TAO'S MASTERNODE SETUP GUIDE FOR DUMMIES (UPDATE GUIDE UPDATED FOR 13.0)

[ebk1000]

So, I closed down my local DASH wallet and set up another instance on VULTR (cloned the first MN) and updated the .conf files and started the second MN and then started the local DASH wallet and started the MNs again from my wallet. This is the status of MN01 before I closed the local DASH wallet:

It's showing 'Active Duration' as 1 week 23 hours 10 minutes 9 seconds

This is the same MN after I restarted my local DASH wallet:

So now it looks like its been active for only 5 minutes? So does that mean that from the networks point of view it will take longer for me to get the next reward? You said before that it doesn't matter if the local wallet is running but it does affect the "Active Duration" time?

Can I close my local DASH wallet when the hot wallets are running?

 

[splawik21]

Yes

 

[ebk1000]

Thank you. I am trying to understand this so why do you need to run the 'masternode start-all' at the local wallet if it doesn't affect the remote MN? Also, the 'Active Duration' as above is affected by the local DASH wallet being started and stopped. I have now closed the local DASH wallet to see what happens. I hope you are right...

 

[TaoOfSatoshi]

Thank you. I am trying to understand this so why do you need to run the 'masternode start-all' at the local wallet if it doesn't affect the remote MN? Also, the 'Active Duration' as above is affected by the local DASH wallet being started and stopped. I have now closed the local DASH wallet to see what happens. I hope you are right...

You're good. Don't worry, young Padawan...

 

[UdjinM6]

Thank you. I am trying to understand this so why do you need to run the 'masternode start-all' at the local wallet if it doesn't affect the remote MN? Also, the 'Active Duration' as above is affected by the local DASH wallet being started and stopped. I have now closed the local DASH wallet to see what happens. I hope you are right...

I guess you are using local dash.conf (not masternode.conf) to setup your masternode, right?
If you have "masternode=1" in your local dash.conf - remove it or make it "masternode=0" once you're done setting up/starting your remote MN otherwise it will restart your remote MN every time you run your local wallet. Make it "masternode=1" again only when you need to restart remote MN.
And in this case I would also suggest to change you local config to use masternode.conf instead of "masternode*" params in dash.conf even if you have only 1 masternode to avoid such confusion.

 

[ebk1000]

My dash.conf is:

rpcuser=thisisbsfgghhbgert
rpcpassword=ksjfhlaskshfdkgll44jfdclasjdlas8273871eyqwey982qeoihdoaoeo0weuopqowj
rpcallowip=127.0.0.1
listen=0
server=1
daemon=1
logtimestamps=1
maxconnections=8

My masternode.conf is:

# Masternode config file
# Format: alias IPort masternodeprivkey collateral_output_txid collateral_output_index
# Example: mn1 127.0.0.2:19999 93HaYBVUC.....xiqgX.....DQL8Xg 2bcd3c84c84f87eaa.....7f9e18718810b92e0d0324456a67c 0
MN01 185.92.220.19:9999 7sEkLk1cZ3x9U2......gLmWTa....vkx 4f850922a06c465d.....d95c8834acad87712fd275a27dd5 1
MN02 45.32.233.238:9999 7rDX8ZsACR1......BFoB......52CE 9c13364e6420d3eef18.....a69457eea16ed04749ba6987 1
MN03 108.61.188.82:9999 7qqTzxZhgy5zr.....RxEV9u.....1udARXMo 7483f0caf338974c4bf70..............3b833eebde66147e56564755c 1

This is all set up according to guides on this forum. (dots inserted her obviously and not in the real .conf file)

Is there anything wrong here?

My three remote MNs are now running fine and I have closed my local DASH wallet and it all seems fine now (until one of the servers goes down).

Should I change anything

 

[UdjinM6]

My dash.conf is:

rpcuser=thisisbsfgghhbgert
rpcpassword=ksjfhlaskshfdkgll44jfdclasjdlas8273871eyqwey982qeoihdoaoeo0weuopqowj
rpcallowip=127.0.0.1
listen=0
server=1
daemon=1
logtimestamps=1
maxconnections=8

My masternode.conf is:

# Masternode config file
# Format: alias IPort masternodeprivkey collateral_output_txid collateral_output_index
# Example: mn1 127.0.0.2:19999 93HaYBVUC.....xiqgX.....DQL8Xg 2bcd3c84c84f87eaa.....7f9e18718810b92e0d0324456a67c 0
MN01 185.92.220.19:9999 7sEkLk1cZ3x9U2......gLmWTa....vkx 4f850922a06c465d.....d95c8834acad87712fd275a27dd5 1
MN02 45.32.233.238:9999 7rDX8ZsACR1......BFoB......52CE 9c13364e6420d3eef18.....a69457eea16ed04749ba6987 1
MN03 108.61.188.82:9999 7qqTzxZhgy5zr.....RxEV9u.....1udARXMo 7483f0caf338974c4bf70..............3b833eebde66147e56564755c 1

This is all set up according to guides on this forum. (dots inserted her obviously and not in the real .conf file)

Is there anything wrong here?

My three remote MNs are now running fine and I have closed my local DASH wallet and it all seems fine now (until one of the servers goes down).

Should I change anything

oh, so you are using masternode.conf - should be good then

 

[ebk1000]

Thank you, still can someone explain the "Active duration" and if this is reset then it all starts over and if this is reset to 0 after 6 days you will need to run it for another 6 days to get a stake?

 

[UdjinM6]

Thank you, still can someone explain the "Active duration" and if this is reset then it all starts over and if this is reset to 0 after 6 days you will need to run it for another 6 days to get a stake?

Yes, every time you start your MN active duration is reset and you get to the end of the queue. This however shouldn't be triggered by any (local or remote) wallet restart in hot/cold setup.
However if you had 1 MN in your masternode.conf and it was up and running already and then you added second one and issued "masternode start-all" then first MN will be reset too. You should use another command "masternode start-alias MN02" to start only a single masternode from the list (the one with the alias "MN02" in this example).

 

[ebk1000]

Yes, every time you start your MN active duration is reset and you get to the end of the queue. This however shouldn't be triggered by any (local or remote) wallet restart in hot/cold setup.
However if you had 1 MN in your masternode.conf and it was up and running already and then you added second one and issued "masternode start-all" then first MN will be reset too. You should use another command "masternode start-alias MN02" to start only a single masternode from the list (the one with the alias "MN02" in this example).

Thank you for that, I think I am getting there. I initially misunderstood and as I restarted my local wallet I thought I had to issue the masternode start again but now I understand that this is not the case as the remote server is already running.

My three MNs have been up now for just over a day so I am waiting. Thank you for all your help...

Regards
EBK1000

 

[Amazing]

Hi, am wondering if someone would be willing to help me trouble shoot whats wrong with my MN. I usually monitor from DashWhale and I see that the node is down and I have no IP address. So, I logged into my VPS to check and the server is up, no problem's there.

When I run './dash-cli getinfo' or './dash-cli masternode list full | grep YOUR IP' I am getting a message that

error you must set rpcpassword=<password> in the configuration: /root/.dash/dash.conf

But I sudo into that file and still have the same rpcpassword as always...

I am confused of what steps I need to take, other than trying to do a total reinstall.

 

[UdjinM6]

Hi, am wondering if someone would be willing to help me trouble shoot whats wrong with my MN. I usually monitor from DashWhale and I see that the node is down and I have no IP address. So, I logged into my VPS to check and the server is up, no problem's there.

When I run './dash-cli getinfo' or './dash-cli masternode list full | grep YOUR IP' I am getting a message that

error you must set rpcpassword=<password> in the configuration: /root/.dash/dash.conf

But I sudo into that file and still have the same rpcpassword as always...

I am confused of what steps I need to take, other than trying to do a total reinstall.

If you were following this guide make sure you logged in as a user you created and not as a root.

 

[Amazing]

If you were following this guide make sure you logged in as a user you created and not as a root.

I believe the node is restarted now. The problem I have is that when I run the command

grep HotCold .dash/debug.log

there is no debug.log file. I've looked for it in all the directories and it doesn't seem to be there. Can anyone understand why it's missing, or how to create it? Because I need to have the MN setup so I can put my local wallet in cold storage and it will still run, as I am frequently traveling.

 

[rustycase]

Wow!
This looks like a Really Great, detailed explanation, which would be perfect for the likes of me !
I got a pile of spare pc's hangin' around... ( in various states of dis-repair) I gotta give it a try.

Does all this info translate to 2016 and the DASH name-change?

Gosh! I dunno how much fiat it took to get a 1k bundle of DRK back in 2014, but I'll probably need to sell our 1st borne to come up with the 8k needed 2day !
He's industious, strong, diligent, and would be a great bargain for anyone interested and we would miss him greatly.... Just kidding ! this is Not SR and I'm not selling kids !

Congrats to all the early investors who could see DASH, (DRK) was a great opportunity ! Without their investment in the 'New kid on the block', DASH would not be what is has grown to, today !

Best
rc

 

[TaoOfSatoshi]

Guide updated to include Masternode.conf. Some more minor refreshes to come.

 

[Dworf]

I set up a masternode on VULTR and connected it to my local DASH-QT. But I forgot a maybe important step. Instead of
> masternode genkey
> getaccountaddress 0
I just did
>masternode genkey
Somehow the masternode seems to run. I put the 1000 DASH into the initial default address.
But what will be the consequences?

 

[TaoOfSatoshi]

I set up a masternode on VULTR and connected it to my local DASH-QT. But I forgot a maybe important step. Instead of
> masternode genkey
> getaccountaddress 0
I just did
>masternode genkey
Somehow the masternode seems to run. I put the 1000 DASH into the initial default address.
But what will be the consequences?

You are good. As long as you used an address which has a 1000DASH deposit, and set up the masternode.conf properly, everything is fine.

Does your node say "ENABLED" when you run

./dash-cli masternode list full | grep YOUR IP

?

If so, you have no worries.

 

[Dworf]

You are good. As long as you used an address which has a 1000DASH deposit, and set up the masternode.conf properly, everything is fine.

Does your node say "ENABLED" when you run

./dash-cli masternode list full | grep YOUR IP

?

If so, you have no worries.

yes it says ENABLED

Even in DASH-QT the command "masternode list-conf" shows the configuration

If there is no need for "masternode genkey" then why is it in every tutorial?
And to which address will the payout go?

 

[Dworf]

here is some information from my DASH-QT debug panel:

> masternode status
{
"vin" : "CTxIn(COutPoint(XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, 1), scriptSig=)",
"service" : "xx.xx.xx.xx:9999",
"status" : "Not capable masternode: Wallet is locked."
}​

>masternode list-conf
{
"masternode" : {
"alias" : "MN1",
"address" : "xx.xx.xx.xx:9999",
"privateKey" : "YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY",
"txHash" : "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX",
"outputIndex" : "1",
"status" : "MISSING"
}
}​

what does the MISSING status mean - wrong configuration in core?

after unlocking the wallet:

> masternode status
{
"vin" : "CTxIn(COutPoint(XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, 1), scriptSig=)",
"service" : "xx.xx.xx.xx:9999",
"status" : "Not capable masternode: Wallet is locked."
}​

why does it say "Wallet locked" when the wallet is unlocked

 

[PeterNorth]

Can this Masternode thing be done on a dedicated Linux machine without the VULTR account thingy. ?
I am not sure I understand if it is an absolute necessity or if there are particular reasons for it, can we do it without the VULTR account ? Seems like there is always more money to be paid to others eroding the said gains.

 

[obiwan-kenobi]

Hi guys, would you mind a question about multiple masternode launch?
I have read several times the tutorial here
https://www.dash.org/forum/threads/taos-masternode-setup-guide-for-dummies-updated.2680/
but still can not understand one thing. English is not my native language, so, probably that`s why.

So,I have 4000 dash and I would like to start 4 masternodes on a remote Linux VPS. I have been using a masternode hosting, so I have my local masternode.conf configured, it looks like this

MN1 ip1:9999 7rxSr3fXpX3dZcU7CoiFuFWqeHYw83r28btCFfIHqf6zkMp1PZ4 06e38868bb8f9958e34d5155437d009b72dff33fc28874c87fd42e51c0f74fdb 0
MN1 ip2:9999 7rxSr3fXpX3dZcU7CoiFuFWqeHYw83r28btCFfIHqf6zkMp1PZ4 06e38868bb8f9958e34d5155437d009b72dff33fc28874c87fd42e51c0f74fdb 0
MN1 ip3:9999 7rxSr3fXpX3dZcU7CoiFuFWqeHYw83r28btCFfIHqf6zkMp1PZ4 06e38868bb8f9958e34d5155437d009b72dff33fc28874c87fd42e51c0f74fdb 0
MN1 ip4:9999 7rxSr3fXpX3dZcU7CoiFuFWqeHYw83r28btCFfIHqf6zkMp1PZ4 06e38868bb8f9958e34d5155437d009b72dff33fc28874c87fd42e51c0f74fdb 0

this is just an example of course. All private keys, etc. are individual for each masternode.
I am ok with my local settings and i will change IP addresses for a new VPS. But i can not catch, how to set up the remote server.
Do I understand right than I need 4 different IP-addresses, but still will be able to use all of the 4 masternodes within one VPS? If so, I thought first, that i need to change the dash/dash.conf on the remote VPA and add extra sections like

rpcuser=username
rpcpassword=password
rpcallowip=127.0.0.1
listen=1
server=1
daemon=1
logtimestamps=1
maxconnections=256
masternode=2
masternodeprivkey=key2
addnode=ip address 2

this is for the second masternode, etc.

However i found here https://github.com/dashpay/dash/blob/v0.12.1.x/doc/guide-startmany.md this info:

If you are using a masternode.conf file you no longer need the dash.conf file. The exception is if you need custom settings (thanks oblox). In that case you must remove masternode=1 from local dash.conf file. This option should be used only to start local Hot masternode now.

I am lost now, shall i still specify all the info on remote VPS in dash.conf or...? Please advise for a dummy how settings for 4 masternodes shall look like and what file they shall be saved in...
Thank you in advance.

UPD. Just found info in the neighbour thread:

Yes you can, and yes each dashd need own IP.
Use dash.conf option bind=123.123.123.123 to specify address.

But I still can`t understand how in this case dash.conf shall look like. If i write it so:

server=1
rpcuser=username
rpcpassword=password
masternode=1
bind=ip1
masternode=2
bind=ip2
masternode=3
bind=ip3
masternode=4
bind=ip4

will it be sufficient considering that all other info is specified in masternode.conf?

 

[UdjinM6]

Hi guys, would you mind a question about multiple masternode launch?
I have read several times the tutorial here
https://www.dash.org/forum/threads/taos-masternode-setup-guide-for-dummies-updated.2680/
but still can not understand one thing. English is not my native language, so, probably that`s why.

So,I have 4000 dash and I would like to start 4 masternodes on a remote Linux VPS. I have been using a masternode hosting, so I have my local masternode.conf configured, it looks like this

MN1 ip1:9999 7rxSr3fXpX3dZcU7CoiFuFWqeHYw83r28btCFfIHqf6zkMp1PZ4 06e38868bb8f9958e34d5155437d009b72dff33fc28874c87fd42e51c0f74fdb 0
MN1 ip2:9999 7rxSr3fXpX3dZcU7CoiFuFWqeHYw83r28btCFfIHqf6zkMp1PZ4 06e38868bb8f9958e34d5155437d009b72dff33fc28874c87fd42e51c0f74fdb 0
MN1 ip3:9999 7rxSr3fXpX3dZcU7CoiFuFWqeHYw83r28btCFfIHqf6zkMp1PZ4 06e38868bb8f9958e34d5155437d009b72dff33fc28874c87fd42e51c0f74fdb 0
MN1 ip4:9999 7rxSr3fXpX3dZcU7CoiFuFWqeHYw83r28btCFfIHqf6zkMp1PZ4 06e38868bb8f9958e34d5155437d009b72dff33fc28874c87fd42e51c0f74fdb 0

this is just an example of course. All private keys, etc. are individual for each masternode.
I am ok with my local settings and i will change IP addresses for a new VPS. But i can not catch, how to set up the remote server.
Do I understand right than I need 4 different IP-addresses, but still will be able to use all of the 4 masternodes within one VPS? If so, I thought first, that i need to change the dash/dash.conf on the remote VPA and add extra sections like

rpcuser=username
rpcpassword=password
rpcallowip=127.0.0.1
listen=1
server=1
daemon=1
logtimestamps=1
maxconnections=256
masternode=2
masternodeprivkey=key2
addnode=ip address 2

this is for the second masternode, etc.

However i found here https://github.com/dashpay/dash/blob/v0.12.1.x/doc/guide-startmany.md this info:

If you are using a masternode.conf file you no longer need the dash.conf file. The exception is if you need custom settings (thanks oblox). In that case you must remove masternode=1 from local dash.conf file. This option should be used only to start local Hot masternode now.

I am lost now, shall i still specify all the info on remote VPS in dash.conf or...? Please advise for a dummy how settings for 4 masternodes shall look like and what file they shall be saved in...
Thank you in advance.

If you have 4 IPs on one server you can do this by having 4 daemons running i.e. you would need 4 data folders (1 for each) and you need to specify this folders when you run daemon via -datadir=/full/path/to/folder1 etc.
As for config, yes, you still need dash.conf in each of these remote folders. Few corrections to the one you posted:
masternode=1 - always "=1", no matter which masternode it is
masternodeaddr=ip2:9999 - should be masternodeaddr, not addnode

 

[rustycase]

I would like to start 4 masternodes on a remote Linux VPS.

This, is where the limit of my knowledge fades rapidly !
My question is with the actual meaning of 'remote'. ...and how that may relate to the DASH network, community, and expansion thereof.

Physical location, in regards to under-served geographical locations of population, is what I am concerned with.

Is the utility of DASH truly served by an increase in the MN count in any specific location, or is it advantageous, in the long run, to expand geographically ?

Best
rc

 

[obiwan-kenobi]

If you have 4 IPs on one server you can do this by having 4 daemons running i.e. you would need 4 data folders (1 for each) and you need to specify this folders when you run daemon via -datadir=/full/path/to/folder1 etc.
As for config, yes, you still need dash.conf in each of these remote folders. Few corrections to the one you posted:
masternode=1 - always "=1", no matter which masternode it is
masternodeaddr=ip2:9999 - should be masternodeaddr, not addnode

Thank you for advice. Just sent a small donation. What about requirements to hardware? Willl the configuration of 1 x 2,2 Ghz Xeon processor, 1 Gb memory, 20 Gb HDD, unlimited internet access enough to run 4 daemons?

 

[UdjinM6]

Thank you for advice. Just sent a small donation. ...

Thanks!

... What about requirements to hardware? Willl the configuration of 1 x 2,2 Ghz Xeon processor, 1 Gb memory, 20 Gb HDD, unlimited internet access enough to run 4 daemons?

- Data folder is ~2Gb+ and slowly growing so it's 4 x ~2Gb+ = ~8Gb+ for data. Given the fact that OS itself usually take ~10-15Gb+ I would aim at 30Gb for HDD.
- 1Gb of RAM could be enough probably but only if you have swap enabled imo. This however would mean that you would need another few Gb for HDD (and you'll probably get very poor performance in peak times like daemon restart etc). I recommend to count memory consumption as ~500 Mb per instance (i.e. when you run 1 daemon per VPS), not sure how much is needed when they run side by side. I would guess that 4 x 500Mb = 2Gb should be ok and should leave some room for the system itself too.
- CPU should be enough imo. Normally CPU usage for dashd daemon is not that high though you can experience some hiccups during simultaneous daemons (re)start (e.g. on VPS reboot).

 

[obiwan-kenobi]

Thanks!



- Data folder is ~2Gb+ and slowly growing so it's 4 x ~2Gb+ = ~8Gb+ for data. Given the fact that OS itself usually take ~10-15Gb+ I would aim at 30Gb for HDD.
- 1Gb of RAM could be enough probably but only if you have swap enabled imo. This however would mean that you would need another few Gb for HDD (and you'll probably get very poor performance in peak times like daemon restart etc). I recommend to count memory consumption as ~500 Mb per instance (i.e. when you run 1 daemon per VPS), not sure how much is needed when they run side by side. I would guess that 4 x 500Mb = 2Gb should be ok and should leave some room for the system itself too.
- CPU should be enough imo. Normally CPU usage for dashd daemon is not that high though you can experience some hiccups during simultaneous daemons (re)start (e.g. on VPS reboot).

Got it, thank you! Hopefully the last question: do they generate a lot of traffic? If a VPS has a bandwith limit, say, 1000 Gb per month, will this be enough?

 

[UdjinM6]

Got it, thank you! Hopefully the last question: do they generate a lot of traffic? If a VPS has a bandwith limit, say, 1000 Gb per month, will this be enough?

Should be enough for 1 MN for sure but I can't remember how many bandwidth you need exactly. Probably @crowning can share some recent stats?

 

[crowning]

A

Should be enough for 1 MN for sure but I can't remember how many bandwidth you need exactly. Probably @crowning can share some recent stats?

Around 600 MB/day (ingoing + outgoing traffic together), but I've limited the Masternodes I host to 32 connections, so without this limit there will be more traffic, about twice as much if I remember correctly.

As for the system load, CPU isn't critical usually (dual core recommended, though), but the RAM usage.
A 4 GB RAM server can hold:

• 10 Masternodes with an average load of 2
• 11 with a load of 3
• 12 with a load of 5
• 13 with a load of 10
• 14 with a load of 65

So, from my tests, 12 Masternodes per 4GB works, but the system is already quite unresponsive, and a reboot needs ages to sync them all.
My advice is 10 Masternodes per 4 GB RAM.

 

[zoro1]

Hi,
my vultr VPS is making restarts quite often now days.
"Dear Customer,
Regarding the following subscriptions:
768 MB Server - x.x.x.x (mnode) in Amsterdam

Our monitoring system indicated an issue with the hardware node hosting the instances listed in this e-mail. Our engineering team has investigated the issue and initiated a restart of the host node in question.

Please note: This event rebooted the instances listed in this e-mail but there is no impact on your data and configurations."

How i can continue my VPS masternode normally (without counting the days from the beginning?)
i only restart the service ./dashd
but i don't see my node in dashninja anymore!
thanks
edit: i have lost over 2 weeks payments !
i think the best way is to auto start ./dashd after a server restart. Is it possible in ubuntu?

 

[Dworf]

A


Around 600 MB/day (ingoing + outgoing traffic together), but I've limited the Masternodes I host to 32 connections, so without this limit there will be more traffic, about twice as much if I remember correctly.

As for the system load, CPU isn't critical usually (dual core recommended, though), but the RAM usage.
A 4 GB RAM server can hold:

• 10 Masternodes with an average load of 2
• 11 with a load of 3
• 12 with a load of 5
• 13 with a load of 10
• 14 with a load of 65

So, from my tests, 12 Masternodes per 4GB works, but the system is already quite unresponsive, and a reboot needs ages to sync them all.
My advice is 10 Masternodes per 4 GB RAM.

does this mean you run many MNs on the same machine with one single IP address?