Running an Elixir Testnet Validator

Elixir Testnet v3 Validator Setup Guide

Below is a step-by-step guide to running a validator on the Elixir Network's testnet and helping to ensure security and effectiveness for building orderbooks.

Testnet v3 Preparations

Hardware Requirements

Most hardware is capable of running a validator node. However, it is recommended that you have a system that can be run 24 hours a day, with 8GB of memory and a reliable 100Mbit internet connection. Disk usage is minimal; in most cases, 100GB of storage should be enough.

Docker Installation

Running a validator will require a system configured with an up-to-date install of Docker. Please follow the installation guide for your Operating System. Verify your installation works by opening a terminal and running docker ps. You should see something similar to the following output:

CONTAINER ID   IMAGE     COMMAND   CREATED   STATUS    PORTS     NAMES

If you receive an error, revisit the installation guide for your operating system.

Validator Private Key Generation

Elixir recommends using a dedicated wallet for your validator. This wallet will be used for signing transactions in the Elixir Network and the security of this wallet is paramount to earning rewards in the Elixir Network. If you ran a validator during one of the prior Testnets, feel free to keep the same wallet. You will need both the private key and public wallet address to set up and enroll your validator.

Generating A Private Key In Metamask

In Metamask, this can be done by clicking the "My Accounts" icon in the top right, and clicking "+ Create Account." You can obtain the private key by clicking Account Details from the ellipsis menu, and then clicking "Export private key".

For security, this wallet should never be used for anything other than running a testnet validator.

Validator Setup

Download The Environment Template

Download the validator environment template file and open it up in a text editor. Set the values using the legend below:

Environment Variable	Value
STRATEGY_EXECUTOR_DISPLAY_NAME	This is the public-facing name for you or your organization. This will be visible on Elixir Network dashboards and your uptime and performance metrics will be tied to this name. Only alphanumeric characters, underscore, dash, and space allowed.
STRATEGY_EXECUTOR_BENEFICIARY	Set this to the wallet address you want to receive your Elixir Network validator rewards (when available). This can be any wallet address--EOA, Hardware wallet, Multisig, etc..
SIGNER_PRIVATE_KEY	The private key that was generated in the Preparations steps above. This should be a new, never-used wallet and will never need funds. Note: This field does not start with 0x

Validator Enrollment

Next, you will need to enroll your validator for it to begin receiving work from the Elixir Network and submitting order proposals for consensus.

Mint MOCK Elixir Tokens On Sepolia

The Testnet v3 network is powered by MOCK tokens on the Ethereum Sepolia test network. To get some MOCK tokens, you will need a small amount of Sepolia ETH in any wallet. Navigate to the Elixir Network Testnet v3 Dashboard and connect your wallet. Verify you are connected to the Ethereum Sepolia network and then click the "MINT 1,000 MOCK" button. Confirm the transaction in your wallet.

Note: This wallet should be different than the one you generated in the Preparations step above.

Stake Your MOCK Tokens

Once you have received your newly minted MOCK tokens from the dashboard, you will need to approve those tokens for spending on-chain, and then stake those tokens.

In the Stake MOCK window, enter the amount of MOCK tokens you wish to stake. Click "APPROVE MOCK FOR STAKING" and confirm the transaction in your wallet. Wait for the transaction to complete on-chain, then click "STAKE <amount> MOCK" and confirm the transaction.

Enroll Your Validator

In the search bar beside "Active validators" where it says "Enter validator address" enter your validator's public wallet address generated in the Preparations step. Wait for the search to complete then click "DELEGATE". Confirm the transaction and wait for it to complete on-chain. Your are now ready to run your validator.

Running Your Validator

Pull The Docker Image

Download the Docker image for the Testnet v3 validator by running the following docker command:

docker pull elixirprotocol/validator:testnet

Start Your Validator

Run the validator by executing the following docker command, replacing /path/to/validator.env with the full path to the validator environment file you created in the Validator Setup step:

docker run -it \
  --env-file /path/to/validator.env \
  --name elixir \
  elixirprotocol/validator:testnet

Optional: Setting A Restart Policy For Your Validator

Docker allows you to configure a restart policy for docker containers. Elixir recommends running your validator as a daemon with the unless-stopped restart policy:

docker run -d \
  --env-file /path/to/validator.env \
  --name elixir \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  elixirprotocol/validator:testnet

Optional: Running A Validator On Apple/ARM Silicon

If you are running on a non-x86 architecture, you may need to set the --platform flag appropriately when starting the validator docker image:

docker run -d \
  --env-file /path/to/validator.env \
  --name elixir \
  --platform linux/amd64 \
  elixirprotocol/validator:testnet

Optional: Exposing Health Checks and Metrics

The validator image exposes HTTP endpoints for running health checks and exposes metrics suitable for monitoring with Prometheus. To access this endpoint, you must open port 17690 on the docker container. Doing so will allow you to view the /health and /metrics endpoints in the container.

docker run -d \
  --env-file /path/to/validator.env \
  --name elixir \
  -p 17690:17690 \
  elixirprotocol/validator:testnet

Upgrading your validator

As the Elixir team continues to improve the validator during the lead up to Mainnet launch, you may need to pull the latest version of the validator. To do so, open a command line in the directory with your Dockerfile and execute the following commands:

docker kill elixir
docker rm elixir
docker pull elixirprotocol/validator:testnet

And rerun the docker command you used to start the validator.

Where To Find Support

Discord

Our Discord server has a thriving and supportive community. Here is a short list of the important channels:

• #validator-announcements: This is an announcements channel you can subscribe to in order to get alerts and notifications for new versions of the validator software. This will be the primary channel the Elixir team will use to notify when there is a new version of the validator software to pull or any version-specific instructions to follow.

• #node-operators: A DevOps-focused channel where node operators can find peer support, share tips and best practices, and talk about any findings they have. Keep conversation in this channel direct and topical--no "GM"s.

Report A Bug

If you find a bug and need to bring it to the developers' attention, you can always file a report in the Testnet v3 Issue Tracker.