Running a Blast Node

Setup Production Blast Node on Blast Chain

The Blast Chain Mainnet is available for developers to launch smart contracts, execute transactions, and experiment. This document will guide you through launching your own production Blast Node, which is integral to the operation of the Blast Chain.

Developers can set up a production Blast Node directly on the Blast Chain Mainnet. This setup involves running the synchronizer and utilizing the JSON-RPC interface to interact with the network.

Info

• Sequencer and prover functionalities specific details are beyond the scope of this document and are assumed to be in continuous development and testing.

• Syncing the Blast Node can take between 1-2 days depending on network conditions and hardware specifications. Efforts are underway to implement snapshots to improve syncing times.

Prerequisites

This tutorial requires Docker and Docker Compose installations. Start by creating a directory for your Blast Node:

mkdir -p ~/blast-node

Minimum Hardware Requirements

Caution:

• Ensure that your CPU supports the AVX2 instruction set as it is necessary for certain node operations.

• 16GB RAM

• 4-core CPU

• Approximately 250/350GB of storage (requirement will grow over time)

Software Requirements

• A One World Chain node, set up to connect to the Layer 1 network.

• Blast Node for the Layer 2 network.

• A synchronizer responsible for syncing data between L1 and L2.

• A JSON RPC server to interface with the L2 network.

One World Chain Node Setup

Begin by setting up the One World Chain node, which is crucial for the operation of the L2 Blast Node. Detailed instructions for setting up a One World Chain node can be found at the One World Chain documentation.

Blast Node Setup

Once the One World Chain node setup is complete, proceed with the Blast Node setup. This setup is straightforward but can be adjusted for high-demand scenarios.

Set up your Blast Node:

1. Open your command line/terminal: Set your network and directory variables:

   # Define the network ("mainnet")
   ZKEVM_NET=mainnet
   
   # Define installation path
   ZKEVM_DIR=./path_to_install
   
   # Define your config directory
   ZKEVM_CONFIG_DIR=./path_to_config

2. Download and extract the node software: You may need unzip installed before running this command:

   git clone https://github.com/BLASTchain/blast-node.git

3. Copy the example environment file and modify it:

   cp $ZKEVM_DIR/$ZKEVM_NET/example.env $ZKEVM_CONFIG_DIR/.env
   nano $ZKEVM_CONFIG_DIR/.env

   Edit the .env file to match your configurations, including the RPC URLs and data directories.

4. To run the Blast Node instance, use the following Docker command:

   sudo docker compose --env-file $ZKEVM_CONFIG_DIR/.env -f $ZKEVM_DIR/$ZKEVM_NET/docker-compose.yml up -d

5. Verify the setup: Check the components are running correctly:

   docker compose --env-file $ZKEVM_CONFIG_DIR/.env -f $ZKEVM_DIR/$ZKEVM_NET/docker-compose.yml ps

Testing

To test your setup, query the most recently synchronized L2 block:

curl -H "Content-Type: application/json" -X POST --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_blockNumber","params":[],"id":1}' http://localhost:8545

Stopping the Blast Node

To stop your Blast Node:

sudo docker compose --env-file $ZKEVM_CONFIG_DIR/.env -f $ZKEVM_DIR/$ZKEVM_NET/docker-compose.yml down

Troubleshooting

If there are port conflicts or container issues, adjust the necessary settings in the Docker compose file and review container logs for errors.

This revised setup provides a framework for running a Blast Node, facilitating effective Layer 2 scaling and interaction on your infrastructure with the Layer 1 support of the One World Chain.