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Node FAQ

Can I run the Gear node now?​

Yes, follow the instructions from this article on how to set up and run Gear node under MacOS, Linux and Windows: Setting Up

What are hardware requirements for Gear node?​

There are no special hardware requirements except SSD for running Gear node connected to a test net or in a dev net mode. For nodes in a production network, the hardware requirements will be provided further.

Please refer to the System Requirements to see the actual hardware requirements.

I have an error when trying to run the node​

Please refer to the Troubleshooting section to find typical errors and solutions.

Are there rewards for running nodes?​

Validator nodes in Gear-powered networks, such as Vara, are incentivized according to the Nominated Proof-of-Stake (NPoS) mechanism. Refer to this article for more details.

Additionally, anyone can run a local node for development or/and run local services.

Could we run validator now?​

Yes, anyone can setup a validator in the Vara network. Follow the instructions from the Validators guide.

How do I make the node work in the background?​

The solution is to configure the Gear node as a service.

My host provider claims the node abuses their network.​

This should be resolved by adding --no-private-ipv4 argument when running the node. If for some reason, that argument doesn't solve the issue for you, then you can deny egress traffic to:

10.0.0.0/8
172.16.0.0/12
192.168.0.0/16
100.64.0.0/10
169.254.0.0/16

For example you can use this manual: https://community.hetzner.com/tutorials/block-outgoing-traffic-to-private-networks

I've configured the node as a service. How can I update it?​

You just need to replace the node executable (gear) with the latest version and restart the execution. For example, if your Linux executable is located at /usr/bin you are to run:

curl https://get.gear.rs/gear-v1.1.1-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.xz | sudo tar -xJC /usr/bin
sudo systemctl restart gear-node

My node stopped to increment the block height after some block number.​

Update the node binary to the latest version.

How do I change the port number if the default one is already used by another software?​

Use one of the supported flags when running the node:

--port <PORT>
    Specify p2p protocol TCP port

--prometheus-port <PORT>
    Specify Prometheus exporter TCP Port

--rpc-port <PORT>
    Specify JSON-RPC server TCP port

Default ports are:

  • P2P: 30333
  • Prometheus: 9615
  • WebSocket/HTTP JSON-RPC: 9944

How to see Gear node service logs?​

See the Checking logs section for details.

What is the node syncing time?​

The full node syncing time may be calculated using the info from the log:

syncing_time [secs]=target_block−finalized_blockbpssyncing\char`_time \text{ [secs]} = \frac{target\char`_block - finalized\char`_block} {bps}

For example, let's calculate the syncing time from the following log record:

... ⚙️ Syncing 143.1 bps, target=#3313788 ... finalized #3223552 ...
syncing_time=3313788−3223552143.1≈630 secs (10.5 mins)syncing\char`_time = \frac {3313788 - 3223552} {143.1} \approx 630 \text{ secs } (10.5 \text{ mins})

Is the node visible in telemetry during syncing?​

Only Validator nodes are visible on the telemetry portal - https://telemetry.rs.

Is there any command to check for new updates for the node?​

There is no such command.