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Instructions for Command Line Node

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Alex Romanov edited this page Jan 3, 2019 · 21 revisions

This documentation is obsolete

Please refer to Beam Node User Guide

Running a node

  • Node source code
  • Node binaries for Windows, Mac and Linux can be downloaded from the Beam website (http://beam.mw/downloads) or GitHub (https://github.com/BeamMW/beam/releases).
  • Node parameters can be either passed through command line or specified in the configuration file called beam-node.cfg and located in the same folder the node resides in.
  • For every parameter, the value in the command line prevails over configuration file.
  • The log files are located in the logs folder, which in turn resides in the node folder.
  • Once started, the node will create a node.db file in the same folder it is located. This file will store an internal state of the node.
  • Upon the first launch, the node will download current blockchain history in batch mode as a single large macroblock. After the initial sync is complete, the node will continue to sync blocks and individual transactions from the current blockchain Tip (height) and onwards. This can be seen in the log entry: My Tip: 24704-f2ab414ba6430d85.

Command line execution example:

./beam-node --peer 104.248.159.154:8100 --mining_threads 1 --file_log_level debug --key_mine=Ipte/cVRHvS72U4h66KIDDILwtIhpsRugTWycwnDUqwOqFq+qmcVEuWhjPJ2OwBn6ZkxKKpLX0W9PvHhGIUVPz8d6CL5CSB8fjt4kA== --key_view=xj7uVZh7kWaY2U4h66KIDDILwtIhpsRugTWycwnDUqwOqFq+qmcVEuVqiydGxomYaF2lQcc92Rzm3HBqsvk9LrFZlrksacvpDgteNLqxQJ4DUD+iKiDYvXy+VLCui125Rw69lO+8gxnxMM5j1rk= --pass=123

Node command line parameters explained:

Name Description
peer Specifies a comma-separated list of peers the node will initially connect to. After the connection is established, the node will get an updated list of peers from other nodes, along with peer ratings and from that moment the node will manage its connections on its own.
key_mine A password-protected secret key, exported by the wallet, that should be used for standalone mining (when the owner wallet is offline). If not specified - mining would be possible only when the owner wallet is online
key_view A semicolon-separated list of password-protected viewer keys, exported by the wallet, that should be monitored by the node. The wallet master viewer key is also needed for node-wallet authentication. The key_mine, if set, is also included implicitly
pass A password that should be used to access they encoded keys.
mining_treads Specifies the number of CPU cores utilized for mining. If set to 0, node acts as a validating node only.
file_log_level Allows to raise the debug level when a deeper investigation is required.

Config file example:

# port to start server on
port=10000

# secret key for mining.
key_mine=Ipte/cVRHvS72U4h66KIDDILwtIhpsRugTWycwnDUqwOqFq+qmcVEuWhjPJ2OwBn6ZkxKKpLX0W9PvHhGIUVPz8d6CL5CSB8fjt4kA==

# All the viewer keys.
--key_view=xj7uVZh7kWaY2U4h66KIDDILwtIhpsRugTWycwnDUqwOqFq+qmcVEuVqiydGxomYaF2lQcc92Rzm3HBqsvk9LrFZlrksacvpDgteNLqxQJ4DUD+iKiDYvXy+VLCui125Rw69lO+8gxnxMM5j1rk=

# Password. If required (at least 1 key specified) and not set - will be asked after launch.
--pass=123

# number of mining threads(there is no mining if 0)
mining_threads=1

# peers
peer=104.248.159.154:8100

# miner type
miner_type=cpu

The full list of options supported by the node

General options:

Name Description
h or help list of all options
p arg or port arg (=10000) port to start the server on
log_level arg log level [info/debug/verbose]
file_log_level arg file log level [info/debug/verbose]
v or version return project version
git_commit_hash return commit hash

Node options:

Name Description
storage arg (=node.db) node storage path
history_dir arg (=./) directory for compressed history
temp_dir arg (=/tmp/) temp directory for compressed history, must be on the same volume
miner_type arg (=cpu) miner type [cpu/gpu]
mining_threads arg (=0) number of mining threads(there is no mining if 0)
verification_threads arg (=-1) number of threads for cryptographic verifications (0 = single thread, -1 = auto)
miner_id arg (=0) seed for miner nonce generation
peer arg nodes to connect to
import arg (=0) specify the blockchain height to import, the compressed history is assumed to be downloaded to the specified directory

Rules configuration:

Name Description
CoinbaseEmission arg (=80000000) coinbase emission in a single block
MaturityCoinbase arg (=60) Number of blocks before coinbase UTXO can be spent
MaturityStd arg (=0) Number of blocks before non-coinbase UTXO can be spent
MaxBodySize arg (=1048576) Max block body size in [bytes]
DesiredRate_s arg (=60) Desired rate of generated blocks in [seconds]
DifficultyReviewCycle arg (=1440) Number of blocks after which the mining difficulty can be adjusted
MaxDifficultyChange arg (=2) Max difficulty change after each cycle (each step is roughly x2 complexity)
TimestampAheadThreshold_s arg (=7200) Block timestamp tolerance in [seconds]
WindowForMedian arg (=25) How many blocks are considered in calculating the timestamp median
AllowPublicUtxos arg (=0) Set to allow regular (non-coinbase) UTXO to have non-confidential signature
FakePoW arg (=0) Don't verify PoW. Mining is simulated by the timer. For tests only

Running Beam Node with Stratum Server

  • Beam node implements Stratum protocol for connecting external miner clients. Clients open a TCP connection to the node though which they receive jobs to mine blocks using Equihash mining protocol.

Command line execution example

./beam-node --port {NODE_PORT} --peer {PEER_IP} --stratum_port {STRATUM_PORT} --stratum_secrets_path {DIRECTORY} ----key_view=xj7uVZh7kWaY2U4h66KIDDILwtIhpsRugTWycwnDUqwOqFq+qmcVEuVqiydGxomYaF2lQcc92Rzm3HBqsvk9LrFZlrksacvpDgteNLqxQJ4DUD+"

Command line parameters

Name Description
port port to start the node server on
peer nodes to connect to (in example remote node from masternet)
stratum_port stratum server port (should be >0)
stratum_secrets_path folder where configuration files are located

Configuration files

Name Description
stratum.crt TLS certificate
stratum.key private key for TLS
stratum.api.keys file with allowed api keys

For testing purposes ONLY stratum.crt and stratum.key can be downloaded from:

The stratum.api.keys file (which you create by yourself) should contain any number of strings at least 7 symbols long without spaces each:

12345678
sfdskjhfdksk
984398349834

If there is no stratum.api.keys, ACL will be switched off.

Please note that stratum.api.key file is reloaded by the server every 5 seconds, if you want to add/delete/edit key you shouldn't restart beam-node, just edit file stratum.api.keys file.

Known limitations

  • CPU without SSE3 instruction set are not supported

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