensure your beacon node's ports are open and reachable. Use https://canyouseeme.org/ to verify.

Lodestar beacon chain node will use port 30607 for tcp and port 9000 for udp peer discovery.
geth node will use port 30303 for tcp and udp

🏂 6. Start the beacon chain and validator

Locate your keystore filename(s).

ll $HOME/git/eth2.0-deposit-cli/validator_keys/

Update MY_KEYSTORE_FILE with your validator key's filename. If you have multiple validator keys, repeat this sequence for each key.

MY_KEYSTORE_FILENAME=<FILENAME OF YOUR keystore-m_.....json>

Copy your keystore file to voting-keystore.json according to loadstar's expected file naming structure.

shortPubKey=$(cat ${MY_KEYSTORE_FILENAME} | jq -r '.pubkey')
PUBKEY=$(echo 0x${shortPubKey})
echo VALIDATOR PUBKEY: ${PUBKEY}

mkdir -p $HOME/git/lodestar/.medalla/keystores/${PUBKEY}

cp $HOME/git/eth2.0-deposit-cli/validator_keys/$MY_KEYSTORE_FILENAME \
   $HOME/git/lodestar/.medalla/keystores/${PUBKEY}/voting-keystore.json

Example: If your pubkey is 0x846...0f00 then your keystore should be located as follows:

$HOME/git/lodestar/.medalla/keystores/0x846...0f00/voting-keystore.json

Store your validator's password in a secrets file, named as it's pubKey without 0x.

mkdir -p $HOME/git/lodestar/.medalla/secrets
echo "my_password_goes_here" > $HOME/git/lodestar/.medalla/secrets/${shortPubKey}

Start your beacon chain.

cd $HOME/git/lodestar
yarn run cli beacon --testnet medalla \
  --eth1.provider.url http://localhost:8545 \
  --metrics.serverPort 8009 \
  --graffiti="poapboP...CHANGEME"

{% hint style="warning" %} If you cannot find peers, then likely port 9000 is already in use. Change the port in the file.medalla/beacon.config.json located at network > bindAddr {% endhint %}

Start your validator in a new terminal window.

cd $HOME/git/lodestar
yarn run cli validator run --testnet medalla

{% hint style="danger" %} WARNING: DO NOT USE THE ORIGINAL KEYSTORES TO VALIDATE WITH ANOTHER CLIENT, OR YOU WILL GET SLASHED. {% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %} Validator client - Responsible for producing new blocks and attestations in the beacon chain and shard chains.

Beacon chain client - Responsible for managing the state of the beacon chain, validator shuffling, and more. {% endhint %}

{% hint style="success" %} Congratulations. Once your beacon-chain is sync'd, validator up and running, you just wait for activation. This process takes up to 8 hours. When you're assigned, your validator will begin creating and voting on blocks while earning ETH staking rewards.

Use beaconcha.in and register an account to create alerts and track your validator's performance. {% endhint %}

🕒 7. Time Synchronization

{% hint style="info" %} Because beacon chain relies on accurate times to perform attestations and produce blocks, your computer's time must be accurate to real NTP or NTS time within 0.5 seconds. {% endhint %}

Setup Chrony with the following guide.

{% page-ref page="../overview-ada/guide-how-to-build-a-haskell-stakepool-node/how-to-setup-chrony.md" %}

{% hint style="info" %} chrony is an implementation of the Network Time Protocol and helps to keep your computer's time synchronized with NTP. {% endhint %}

🧩 8. Reference Material

{% embed url="https://discord.gg/yjyvFRP" %}

{% embed url="https://chainsafe.github.io/lodestar/installation/" %}

{% embed url="https://medalla.launchpad.ethereum.org/" %}

{% embed url="https://github.com/ChainSafe/lodestar" %}

🧙♂ 9. Updating Lodestar

cd ~/git/lodestar
git pull
yarn install
yarn run build

Restart as per normal operating procedures.

{% hint style="success" %} Congrats on completing the guide.

Did you find our guide useful? Let us know with a tip and we'll keep updating it.

It really energizes us to keep creating the best crypto guides.

Use cointr.ee to find our donation addresses. 🙏 {% endhint %}

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guide-how-to-stake-on-eth2-with-lodestar.md

guide-how-to-stake-on-eth2-with-lodestar.md

Guide: How to stake on ETH2 Medalla Testnet with Lodestar on Ubuntu

🏁 0. Prerequisites

👩💻 Skills for operating a eth2 validator and beacon node

🎗Minimum Setup Requirements

🏋♀ Recommended Hardware Setup

🔓 Recommended ETH 2 Node Security

🛠 Setup Ubuntu

🎭 Setup Metamask

🤖 1. Install a ETH1 node

🤖 Install and run OpenEthereum.

⛓ Start OpenEthereum on goerli chain.

🧬 Install from the repository.

🐣 Start the geth node for ETH Goerli testnet.

🧬 Install java dependency.

🌜 Download and unzip Besu.

⛓ Run Besu on the goerli network.

⚙ Install dependencies.

🌜 Download and unzip Nethermind.

🛸 Launch Nethermind.

⚙ 2. Obtain Goerli test network ETH

👩💻3. Signup to be a validator at the Launchpad

💡 4. Build Lodestar from source

🔥 5. Configure port forwarding and/or firewall

🏂 6. Start the beacon chain and validator

🕒 7. Time Synchronization

🧩 8. Reference Material

🧙♂ 9. Updating Lodestar

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Guide: How to stake on ETH2 Medalla Testnet with Lodestar on Ubuntu

🏁 0. Prerequisites

👩💻 Skills for operating a eth2 validator and beacon node

****🎗Minimum Setup Requirements

🏋♀ Recommended Hardware Setup

🔓 Recommended ETH 2 Node Security

🛠 Setup Ubuntu

🎭 Setup Metamask

🤖 1. Install a ETH1 node

🤖 Install and run OpenEthereum.

⛓ Start OpenEthereum on goerli chain.

🧬 Install from the repository.

🐣 Start the geth node for ETH Goerli testnet.

🧬 Install java dependency.

🌜 Download and unzip Besu.

⛓ Run Besu on the goerli network.

⚙ Install dependencies.

🌜 Download and unzip Nethermind.

🛸 Launch Nethermind.

⚙ 2. Obtain Goerli test network ETH

👩💻3. Signup to be a validator at the Launchpad

💡 4. Build Lodestar from source

🔥 5. Configure port forwarding and/or firewall

🏂 6. Start the beacon chain and validator

🕒 7. Time Synchronization

🧩 8. Reference Material

🧙♂ 9. Updating Lodestar

🎗Minimum Setup Requirements