Host a Storj Node on a Virtual Private Server (VPS)
Updated: Oct 2, 2021
Storj is an S3-compatible platform and suite of decentralized applications to store data in a secure and decentralized manner.
Small pieces of encrypted data from Storj DCS will be stored at random on your Node. Once your Node is set up, you need to ensure your Node is online and running properly.
After your Node is set up and verified, you’ll be compensated for the storage and bandwidth you provide for Storj DCS.
In this tutorial, we will set up Storj on an Ubuntu virtual private server (VPS). You will want to acquire a VPS with a large storage capacity.
Virtual Private Server Recommendation
A VPS with the following specifications should be sufficient (more disk space is preferred):
Virtual CPUs: 1 Core
Memory Size: 0.5 GB
Disk Space: 550 GB
Bandwidth: 2 TB
Virtual CPUs: 2 Cores
Memory Size: 2 GB
Disk Space: 2 TB
Bandwidth: Unlimited 100mbps
Price: $48USD Annually
Virtual CPUs: 4 Cores
Memory Size: 5 GB
Disk Space: 5 TB
Bandwidth: 25000 GB @ 1000mbps
Price: $32.50USD Monthly
Prerequisites
You should complete the following guides in their entirety to secure your server.
Updates
Depending on your VPS provider, the server could be ready instantly or take up to 24 hours.
Once the VPS has been created successfully, your provider will send you a confirmation email that contains the server IP address and password.
Establish an SSH connection with your server. Make sure your server is fully updated using the following command:
sudo apt update -y && sudo apt full-upgrade -y && sudo apt autoremove -y && sudo apt clean -y && sudo apt autoclean -yThis command will perform the following:
update - updates the list of packages but do not install
upgrade - install new versions of packages if new versions are available
full-upgrade - performs the function of an upgrade but will remove currently installed packages if this is needed to upgrade the system as a whole (fixing bad dependencies)
autoremove, autoclean and clean - clean old packages which are not needed anymore
option -y does not request permission on every step
&& states that it runs the next command if the previous was successfully executed
Registration
Head over to https://registration.storj.io/ and Get your auth token by submitting your email address. You will receive your single-use authorization token to your email address.
Download the Identity Binary
curl -L https://github.com/storj/storj/releases/latest/download/identity_linux_amd64.zip -o identity_linux_amd64.zip
unzip -o identity_linux_amd64.zip
chmod +x identity
sudo mv identity /usr/local/bin/identityCreate an Identity
This can take several hours or days, depending on your machine's processing power and luck.
identity create storagenodeThis process will continue until it reaches a difficulty of at least 36. On completion, it will look something like this:
Authorize the Identity
Authorize your Storage Node identity using your single-use authorization token (please, replace the placeholder <email:characterstring> with your actual authorization token):
identity authorize storagenode <email:characterstring>If authorization is successful, you will see the following message:
Identity successfully authorized using single use authorization token.Confirm the Identity
Run the following commands to confirm you have the required identity files:
grep -c BEGIN ~/.local/share/storj/identity/storagenode/ca.certgrep -c BEGIN ~/.local/share/storj/identity/storagenode/identity.certThe first command should return 2, and the second command should return 3:
If your numbers are different, then authorizing the identity was not successful. You may try again.
UDP Configuration
If you are running your node on Linux, you might see warnings about the receive buffer size.
UDP transfers on high-bandwidth connections can be limited by the size of the UDP receive buffer. This buffer holds packets that have been received by the kernel but not yet read by the application. Once this buffer fills up, the kernel will drop any new incoming packet.
Storj software attempts to increase the UDP receive buffer size. However, on Linux, an application can only increase the buffer size up to a maximum value set in the kernel, and the default maximum value is too small for high-bandwidth UDP transfers.
We recommend increasing the maximum buffer size by running the following to increase it to ~2.5MB.
sudo sysctl -w net.core.rmem_max=2500000To make this value persistent across reboots, run the following instead:
sudo /bin/su -c "echo "net.core.rmem_max=2500000" >> /etc/sysctl.conf"
sudo sysctl -w net.core.rmem_max=2500000Install Docker
To set up a Storage Node, you first must have Docker installed. Install Docker by following the appropriate installation guide for your OS.
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.shDownload the Storage Node Docker Container
Run the following command to download the latest version of Storj Storage Node.
sudo docker pull storjlabs/storagenode:latestSetup static mount via /etc/fstab for Linux
First, run the following command and find the name of the hard drive you wish to use (for example, sda2, or ubuntu--vg-lv--root):
lsblkHere is my example:
Look for a Type "part" that matches the Size of your storage capacity. Once you find it, we will now get the Unique ID (UUID) of the hard drive, minus the <>:
lsblk -d -fs /dev/<sda2>OR
lsblk -d -fs /dev/mapper/<ubuntu--vg-lv--root>Copy the UUID, as well as the FSTYPE. We’ll need that later. Next, we will create a new directory in the /mnt folder where you want your Storj files to be stored; you can name this directory whatever you would like, minus the <>.
sudo mkdir /mnt/<directory name>Next, we will add our hard drive to the, etc/fstab file:
sudo nano /etc/fstabAdd the following line at the end of the file, replacing the <text> with your copied values:
UUID=<your HD UUID> /mnt/<directory name> <FSTYPE> defaults 0 2To save changes, press Ctrl-X, Y, Enter
Once saved, run the following command:
sudo mount -aThat’s it! If you’d like to confirm, you can rerun this command, and your new mount point will be updated in the mounting column:
lsblk -d -fs /dev/<location (example: sda2)>You’ve successfully static mounted your hard drive.
Setting up the Storage Node
Copy this command into a plain text editor like nano or Wordpad:
sudo docker run --rm -e SETUP="true" \
--mount type=bind,source="<identity-dir>",destination=/app/identity \
--mount type=bind,source="<storage-dir>",destination=/app/config \
--name storagenode storjlabs/storagenode:latestReplace the <identity-dir> and <storage-dir> with your parameters.
Copy the updated command and run it on your server. Here is an example of what my command looks like:
Running the Storage Node
Copy this command into a plain text editor like nano or Wordpad:
sudo docker run -d --restart unless-stopped --stop-timeout 300 \
-p 28967:28967/tcp \
-p 28967:28967/udp \
-p 127.0.0.1:14002:14002 \
-e WALLET="0xXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" \
-e EMAIL="[email protected]" \
-e ADDRESS="domain.ddns.net:28967" \
-e STORAGE="1.7TB" \
--mount type=bind,source="<identity-dir>",destination=/app/identity \
--mount type=bind,source="<storage-dir>",destination=/app/config \
--name storagenode storjlabs/storagenode:latestModify the following:
WALLET - A wallet address to receive STORJ token payouts for running the node. Example: Crypto.com
EMAIL - Email address so that we can notify you when a new version has been released. (recommended)
ADDRESS - External/static IP address of your VPS and port (Default 28967)
STORAGE - How much disk space do you want to allocate to the Storj network. Be sure not to over-allocate space! Allow at least 10% extra for the overhead. If you over-allocate space, you may corrupt your database when the system attempts to store pieces when no more physical space is actually available on your drive. The minimum storage shared requirement is 500 GB, which means you need a disk of at least 550 GB total size to allow for the 10% overhead.
Replace the following:
<identity-dir> - The same identity directory from the Setting up your Storage Node command.
<storage-dir> - The same storage directory from the Setting up your Storage Node command.
Save your edited command somewhere safe as you will need to rerun this every time you manually update your Storj Node.
Copy the updated command and run it on your server. Here is an example of what my command looks like:
Congratulations, you're a Storj Node operator!
You can also check to see if the node was started properly by running the following command in the terminal:
sudo docker ps -aUpdating the Storj Node
Ensure your node is updated and compliant.
Automatic Updates (Optional)
You can set up automatic updates for your storagenode Docker container using watchtower. Watchtower will look for new updates to the Docker container on Docker Hub in a random interval between 12 and 72 hours and automatically update your storage node when it sees a new version.
First, please pull the latest watchtower image from docker:
sudo docker pull storjlabs/watchtowerTo set up auto-update for storagenode, please run the following command once:
sudo docker run -d --restart=always --name watchtower -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock storjlabs/watchtower storagenode watchtower --stop-timeout 300sIf you want to double-check that watchtower is properly running, you can run the following command:
sudo docker ps -aManual Updates
Please use manual updates only if the automatic update method was unsuccessful, or is unavailable for your node configuration.
1. Stop the running Storage Node container:
sudo docker stop -t 300 storagenode2. Remove the existing container:
sudo docker rm storagenode3. Pull the latest image from docker:
sudo docker pull storjlabs/storagenode:latest4. Start your storage node again by running the following command you saved from the section: Running the Storage Node, i.e:
sudo docker run -d --restart unless-stopped --stop-timeout 300 \
-p 28967:28967/tcp \
-p 28967:28967/udp \
-p 127.0.0.1:14002:14002 \
-e WALLET="0xXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" \
-e EMAIL="[email protected]" \
-e ADDRESS="domain.ddns.net:28967" \
-e STORAGE="1.7TB" \
--mount type=bind,source="<identity-dir>",destination=/app/identity \
--mount type=bind,source="<storage-dir>",destination=/app/config \
--name storagenode storjlabs/storagenode:latestStorj Web Dashboard (Optional)
If you would like to utilize the built-in graphical web dashboard to view the status of your node, you can continue through this optional portion of the tutorial. The web dashboard looks like the following:
Since we are running our Storj node on a VPS with an external/static IP, we want to allow web traffic safely. We will accomplish this by installing Caddy:
sudo apt install -y debian-keyring debian-archive-keyring apt-transport-https
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/gpg.key' | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/caddy-stable.asc
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/debian.deb.txt' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/caddy-stable.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install caddyNow we will edit the Caddy configuration file:
sudo nano /etc/caddy/CaddyfileYou can leave the port the default 80 or consider switching it to 8080. Remove the # in front of reverse_proxy and change the IP address to 127.0.0.1:14002. It should look similar to this:
# The Caddyfile is an easy way to configure your Caddy web server.
#
# Unless the file starts with a global options block, the first
# uncommented line is always the address of your site.
#
# To use your own domain name (with automatic HTTPS), first make
# sure your domain's A/AAAA DNS records are properly pointed to
# this machine's public IP, then replace ":80" below with your
# domain name.
:8080 {
# Set this path to your site's directory.
root * /usr/share/caddy
# Enable the static file server.
file_server
# Another common task is to set up a reverse proxy:
reverse_proxy 127.0.0.1:14002
# Or serve a PHP site through php-fpm:
# php_fastcgi localhost:9000
}
# Refer to the Caddy docs for more information:
# https://caddyserver.com/docs/caddyfileTo save changes, press Ctrl-X, Y, Enter
Restart Caddy using the following command:
sudo systemctl restart caddyBrowse to HTTP://<your static IP>:8080. You should now see the Storj Web Dashboard!
Password protect the Stroj Web Dashboard (Optional)
To secure your Storj Web Dashboard, you may consider adding basic password authentication. This does not provide strong protection, but it's better than leaving your portal open to the public.
First, we need to hash your password because Caddy does not accept plain text passwords. Run the following command, minus the <>:
sudo caddy hash-passwordYou will be prompted to enter and then confirm your desired password. Make sure you keep this password somewhere secure. The command will output a hash-password. Copy this hash.
Edit the Caddy configuration file:
sudo nano /etc/caddy/CaddyfileAdd the following lines, minus <> and replacing username with any desired login name and replacing password with the hash-password copied from the above command.
basicauth /* {
<username> <hash-password>
}The Caddyfile should look similar to this:
# The Caddyfile is an easy way to configure your Caddy web server.
#
# Unless the file starts with a global options block, the first
# uncommented line is always the address of your site.
#
# To use your own domain name (with automatic HTTPS), first make
# sure your domain's A/AAAA DNS records are properly pointed to
# this machine's public IP, then replace ":80" below with your
# domain name.
:8080 {
basicauth /* {
username base64_hash_password
}
# Set this path to your site's directory.
root * /usr/share/caddy
# Enable the static file server.
file_server
# Another common task is to set up a reverse proxy:
reverse_proxy 127.0.0.1:14002
# Or serve a PHP site through php-fpm:
# php_fastcgi localhost:9000
}
# Refer to the Caddy docs for more information:
# https://caddyserver.com/docs/caddyfileTo save changes, press Ctrl-X, Y, Enter
Restart Caddy using the following command:
sudo systemctl restart caddyWhen you access HTTP://<your static IP>:8080, you will be prompted to input your username and password.
In this tutorial, you have learned how to set up and secure a VPS, install Storj Node Storage, activate and password the Stroj Web Dashboard. Congratulations for making it this far!
Feel free to comment below with any questions or comments.
If you found this article informative, please support my efforts by donating to my Ethereum ENS address: geekbyte.eth
