datahaven/docs/datahaven-bootnode.md

DataHaven Bootnode Setup

Overview

A bootnode serves as an entry point for peer discovery in the DataHaven network. It maintains a stable network identity and helps new nodes discover peers.

Purpose

• Provide stable peer discovery endpoint
• Maintain persistent network identity
• Facilitate initial network connections for new nodes
• No participation in consensus or block production

Prerequisites

• DataHaven node binary or Docker image
• Persistent storage for node key
• Open network port (default: 30333)

Hardware Requirements

Bootnodes have moderate hardware requirements as they only handle peer discovery and do not participate in consensus. Network bandwidth and uptime are the primary concerns.

Minimum Specifications

Component	Requirement
CPU	4 physical cores @ 2.0 GHz
RAM	8 GB DDR4
Storage	100 GB NVMe SSD
Network	500 Mbit/s symmetric

Recommended Specifications

Component	Requirement
CPU	8 physical cores @ 3.0 GHz (Intel Ice Lake+ or AMD Zen3+)
RAM	16 GB DDR4
Storage	250 GB NVMe SSD
Network	1 Gbit/s symmetric

Important Considerations

• High availability: Bootnodes should have excellent uptime as they are entry points for the network
• Geographic distribution: Deploy bootnodes in multiple regions for network resilience
• Static IP: Required for stable multiaddress that other nodes can reference
• DDoS protection: Consider DDoS mitigation as bootnodes are publicly known endpoints

Key Requirements

Node Key

Bootnodes require a persistent node key to maintain a stable peer ID.

Generate Node Key

# Generate a new node key
datahaven-node key generate-node-key > node-key.txt

# View the generated peer ID
datahaven-node key inspect-node-key --file node-key.txt

The output will show:

12D3KooWXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

No Session Keys Required

Bootnodes do not require session keys (BABE, GRANDPA, ImOnline, BEEFY) as they do not participate in consensus.

Wallet Requirements

No Wallet Required

Bootnodes do not submit transactions or participate in consensus, so no funded account is needed.

CLI Flags

Required Flags

datahaven-node \
  --chain <CHAIN_SPEC> \
  --name <NODE_NAME> \
  --node-key-file <PATH_TO_NODE_KEY>

Important Flags

Flag	Description	Default
--chain <SPEC>	Chain specification (stagenet-local, testnet-local, mainnet-local)	Required
--name <NAME>	Human-readable node name	Required
--node-key-file <PATH>	Path to node key file	Required
--base-path <PATH>	Base directory for chain data	~/.local/share/datahaven-node
--port <PORT>	P2P network port	30333
--listen-addr <MULTIADDR>	Listen address for P2P	/ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/30333
--public-addr <MULTIADDR>	Public address to advertise	Auto-detected

Optional Flags

Flag	Description
--no-telemetry	Disable telemetry reporting
--log <TARGETS>	Logging targets (e.g., info,libp2p=debug)
--unsafe-rpc-external	Allow external RPC access (not recommended)

Complete Setup Example

1. Generate Node Key

mkdir -p /data/bootnode
datahaven-node key generate-node-key > /data/bootnode/node-key.txt

2. Get Peer ID

PEER_ID=$(datahaven-node key inspect-node-key --file /data/bootnode/node-key.txt)
echo "Bootnode Peer ID: $PEER_ID"

3. Start Bootnode

datahaven-node \
  --chain stagenet-local \
  --name "Bootnode-01" \
  --base-path /data/bootnode \
  --node-key-file /data/bootnode/node-key.txt \
  --port 30333 \
  --listen-addr /ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/30333 \
  --public-addr /dns/bootnode.example.com/tcp/30333 \
  --no-telemetry

4. Advertise Bootnode Address

Other nodes can connect using:

--bootnodes /dns/bootnode.example.com/tcp/30333/p2p/$PEER_ID

Docker Deployment

Docker Compose

version: '3.8'

services:
  bootnode:
    image: datahavenxyz/datahaven:latest
    container_name: datahaven-bootnode
    ports:
      - "30333:30333"
    volumes:
      - bootnode-data:/data
      - ./node-key.txt:/data/node-key.txt:ro
    command:
      - "--chain=stagenet-local"
      - "--name=Bootnode-01"
      - "--base-path=/data"
      - "--node-key-file=/data/node-key.txt"
      - "--port=30333"
      - "--listen-addr=/ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/30333"
      - "--no-telemetry"

volumes:
  bootnode-data:

Docker Run

docker run -d \
  --name datahaven-bootnode \
  -p 30333:30333 \
  -v $(pwd)/bootnode-data:/data \
  -v $(pwd)/node-key.txt:/data/node-key.txt:ro \
  datahavenxyz/datahaven:latest \
  --chain stagenet-local \
  --name "Bootnode-01" \
  --base-path /data \
  --node-key-file /data/node-key.txt \
  --port 30333 \
  --no-telemetry

Kubernetes Deployment

apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: datahaven-bootnode
spec:
  type: LoadBalancer
  ports:
    - port: 30333
      targetPort: 30333
      name: p2p
  selector:
    app: datahaven-bootnode

---
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: StatefulSet
metadata:
  name: datahaven-bootnode
spec:
  serviceName: datahaven-bootnode
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: datahaven-bootnode
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: datahaven-bootnode
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: bootnode
        image: datahavenxyz/datahaven:latest
        ports:
        - containerPort: 30333
          name: p2p
        volumeMounts:
        - name: data
          mountPath: /data
        - name: node-key
          mountPath: /data/node-key.txt
          subPath: node-key.txt
          readOnly: true
        args:
          - "--chain=stagenet-local"
          - "--name=Bootnode-01"
          - "--base-path=/data"
          - "--node-key-file=/data/node-key.txt"
          - "--port=30333"
          - "--no-telemetry"
      volumes:
      - name: node-key
        secret:
          secretName: bootnode-node-key
  volumeClaimTemplates:
  - metadata:
      name: data
    spec:
      accessModes: [ "ReadWriteOnce" ]
      resources:
        requests:
          storage: 100Gi

On-Chain Registration

Not Required

Bootnodes do not require any on-chain registration or extrinsics.

Monitoring

Health Checks

# Check peer count
curl -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"id":1, "jsonrpc":"2.0", "method": "system_health"}' \
  http://localhost:9944

# Check node info
curl -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"id":1, "jsonrpc":"2.0", "method": "system_localPeerId"}' \
  http://localhost:9944

Logs

# View logs with Docker
docker logs -f datahaven-bootnode

# Filter for connection events
docker logs datahaven-bootnode 2>&1 | grep -i "discovered\|connected"

Troubleshooting

Issue: Peers Cannot Connect

Check:

1. Port 30333 is open in firewall
2. Public address is correctly configured
3. DNS resolves correctly (if using DNS)
4. Node key file has correct permissions

Issue: Node Key Not Found

Solution:

# Verify node key file exists
ls -la /data/bootnode/node-key.txt

# Check file permissions
chmod 600 /data/bootnode/node-key.txt

Issue: Network Identity Changes

Solution: Always use --node-key-file instead of --node-key to ensure the key persists across restarts.

Security Considerations

1. Node Key Protection: Keep node key file secure with restricted permissions (600)
2. RPC Access: Do not expose RPC publicly on bootnodes
3. DDoS Protection: Implement rate limiting at network level
4. Monitoring: Set up alerts for unexpected downtime

Best Practices

1. Run multiple bootnodes for redundancy
2. Use DNS names instead of IP addresses for flexibility
3. Monitor peer connections and network health
4. Keep node software updated
5. Backup node key securely

Related Documentation

• Validator Setup
• Full Node Setup
• Docker Compose Guide