Deploy Bootnode and Server

Set up backbone peers

These bootstrap/bootnode peers can be used as --initial_peers, to connect new servers to the existing ones. They can also serve as libp2p relays for servers that lack open ports (e.g., because they are behind NAT and/or firewalls).

To start a bootstrap peer, run this line in a tmux/screen shell:

mesh-dht \
--host_maddrs /ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/31330 /ip4/0.0.0.0/udp/31330/quic \
--announce_maddrs /ip4/{your_ip}/tcp/31330 /ip4/{your_ip}/udp/31330/quic \
--identity_path bootnode.id

Once you run it, look at the outputs and find the following line:

Mon 00 01:23:45.678 [INFO] Running a DHT instance. To connect other peers to this one, use --initial_peers /ip4/YOUR_ADDRESS_HERE/tcp/31337/p2p/QmTPAIfThisIsMyAddressGoFindYoursnCfj

The suggested method is to update the .env variable PUBLIC_INITIAL_PEERS list with the address from the bootnode. You can also provide this address as --initial_peers to servers or other backbone peers. If there is a risk that this peer goes down, you can launch additional hivemind-dht instances and provide multiple addresses. New peers will be able to join the swarm as long as at least one of their initial peers is alive.

Here are a few tips to help you set up:

• The --host_maddrs contains libp2p multi-addresses specifying a network protocol, IP address, and port. Learn more about them here.

  • If you want your swarm to be accessible outside of your local network, ensure that you have a public IP address or set up port forwarding correctly, so that your peer is reachable from the outside.

  • If you run your swarm in a local network only, it's fine not to have a public IP and ports as long as you use the local network's IP addresses everywhere.

  • You can specify 0.0.0.0 as the IP address, so that the script will listen to the IP addresses of your existing network interfaces.

• The --identity_path contains a peer's private key and defines the "/p2p/..." part of your peer's address (essentially, its public key).

  • Set --identity_path option to a file to ensure that your peer has the same identity each time you restart it. If the file doesn't exist, the script will generate a new private key and save it to the specified file.

  • Make sure each peer's identity is unique.

  • If you omit this option, the subnet template will generate a new identity each time a process is started.

    • In production, this is not recommended as other peers will not be able to verify your identity, and you will not pass the proof-of-stake mechanism.

Start Server

Once the bootnode is running and the bootnode address is in the .env file, you can start your first server with:

mesh-server-mock \
--host_maddrs /ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/31331 /ip4/0.0.0.0/udp/31331/quic \
--announce_maddrs /ip4/{your_ip}/tcp/31331 /ip4/{your_ip}/udp/31331/quic \
--identity_path alith.id \
--subnet_id 1 --subnet_node_id 1

You can also use the argument --initial_peers instead of using the .env file.