What's a VPS and why does it matter?
A Virtual Private Server is a virtual computer that people can rent for a fixed monthly price. A
VPS provider takes a large, powerful computer and splits it into smaller less powerful virtual
computers. People can customize their computer based on the needs of the node network.
Running a BlockBot or Node requires a stable internet connection and enough computing
resources to run the software. Rather than having to buy a computer and dedicate it to
running a single BlockBot or Node, a license owner can rent a VPS as a computer to use. A
good VPS provider can provide up to 100% guaranteed uptime.
It is often more cost effective to rent a VPS, rather than spending the money to buy a
dedicated machine for each BlockBot and Node. Pricing can vary based on the provider, but
a reputable provider can offer much better uptime than hosting at home. Some BlockBot owners may have bad internet connection or inconsistent power, so using a VPS may be the
best option for them.
Step 1:
- Go to https://www.vultr.com/ and create a Vultr account. A Vultr account will require an email
and password.
- If you step away from your computer for too long, Vultr will log you out and ask you to sign in
to your account again. You will continue where you left off.
Step 2:
- Once you have created your account, you will need to upload your credit card information
to pay for a server. You can choose to either deposit funds here or link your credit card to
your account. You can also pay with paypal or Alipay by clicking on the left hand column of
payment options.
- Verify your email address. It should be in the email you used to create a Vultr account with.
If you didn’t get it, click the link in the orange box that says “Click here to send a verification
email”
Step 3:
- On the products page, click or hover over the blue plus circle on the top right corner to
deploy a new server.
Step 4:
- Select the server of your choice. Cloud Compute should be sufficient in most cases.
- Choose your preferred technology for storage and CPU. Regular Performance should be adequate for running a node.
- Select a server location. Typically the server location closest to you is the best option to
choose. - Choose a server type. For this guide we will be using Debian 11x64.
- Choose a server size. The $5 per month server is a sufficient option for most cases. You
can always upgrade this at a later date.
- Choose if you want to add auto backups. This is not required and we recommend turning it
off. It is automatically turned on so remember to turn it off by clicking the “On” switch to turn
it to the “Off” button. - It’s not necessary to add any additional features, SSH Keys. You can if you desire. Give your
server a logical hostname/label and click Deploy Now. This will begin the setup process for
your server. It should only take 5–10 mins.
Step 5:
- Once your server has been provisioned, you will be able to access the server details via the
Products tab in the Vultr management panel.
- Click on the server name. This will take you through to the management page for that
specific server. It is on this page we can get the required details to log in.
- On the “Products” page, you will see the different server instances you have started, you will
need to wait until it says “Running” under the “Status” column. - Click on the server name (what you name it during setup) and it will take you to the server
Home Screen. - On this page, find the username and password, they will be needed. The username by
default is “root”, copy the password by clicking the icon next to the hidden phrase. - To open the console, click the computer icon in the top right of the page.
- The console will display one of two things:
1. A bunch of words, if you get this press enter and it should ask for you to login.
2. A prompt to login.
5f. To open the console, click the computer icon in the top right of the page
- To log in, enter “root” as the username and press enter. For the password, there is a small
gray button with an arrow on the left side of the terminal (example below.) Click that button and it will display a list of icons. Click on the clipboard icon, and paste the password you copied earlier under the testVPN page into the text box that appears. Click the “paste” button that appeared with the test box. - *IMPORTANT* The password you pasted into the text box will disappear, but it will NOT display anything in the console, this is by design. Close the icon list by clicking the arrow button again, then press enter. If everything was done correctly, you should see a message that says you have logged in correctly.
- You will know you are logged in correctly when you see “Last login: [today’s date]
“ in the console.
- Paste the following command into the console using the same method you did for the
password:
wget https://static.giveblockchain.io/go-node/install/linux_amd64.sh - Paste the following command:
bash ./linux_amd64.sh -b give
1. You may be prompted to install additional code to run the node properly, this will show
up like “[Y/N]”, press “Y” and hit enter.
2. You may not be prompted to install additional code to run the node properly, this is
fine! You get to move on without an extra step.
- A purple/pink screen might be displayed, informing you that you are installing the node
software. Hit enter. Have your account information close by because it will ask you for the
account name and password.
1. You will then be prompted to enter your email address for your Give account, your
account password, and a name for this node. (We suggest naming it the same name as
you did your same name during the Vultr setup.)
- You will see the progress of the installation, then another purple/pink screen will display
informing that the installation is finished. Press enter and your node should start! You will see
an interface that will update every 30 minutes that will inform you on the node’s progress,
status, and other node statistics.
Congratulations! You have set up your Give node.