How to Create a Stake Pool on Cardano – Step-by-Step

(Image source: Stormgain.com). Cardano is a blockchain cryptocurrency, its native token being ADA. In this article we take a practical, step-by-step look at how we can set up nodes on the blockchain, often called a stake pool to earn ADA rewards.

Unlike other blockchains there is no mining as such on Cardano, instead we have staking. The concept behind a stake pool on Cardano is relatively straightforward, users delegate their ADA to stake pool operators who in turn receive rewards for running the nodes and verifying transactions. The unique thing about Cardano is that users do not need to send or lock up their ADA to node operators. Their Ada remains in their wallets and can be spent at any time.

Rewards are sent automatically by the network and the system offers a unique opportunity for both users and stake pool operators to help in strengthening the network via decentralisation and in return receive passive income.

This article is designed for beginners but you should have some basic knowledge of Ubuntu/Linux and some of the commands in order to manoeuvre the process. Setting up a stake pool is not difficult but there are many steps that need to be followed precisely to avoid running into trouble.

You will also need to find a hosting provider to run the nodes on (options provided at the end of this article), minimum requirements that worked for me are as follows:

You will need 3 separate servers:

Cloud VPS 16GB running Ubuntu (20.04 64 bit) with 100GB storage and 4 core or higher CPU.

Anything less than 16GB did not work for me.

You will also need a fresh basic laptop that has not been connected to the internet. We will use this as an ‘air-gapped’ machine to verify transactions and to sign certificates to launch your stake pool.

Also, I used a Windows laptop to connect to the virtual servers and launch the stake pool but Mac should work if you download the appropriate software for your machine.

So here goes…

Initial setup

You will need to download the Ubuntu terminal on your laptop so you can access the virtual servers.

Download WSL(Windows Subsystem for Linux) for Windows from the Microsoft store

Download Ubuntu Terminal 20.04 from the Microsoft store

Once you have installed both, log into your Ubuntu terminal. It will look something like this:

We will use this terminal to connect to your virtual servers and issue commands to launch your Cardano nodes and stake pool.

Create ssh key in ubuntu terminal enter the following:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096

Generating public/private rsa key pair.

Enter file in which to save the key (/home/user1/.ssh/id_rsa): /home/user1/.ssh/yourfilename-ssh

Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):******

cat /home/user1/.ssh/yourfilename-ssh.pub

You should see the keys randomart image – it will look something like this:

cat /home/user1/.ssh/yourfilename-ssh

will print your ssh key

Setting up the Virtual Servers

When you get a hosting provider you will be given the ip addresses of your server.

Keep one as your block producer ip (do not make this ip public)

Write down your relay1 ip >> xx.xxx.xx.001

Write down your relay2 ip>> xx.xxx.xx.002

Write down your production ip>> xx.xxx.xxx.003

**Remember your Production relay IP is Private!***

Access your 3 Virtual Servers from the Ubuntu Terminal in 3 separate windows using the following commands:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/<youruser> root@xxx.xxx.xxx.001

ssh -i ~/.ssh/<youruser> root@xx.xxx.xxx.002

Production node (this ip is private do not share):

ssh -i ~/.ssh/<youruser> root@xxx.xxx.xxx.003

If all is good you should be asked for your passphrase

And have the following prompt:

>>root@relay1:~#

And

>>root@relay2:~#

And>>root@production:~#

sudo passwd root – to change password if necessary

sudo hostnamectl set-hostname relay1 – to change the hostname to relay1,relay2, production etc if necessary

On each Virtual Server add a new user

>> adduser <youruser>

Type in a new password: *******

<Enter> for remaining questions

>>sudo gpasswd -a <youruser> sudo

If all is good you should get the message

Adding user <youruser> to group sudo

On your Ubuntu terminal next print out your ssh key

>>sudo cat ~/.ssh/yourfilename-ssh

Copy the printed ssh string – should look something like this:

ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAACAQCfRhveDyqSsSiOeFRoFSPSmvpX7OVtGCGQrh6EsaIrhox2W55ZWDt1ikDEOGIH0VyoApqb9WddX1iFjdFzJnLJZKa3cB89X/mt4HD7IPLxrYBClcXdXJYBpS+JNB3vlrxAN/YgVMD37LIvOaeUOjQftghPRMa3VPC+5dlnN4zXzPM8BzJWI7bdQMEkrx0bnhR//p/HoNiTpQMzTHbyEgI9WLwP5seUSYwmXXlVrguRzSjEfe/ROFaRQyszSGdsBcnBq2huisBdGW+5AP4TbDTREM+eWrW4ETvujdDDcW2Lr/tZpQQyM5r3eOR…….

Back on your virtual terminals

Switch user to your new user

>>su <youruser>

Make a directory for ssh

>>mkdir -p ~/.ssh

Create blank file

>>sudo touch ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

Enter a password>>******

Edit file

>>sudo nano ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

Paste the ssh string in the editor

Do a Cntrl X to exit

Select (Y)es

Then <Enter>

We now need to change permissions

>>sudo chmod 700 ~/.ssh

>> sudo chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

>>sudo chown -R <youruser>:<youruser> ~/.ssh

Open a new terminal window

Test logging in to the newly created user on each Virtual Machine

ssh -i ~/.ssh/<youruser> <youruser>@xx.xxx.xx.xx1

if successful you will be prompted

<youruser>@relay1:~$

type exit

and test relay2

ssh -i ~/.ssh/<youruser> <youruser>@xx.xxx.xx.xx2

you should get the relay2 prompt

<youruser>@relay2:~$

Exit and test the production Node

ssh -i ~/.ssh/<youruser> <youruser>@xx.xxx.xx.xx3

you should get the production prompt

<youruser>@production:~$

Back to Virtual Terminal windows – next disable root login

>>sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Edit the file – scroll down to #Port 22

Change this to Port 22xx (random port for example 2222) (delete the #)

Scroll down to PermitRootLogin yes

And change to no

Do a Cntrl X

And Y

<Enter>

>>sudo systemctl restart ssh

sudo systemctl restart sshd

In a new terminal window check you can login still

>>ssh -i ~/.ssh/<youruser> <youruser>@xx.xxx.xx.001 -p 2222

>>ssh -i ~/.ssh/<youruser> <youruser>@xx.xxx.xx.002 -p 2222

>>ssh -i ~/.ssh/<youruser> <youruser>@xx.xxx.xx.003 -p 2222

Use these to login to remote server

If you still have access, great!

>>exit

Now check the root is disabled

>>ssh -i ~/.ssh/<youruser> root@xx.xxx.xx.xx1 -p 2222

>>exit

>>ssh -i ~/.ssh/<youruser> root@xx.xxx.xx.xx2 -p 2222

>>exit

>>ssh -i ~/.ssh/<youruser> root@xx.xxx.xx.xx3 -p 2222

You should get a “Permission denied”

Congrats you have created and secured your Virtual Servers!

Install Cabal and GHC – (install on all servers)

Next on each virtual server run the following:

sudo apt-get update -y

sudo apt-get upgrade -y

sudo apt-get install autoconf automake build-essential curl g++ git jq libffi-dev libgmp-dev libncursesw5 libssl-dev libsystemd-dev libtinfo-dev libtool make pkg-config tmux wget zlib1g-dev -y

Install Libsodium type

git clone https://github.com/input-output-hk/libsodium

cd libsodium

git checkout 66f017f1

./autogen.sh

./configure

make

sudo make install

Install Cabal

To use the GHCup installer to install GHC and Cabal, type:

>>curl –proto ‘=https’ –tlsv1.2 -sSf https://get-ghcup.haskell.org | sh

During installation, when prompted:

Press ENTER to proceed.
To prepend the required PATH variable to $HOME/.bashrc, type P
When prompted to install haskell-language-server (HLS), type N
When prompted to install stack, type N
Press ENTER to proceed.

When GHCup finishes installing GHC and Cabal, type the following commands to reload your shell profile, and then confirm that GHCup installed correctly:

source $HOME/.bashrc

ghcup –version

If all is good you should get the The GHCup Haskell installer, version number below installed on your machine –

The GHCup Haskell installer, version v0.1.18.0

To install the version you need refer to table 1:

https://www.coincashew.com/coins/overview-ada/guide-how-to-build-a-haskell-stakepool-node/part-i-installation/installing-ghc-and-caba

The format:

ghcup install ghc <LatestGHCVersionNumber>

ghcup set ghc <LatestGHCVersionNumber>

ghc –version

Type on each virtual terminal:

ghcup install ghc 8.10.7

ghcup set ghc 8.10.7

ghc –version

If successful you should get the message:

The Glorious Glasgow Haskell Compilation System, version 8.10.7

Set Cabal to the required version:

Format:

ghcup install cabal <CabalVersionNumber>

ghcup set cabal <CabalVersionNumber>

cabal –version

Type on each virtual machine:

ghcup install cabal 3.6.2.0

ghcup set cabal 3.6.2.0

cabal –version

If successful you will get the message:

compiled using version 3.6.2.0 of the Cabal library

To create a working directory to store source code and builds related to Cardano Node, type:

mkdir $HOME/git

cd $HOME/git

To download, compile and install libsecp256k1, type:

cd $HOME/git

git clone https://github.com/bitcoin-core/secp256k1

cd secp256k1

git checkout ac83be33

./autogen.sh

./configure –enable-module-schnorrsig –enable-experimental

make

make check

sudo make install

sudo ldconfig

Edit bashrc file

sudo nano $HOME/.bashrc

Paste the following at the end of the file:

# Set environment variables so that the compiler finds libsodium on your computer

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=”/usr/local/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH”

export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=”/usr/local/lib/pkgconfig:$PKG_CONFIG_PATH”

# Set an environment variable indicating the file path to configuration files and scripts

# related to operating your Cardano node

export NODE_HOME=”$HOME/cardano-my-node”

# Set an environment variable indicating the Cardano network cluster where your node runs

export NODE_CONFIG=”mainnet”

Do a Cntrl X

<Enter>

To exit the editor

Create the directory referred to in the Bashrc file

mkdir $HOME/cardano-my-node

To reload your shell profile, type

source $HOME/.bashrc

Congrats!

Configure Your Firewall

On each virtual terminal:

# By default, deny all incoming and outgoing traffic

sudo ufw default deny incoming

sudo ufw default allow outgoing

# Allow ssh access

sudo ufw allow <22xx or your random port number>/tcp

# Allow cardano-node p2p port

sudo ufw allow 6000/tcp

# Enable firewall

sudo ufw enable

# Verify status

sudo ufw status numbered

Setting Up Chrony

Chrony is an implementation of the Network Time Protocol and helps to keep your computer’s time synchronized with NTP

sudo apt-get install chrony -y

Copy paste the following in each virtual terminal:

cat > $HOME/chrony.conf << EOF

pool time.google.com iburst minpoll 1 maxpoll 2 maxsources 3

pool ntp.ubuntu.com iburst minpoll 1 maxpoll 2 maxsources 3

pool us.pool.ntp.org iburst minpoll 1 maxpoll 2 maxsources 3

# This directive specify the location of the file containing ID/key pairs for

# NTP authentication.

keyfile /etc/chrony/chrony.keys

# This directive specify the file into which chronyd will store the rate

# information.

driftfile /var/lib/chrony/chrony.drift

# Uncomment the following line to turn logging on.

#log tracking measurements statistics

# Log files location.

logdir /var/log/chrony

# Stop bad estimates upsetting machine clock.

maxupdateskew 5.0

# This directive enables kernel synchronisation (every 11 minutes) of the

# real-time clock. Note that it can’t be used along with the ‘rtcfile’ directive.

rtcsync

# Step the system clock instead of slewing it if the adjustment is larger than

# one second, but only in the first three clock updates.

makestep 0.1 -1

EOF

Hit <enter>

Then move the file created:

sudo mv $HOME/chrony.conf /etc/chrony/chrony.conf

Restart chrony:

sudo systemctl restart chronyd.service

Compile the Cardano Node

cd $HOME/git

To download Cardano Node source code, type:

git clone https://github.com/input-output-hk/cardano-node.git

cd cardano-node

git fetch –all –recurse-submodules –tags

To switch the repository that you downloaded to your local computer to the latest tagged commit, type:

git checkout $(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/input-output-hk/cardano-node/releases/latest | jq -r .tag_name)

To adjust the project configuration

cabal configure -O0 -w ghc-<GHCVersionNumber>

cabal configure -O0 -w ghc-8.10.7

cabal configure -O0 -w ghc-9.4.2

Edit the file cabal.project.local – type:

sudo nano cabal.project.local

Add the following to the end of the file:

package cardano-crypto-praos

flags: -external-libsodium-vrf

Then Cntrl X

<Enter> To exit the editor

Type:

cabal build cardano-node cardano-cli

This will take a while to build have a break!!

If it ends early may have to type >>cabal update and rerun

To copy the cardano-node and cardano-cli binaries into the /usr/local/bin directory, type:

>>sudo cp -p “$(./scripts/bin-path.sh cardano-node)” /usr/local/bin/cardano-node

>>sudo cp -p “$(./scripts/bin-path.sh cardano-cli)” /usr/local/bin/cardano-cli

To confirm that the version installed

Type>>cardano-node –version

you should see message:

cardano-node 1.35.3 – linux-x86_64 – ghc-8.10

git rev ea6d78c775d0f70dde979b52de022db749a2cc32

type>>cardano-cli –version

you should see the message:

cardano-cli 1.35.3 – linux-x86_64 – ghc-8.10

git rev ea6d78c775d0f70dde979b52de022db749a2cc32

Congrats!!

Configure the Nodes

On each virtual terminal type:

>>cd $NODE_HOME

curl -O -J https://book.world.dev.cardano.org/environments/mainnet/config.json

curl -O -J https://book.world.dev.cardano.org/environments/mainnet/byron-genesis.json

curl -O -J https://book.world.dev.cardano.org/environments/mainnet/shelley-genesis.json

curl -O -J https://book.world.dev.cardano.org/environments/mainnet/alonzo-genesis.json

curl -O -J https://book.world.dev.cardano.org/environments/mainnet/topology.json

Rename files to mainnet-

mv topology.json mainnet-topology.json

mv config.json mainnet-config.json

source $HOME/.bashrc

sudo nano mainnet-topology.json

For relay node 1 and 2 paste the following in your mainnet-topology.json file

{

“Producers”: [

{

“addr”: “xx.xxx.xx.xxx-Block Producer Address”,

“port”: 6000,

“valency”: 1

{

“addr”: “relays-new.cardano-mainnet.iohk.io”,

“port”: 3001,

“valency”: 2

}

]

}

On your Block Producer Node ONLY edit the mainnet-topology-json and replace with:

{

“Producers”: [

{

“addr”: “<xx.xxx.xx.xxxRelayNode1-IPAddress>”,

“port”: 6000,

“valency”: 1

{

“addr”: “<xx.xxx.xx.xxx-RelayNode2-IPAddress>”,

“port”: 6000,

“valency”: 1

}

]

}

Create a Bash Script to run a Node on each virtual server Node

cd $NODE_HOME

Type>> echo $NODE_HOME

You will see the location of your home directory. You will need this later.

/home/<youruser>/cardano-my-node

Current directory on each server should be:

<youruser>@relay1:~/cardano-my-node$

and

<youruser>@relay2:~/cardano-my-node$

and

<youruser>@production:~/cardano-my-node$

Create a new file called startCardanoNode.sh

>>sudo touch startCardanoNode.sh

You will be prompted for your password

Next edit the new file:

>>sudo nano startCardanoNode.sh

And copy and paste the following:

#!/bin/bash

# Set variables to indicate Cardano Node options

# Set a variable to indicate the port where the Cardano Node listens

PORT=6000

# Set a variable to indicate the local IP address of the computer where Cardano Node runs

# 0.0.0.0 listens on all local IP addresses for the computer

HOSTADDR=0.0.0.0

# Set a variable to indicate the file path to your topology file

TOPOLOGY=<NodeHomeValue>/mainnet-topology.json

# Set a variable to indicate the folder where Cardano Node stores blockchain data

DB_PATH=<NodeHomeValue>/db

# Set a variable to indicate the path to the Cardano Node socket for Inter-process communication (IPC)

SOCKET_PATH=<NodeHomeValue>/db/socket

# Set a variable to indicate the file path to your main Cardano Node configuration file

CONFIG=<NodeHomeValue>/mainnet-config.json

# Run Cardano Node using the options that you set using variables

/usr/local/bin/cardano-node run –topology ${TOPOLOGY} –database-path ${DB_PATH} –socket-path ${SOCKET_PATH} –host-addr ${HOSTADDR} –port ${PORT} –config ${CONFIG}

Edit <NodeHomeValue> to be location of your home directory e.g: /home/<youruser>/cardano-my-node

Do a Cntrl X to exit the editor

Y to save

<Enter>

Set permissions for the startCardanoNode.sh file, type:

sudo chown <youruser>:<youruser> startCardanoNode.sh

chmod +x $NODE_HOME/startCardanoNode.sh

create the folder where Cardano Node stores blockchain data, type:

mkdir $NODE_HOME/db

To run Cardano Node as a service so if the system reboots the node will start automatically

Create a file called cardano-node.service

>>sudo touch cardano-node.service

Enter your password if prompted

Edit the blank file

>>sudo nano cardano-node.service

Copy/paste the following:

# The Cardano Node service (part of systemd)

# file: /etc/systemd/system/cardano-node.service

[Unit]

Description = Cardano Node Service

Wants = network-online.target

After = network-online.target

[Service]

User = <UserValue>

Type = simple

WorkingDirectory = <NodeHomeValue>

ExecStart = /bin/bash -c ‘<NodeHomeValue>/startCardanoNode.sh’

KillSignal = SIGINT

RestartKillSignal = SIGINT

TimeoutStopSec = 300

LimitNOFILE = 32768

Restart = always

RestartSec = 5

SyslogIdentifier = cardano-node

[Install]

WantedBy = multi-user.target

Edit <UserValue> and <NodeHomeValue> values – Where user value is your Username (type>> echo $USER) and <NodeHomeValue> is your Home directory path (type >>echo $HOME_USER)

Cntrl X to exit editor

Y to save

<Enter> to finish

move the cardano-node.service file to the folder /etc/systemd/system and set file permissions, type:

sudo mv $NODE_HOME/cardano-node.service /etc/systemd/system/cardano-node.service

sudo chmod 644 /etc/systemd/system/cardano-node.service

To start Cardano Node as a service when the server boots, type:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

sudo systemctl enable cardano-node.service

Starting the Nodes

Type the following on each virtual terminal to start the nodes!

>>sudo systemctl start cardano-node

Install gLiveView, a monitoring tool. Type

>>cd $NODE_HOME

>>sudo apt install bc tcptraceroute -y

>>curl -s -o gLiveView.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cardano-community/guild-operators/master/scripts/cnode-helper-scripts/gLiveView.sh

>> curl -s -o env https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cardano-community/guild-operators/master/scripts/cnode-helper-scripts/env

>>chmod 755 gLiveView.sh

Then Run the following to modify env with the updated file locations.

sed -i env \

-e “s/\#CONFIG=\”\${CNODE_HOME}\/files\/config.json\”/CONFIG=\”\${NODE_HOME}\/config.json\”/g” \

-e “s/\#SOCKET=\”\${CNODE_HOME}\/sockets\/node0.socket\”/SOCKET=\”\${NODE_HOME}\/db\/socket\”/g”

**If this errors try previous step and this one again

Edit env file and change to mainnet

>>sudo nano env

And Edit the lines

CONFIG=”${CNODE_HOME}/files/config.json”

Change to:

CONFIG=”${CNODE_HOME}/files/mainnet-config.json”

Do a Cntrl X to exit

Y to save

<enter> to finish

***Run GLIVE View****

./gLiveView.sh

If all is good you will see something like this and the words “syncing”.

Wait for your Nodes to Sync – It will take some time!!

12-24hrs depending on your setup!!

You can use the following commands on your node if required:

Show Node Status

sudo systemctl status cardano-node

***Start Cardano Node***

sudo systemctl start cardano-node

Stop Cardano Node

sudo systemctl stop cardano-node

Restart Node Service

sudo systemctl reload-or-restart cardano-node

***Cardano Node continuous Log ***

journalctl –unit=cardano-node –follow

reboot system

sudo shutdown -r

You can access each node with the following commands >

>>ssh -i ~/.ssh/<youruser> <youruser>@xx.xxx.xx.xx1 -p 22xx

>>ssh -i ~/.ssh/<youruser> <youruser>@xx.xxx.xx.xx2 -p 22xx

>>ssh -i ~/.ssh/<youruser> <youruser>@xx.xxx.xx.xx3 -p 22xx

If you get stuck at ‘starting…’ for some time in gLiveView you may have skipped something, go back and re-check or

Try:

Stop the Cardano Node –

In cardano-my-node directory:

sudo systemctl stop cardano-node

Delete db directory –

rm -r db

start cardano node again

sudo systemctl start cardano-node

Monitor with gLiveView

./gLiveView.sh

When your nodes are synced, it will look like this:

CONGRATULATIONS!!! YOUR NODES ARE SYNCED

Air-Gapped Machine

You will need an offline “air-gapped” machine to create the keys for your stake pool. A basic windows laptop will be ideal.

The machine should not have been connected to the internet for any length of time to avoid keylogging, malware etc. The air-gapped machine needs to have:

WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)
Ubuntu

These can be downloaded from the Microsoft store as seen at the start of this guide.

On your air-gapped laptop:

Download WSL from the Microsoft store

Download Ubuntu 20.04 from the Microsoft store

—————————————————————-

Copy the Cardano cli binary to your air gapped machine. You will need a usb stick to transfer.

**Back to your virtual machine. On your block producer Node

>>cd /usr

>> cd local/bin

Type ls

You should see the cardano-cli file

We need to copy this file to USB and then copy to our air gapped machine.

In your Windows browser on your main machine download Filezilla from:

https://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=client

Select File in Filezilla and then Site Manager

Click ‘New Site’

And name your connection for example: ‘Prodnode’

On the right-hand side select File transfer Protocol ‘SFTP SSH File Transfer Protocol’

Enter the IP address of your node and Port Number

And the User

And the Password

Hit connect and you should be good to go!

Navigate to the remote site directory

/usr/local/bin

You should see the cardano-cli file

Right-click the cardano-cli file and download it.

Copy to your USB stick

**On your air-gapped machine**

Copy the cardano-cli file from USB to C: drive on your windows desktop

Then copy to the Ubuntu terminal

Enter the following in Ubuntu to see what disks are mounted:

check the location for drive c:

for example /mnt/c

enter the following to copy the cardano-cli from drive c on windows to Ubuntu

sudo cp /mnt-your drive-location/c/cardano-cli /usr/local/bin

type ls

to see if the file has been copied – you should see cardano-cli

Give execute permissions to the file

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/cardano-cli

edit bashrc file

sudo nano $HOME/.bashrc

add the following to the end of the file

export NODE_HOME=”$HOME/cardano-my-node”

Cntrl X to Exit

Create the Cardano HOME variable

mkdir $HOME/cardano-my-node

to reload shell file:

source $HOME/.bashrc

To run Cardano-cli you need to install libsecp256k1

sudo nano $HOME/.bashrc

add the following to the end of the file:

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=”/usr/local/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH”

export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=”/usr/local/lib/pkgconfig:$PKG_CONFIG_PATH”

Reload the HOME/.bashrc

source $HOME/.bashrc

create the folder

sudo mkdir /usr/local/lib/pkgconfig

Back on your block producer node locate the 4 files below for libsecp256k1 and copy them to the folder you just created on the air-gapped machine via the USB stick.

/usr/local/lib/libsecp256k1.a

/usr/local/lib/libsecp256k1.la

/usr/local/lib/libsecp256k1.so.0.0.0

/usr/local/lib/pkgconfig/libsecp256k1.pc

On your air-gapped machine use the following to copy the files from your c drive

sudo cp /mnt/c/libsecp256k1.a /usr/local/lib

sudo cp /mnt/c/libsecp256k1.la /usr/local/lib

sudo cp /mnt/c/libsecp256k1.so.0.0.0 /usr/local/lib

sudo cp /mnt/c/libsecp256k1.pc /usr/local/lib/pkgconfig

to set file permissions on the air-gapped machine type:

cd /usr/local/lib

sudo chown root:root libsecp256k1.*

sudo chmod 644 libsecp256k1.a

sudo chmod 755 libsecp256k1.la

sudo chmod 755 libsecp256k1.so.0.0.0

sudo chown root:root ./pkgconfig/libsecp256k1.pc

sudo chmod 644 ./pkgconfig/libsecp256k1.pc

create symbolic links on the air-gapped machine type:

sudo ln -s libsecp256k1.so.0.0.0 libsecp256k1.so

sudo ln -s libsecp256k1.so.0.0.0 libsecp256k1.so.0

Type

ls la

Check that the following links have been created

lrwxrwxrwx root root libsecp256k1.so -> libsecp256k1.so.0.0.0

lrwxrwxrwx root root libsecp256k1.so.0 -> libsecp256k1.so.0.0.0

Then Update symbolic links

sudo ldconfig

Create keys for block producing node

On your block producing node you need to generate 3 keys.

· stake pool cold key (node.cert)

· stake pool hot key (kes.skey)

· stake pool VRF key (vrf.skey)

cd $NODE_HOME

cardano-cli node key-gen-KES \

–verification-key-file kes.vkey \

–signing-key-file kes.skey

*** You will need to regenerate the KES key every 90 days.

On your air-gapped machine you need to create and store your Cold Keys

First make the directory to store the cold keys on your air-gapped machine

mkdir $HOME/cold-keys

pushd $HOME/cold-keys

Make the cold keys and counter file

cardano-cli node key-gen \

–cold-verification-key-file node.vkey \

–cold-signing-key-file $HOME/cold-keys/node.skey \

–operational-certificate-issue-counter node.counter

Type ls

And you should see three files listed:

node.counter

node.skey

node.vkey

***IMPORTANT – Back up your keys on different USB sticks

Create a cold-keys folder on your Windows machine on the C:/ drive

On your Ubuntu terminal copy the three files to your Windows machine.

sudo cp node.counter /mnt/c/cold-keys

sudo cp node.skey /mnt/c/cold-keys

sudo cp node.vkey /mnt/c/cold-keys

Check your Windows machine c: drive and you should see the three files there.

*** Remember to copy your keys to multiple USBs you will need these keys to run your stake pool!

Next on your Block Producer Node

Determine the number of slots per KES period from Genesis file

pushd +1

slotsPerKESPeriod=$(cat $NODE_HOME/shelley-genesis.json | jq -r ‘.slotsPerKESPeriod’)

echo slotsPerKESPeriod: ${slotsPerKESPeriod}

You will see something like this:

slotsPerKESPeriod: 129600

***TO CONTINUE YOUR NODE MUST BE FULLY SYNCED CHECK YOUR EPOCH is the same as on https://pooltool.io/

On your Block Producer Node

Edit bashrc file

sudo nano $HOME/.bashrc

Add the following to the end of the file

export CARDANO_NODE_SOCKET_PATH=”/home/yourusername/cardano-my-node/db/socket”

CNTrl X to Exit

Y to save

Then ENTER

To reload changes

source $HOME/.bashrc

slotNo=$(cardano-cli query tip –mainnet | jq -r ‘.slot’)

echo slotNo: ${slotNo}

You should see something like this:

slotNo: 80217744

Next calculate the KES period

kesPeriod=$((${slotNo} / ${slotsPerKESPeriod}))

echo kesPeriod: ${kesPeriod}

startKesPeriod=${kesPeriod}

echo startKesPeriod: ${startKesPeriod}

You should see something like this

startKesPeriod: 618

Copy Kes.vkey file to your air-gapped machine

a)using Filezilla to transfer to your desktop –

b)Then to a USB

c) transfer from usb to c drive:

d) finally over to your Ubuntu terminal on air gapped machine using the command below.

sudo cp /mnt/c/cold-keys/kes.vkey /home/yourusername/cold-keys

type ls

you should see kes.vkey in your cold keys directory

Now still on the air-gapped machine copy paste the code below – Change StartKesPeriod to the value received previously Example: (618)

cardano-cli node issue-op-cert \

–kes-verification-key-file kes.vkey \

–cold-signing-key-file $HOME/cold-keys/node.skey \

–operational-certificate-issue-counter $HOME/cold-keys/node.counter \

–kes-period <startKesPeriod> \

–out-file node.cert

This will create an Operational Certificate

Type ls

You should see a node.cert file

Use the following to copy from Ubuntu terminal to c drive in Windows:

sudo cp node.cert /mnt/c/cold-keys

Then use Filezilla to upload node.cert from your USB to your block producer node home environment

On your Block Producing Node

Make a VRF key pair

cardano-cli node key-gen-VRF \

–verification-key-file vrf.vkey \

–signing-key-file vrf.skey

On your air-gapped machine

Copy the vrf.vkey to your air-gapped machine via Filezilla and USB stick

sudo cp /mnt/c/cold-keys/vrf.vkey /home/yourusername/cold-keys

On block producing node

Update vrf key permissions to read-only

chmod 400 vrf.skey

Now stop the stake pool running on Block Producing node

sudo systemctl stop cardano-node

Update start up script with the KES, VRF and Operation Certificate

Copy paste the following:

cat > $NODE_HOME/startBlockProducingNode.sh << EOF

DIRECTORY=$NODE_HOME

PORT=6000

HOSTADDR=0.0.0.0

TOPOLOGY=\${DIRECTORY}/mainnet-topology.json

DB_PATH=\${DIRECTORY}/db

SOCKET_PATH=\${DIRECTORY}/db/socket

CONFIG=\${DIRECTORY}/mainnet-config.json

KES=\${DIRECTORY}/kes.skey

VRF=\${DIRECTORY}/vrf.skey

CERT=\${DIRECTORY}/node.cert

/usr/local/bin/cardano-node run +RTS -N -A16m -qg -qb -RTS –topology \${TOPOLOGY} –database-path \${DB_PATH} –socket-path \${SOCKET_PATH} –host-addr \${HOSTADDR} –port \${PORT} –config \${CONFIG} –shelley-kes-key \${KES} –shelley-vrf-key \${VRF} –shelley-operational-certificate \${CERT}

EOF

Now start the Block Producer node

sudo systemctl start cardano-node

Monitor with

./gLiveView.sh

Wait for the Block Producing node to start syncing

Setting Up Payments and Stake Keys

On Block Producing node

cardano-cli query protocol-parameters \

–mainnet \

–out-file params.json

Now on Air-Gapped Machine

Create payment key pair payment.skey & payment.vkey

cd $NODE_HOME

cardano-cli address key-gen \

–verification-key-file payment.vkey \

–signing-key-file payment.skey

Create stake address key pair stake.skey & stake.vkey

cardano-cli stake-address key-gen \

–verification-key-file stake.vkey \

–signing-key-file stake.skey

Create stake address stake.addr

cardano-cli stake-address build \

–stake-verification-key-file stake.vkey \

–out-file stake.addr \

–mainnet

Build a payment address payment.addr

cardano-cli address build \

–payment-verification-key-file payment.vkey \

–-stake-verification-key-file stake.vkey \

–out-file payment.addr \

–mainnet

Next copy payment.addr to your Block Producing node

Copy to your Windows c: drive and then copy to USB stick and transfer to Block Producing mode via USB and Filezilla

On air-gapped machine

Use>> sudo cp payment.addr /mnt/c/cold-keys

to copy to c drive and onto USB stick

Next we will Fund Payment Address on Block Producing Node

To view your payment address

cat payment.addr

You will see something like:

addr1q8glr6crkhrypgwkfrgffh46cuee8kt4xzrvjszt6n6ceck7apl7txnj0w82ychft9l7utffn47xnm50c……

Fund the payment address with ADA from your wallet (Nami, Yoroi, Eternl etc). If you don’t have a wallet address

Set one up here: https://namiwallet.io/

Ensure you fund more than your initial amount to allow for fees etc.

On the Block Producer node check your funds.

cardano-cli query utxo \

–address $(cat payment.addr) \

–mainnet

You should see something like this:

TxHash TxIx Amount

————————————————————————————–

cd20246dc10bdd499474c6e432b6f3d899d18b60497fa343d553dd3cafa84009 0 5000000 lovelace + TxOutDatumNone

5000000 lovelace equates to 5 ADA

****Important – Make backup copies of payment and staking keys on offline USB sticks.

Registering Your Stake Address

You need to register your stake address and delegate a pledge (ADA) to your pool.

To register a stake address on the blockchain:

On the air-gapped machine

Create a certificate stake.cert

cardano-cli stake-address registration-certificate \

–stake-verification-key-file stake.vkey \

–out-file stake.cert

Copy the stake.cert file to the Block Producer node via USB stick and Filezilla as before.

Use:

sudo cp stake.cert /mnt/c/cold-keys

copy to USB and transfer to main machine via Filezilla.

On the Block Producing node

We need to find the tip of the blockchain to set the invalid-hereafter parameter

currentSlot=$(cardano-cli query tip –mainnet | jq -r ‘.slot’)

echo Current Slot: $currentSlot

You should see something like this:

Current Slot: 80243288

Find your balance and UTXO – copy paste the following:

cardano-cli query utxo \

–address $(cat payment.addr) \

–mainnet > fullUtxo.out

tail -n +3 fullUtxo.out | sort -k3 -nr > balance.out

cat balance.out

tx_in=””

total_balance=0

while read -r utxo; do

in_addr=$(awk ‘{ print $1 }’ <<< “${utxo}”)

idx=$(awk ‘{ print $2 }’ <<< “${utxo}”)

utxo_balance=$(awk ‘{ print $3 }’ <<< “${utxo}”)

total_balance=$((${total_balance}+${utxo_balance}))

echo TxHash: ${in_addr}#${idx}

echo ADA: ${utxo_balance}

tx_in=”${tx_in} –tx-in ${in_addr}#${idx}”

done < balance.out

txcnt=$(cat balance.out | wc -l)

echo Total ADA balance: ${total_balance}

echo Number of UTXOs: ${txcnt}

You should see something like this:

Total ADA balance: 5000000

Number of UTXOs: 1

Find the amount of the deposit required to register a stake address.

stakeAddressDeposit=$(cat $NODE_HOME/params.json | jq -r ‘.stakeAddressDeposit’)

echo stakeAddressDeposit : $stakeAddressDeposit

You should see something like this:

stakeAddressDeposit : 2000000

Run the build-raw transaction command – Copy and paste the following:

cardano-cli transaction build-raw \

${tx_in} \

–tx-out $(cat payment.addr)+0 \

–invalid-hereafter $(( ${currentSlot} + 10000)) \

–fee 0 \

–out-file tx.tmp \

–certificate stake.cert

Calculate the current minimum fee:

fee=$(cardano-cli transaction calculate-min-fee \

–tx-body-file tx.tmp \

–tx-in-count ${txcnt} \

–tx-out-count 1 \

–mainnet \

–witness-count 2 \

–byron-witness-count 0 \

–protocol-params-file params.json | awk ‘{ print $1 }’)

echo fee: $fee

You should see something like this:

fee: 178789

***Ensure the funds are greater than the stake address deposit and transaction fee or the transaction will fail

Calculate your change:

txOut=$((${total_balance}-${stakeAddressDeposit}-${fee}))

echo Change Output: ${txOut}

You will see something like this:

Change Output: 2821211

Build the transaction which will register your stake address. Copy paste the following:

cardano-cli transaction build-raw \

${tx_in} \

–tx-out $(cat payment.addr)+${txOut} \

–invalid-hereafter $(( ${currentSlot} + 10000)) \

–fee ${fee} \

–certificate-file stake.cert \

–out-file tx.raw

Copy tx.raw to the air-gapped machine

On the air-gapped machine sign the transaction with the payment and stake secret keys.

cardano-cli transaction sign \

–tx-body-file tx.raw \

–signing-key-file payment.skey \

–signing-key-file stake.skey \

–mainnet \

–out-file tx.signed

Copy the tx.signed to your Block Producer node environment via usb and Filezilla as before.

On the Block Producer node submit the signed transaction

cardano-cli transaction submit \

–tx-file tx.signed \

–mainnet

You should see:

“Transaction successfully submitted“

CONGRATS!

Registering The Stake Pool

On the Block Producer node

Ticker Must be 3-5 characters in length (No special characters)

The description cannot be more than 255 characters

Copy and paste the following:

cat > poolMetaData.json << EOF

{

“name”: “MyPoolName”,

“description”: “My pool description”,

“ticker”: “MPN”,

“homepage”: “https://myadapoolname.com”

}

EOF

Calculate the hash of your metadata file.

and save to poolMetaDataHash.txt

cardano-cli stake-pool metadata-hash –pool-metadata-file poolMetaData.json > poolMetaDataHash.txt

Copy poolMetaDataHash.txt to your air gapped machine

Upload poolMetaData.json to a website that you run

The URL should be less than 65 characters if it’s not you can shorten it with Tiny URL https://tinyurl.com/app

Compare hashes of local and uploaded file

cardano-cli stake-pool metadata-hash –pool-metadata-file <(curl -s -L https:www.yourwebsite.com/Your link to poolMetaData.json)

You should see something like this

80fef913cdef61bb8c9cbb012e6077b0d5477500c1a4f6e164640acfd0c50dd6

Type

cat poolMetaDataHash.txt

The value should be the same as your uploaded URL

Find the minimum pool cost.

On the Block Producer node

minPoolCost=$(cat $NODE_HOME/params.json | jq -r .minPoolCost)

echo minPoolCost: ${minPoolCost}

You should see:

minPoolCost: 340000000

Create a Registration Certificate for the Stake Pool

Update the code below with Metadata URL and Relay Node information

On air-gapped machine

cardano-cli stake-pool registration-certificate \

–cold-verification-key-file $HOME/cold-keys/node.vkey \

–vrf-verification-key-file vrf.vkey \

–pool-pledge 2000000 \

–pool-cost 340000000 \

–pool-margin 0.60 \

–pool-reward-account-verification-key-file stake.vkey \

–pool-owner-stake-verification-key-file stake.vkey \

–mainnet \

–pool-relay-port 6000 \

–pool-relay-ipv4 xx.xxx.xx.xxx \

–pool-relay-port 6000 \

–pool-relay-ipv4 xx.xxx.xx.xxx\

–metadata-url https://yourtinyurl.com \

–metadata-hash $(cat poolMetaDataHash.txt) \

–out-file pool.cert

Example Edit the above with your required values

Pool Pledge 200000 = 2 ADA (More Ada the better – Your pool stake in your own pool, 1,000,000 Lovelace is 1 ADA)

Pool Cost 340000000 = 340 ADA (340 is the minimum, you do not pay this, this is paid to you first out of any rewards)

Pool Margin 0.60 = 60% (Your share of the rewards)

pool-relay-ipv4 xx.xxx.xx.xxx – relay1 ip address

pool-relay-ipv4 xx.xxx.xx.xxx – relay2 ip address

Metadata-url https://yourtinyurl.com/ – URL to the MetaData.json file this should be no longer than 64 characters – you can use Tiny Url if yours is longer

Copy the created file pool.cert to the Block Producing relay environment using usb stick and Filezilla as before

Pledge stake to your stake pool.

On your air-gapped machine – Copy paste the following:

cardano-cli stake-address delegation-certificate \

–stake-verification-key-file stake.vkey \

–cold-verification-key-file $HOME/cold-keys/node.vkey \

–out-file deleg.cert

Copy the created file deleg.cert to the Block Producing relay environment using usb stick and Filezilla as before

We need to find the tip of the blockchain to set the invalid-hereafter parameter.

On Block Producer node

currentSlot=$(cardano-cli query tip –mainnet | jq -r ‘.slot’)

echo Current Slot: $currentSlot

You will see something like this:

Current Slot: 80256851

Find your balance and UTXOs. – copy paste the following:

cardano-cli query utxo \

–address $(cat payment.addr) \

–mainnet > fullUtxo.out

tail -n +3 fullUtxo.out | sort -k3 -nr > balance.out

cat balance.out

tx_in=””

total_balance=0

while read -r utxo; do

in_addr=$(awk ‘{ print $1 }’ <<< “${utxo}”)

idx=$(awk ‘{ print $2 }’ <<< “${utxo}”)

utxo_balance=$(awk ‘{ print $3 }’ <<< “${utxo}”)

total_balance=$((${total_balance}+${utxo_balance}))

echo TxHash: ${in_addr}#${idx}

echo ADA: ${utxo_balance}

tx_in=”${tx_in} –tx-in ${in_addr}#${idx}”

done < balance.out

txcnt=$(cat balance.out | wc -l)

echo Total ADA balance: ${total_balance}

echo Number of UTXOs: ${txcnt}

You will see something like this:

Total ADA balance: 2821211

Number of UTXOs: 1

Find the deposit fee for a pool.

stakePoolDeposit=$(cat $NODE_HOME/params.json | jq -r ‘.stakePoolDeposit’)

echo stakePoolDeposit: $stakePoolDeposit

You will see something like this

stakePoolDeposit: 500000000

***At the moment you will need 500 ADA deposit Fee

Build-raw transaction – copy paste the following:

cardano-cli transaction build-raw \

${tx_in} \

–tx-out $(cat payment.addr)+$(( ${total_balance} – ${stakePoolDeposit})) \

–invalid-hereafter $(( ${currentSlot} + 10000)) \

–fee 0 \

–certificate-file pool.cert \

–certificate-file deleg.cert \

–out-file tx.tmp

Calculate the minimum fee– copy paste the following:

fee=$(cardano-cli transaction calculate-min-fee \

–tx-body-file tx.tmp \

–tx-in-count ${txcnt} \

–tx-out-count 1 \

–mainnet \

–witness-count 3 \

–byron-witness-count 0 \

–protocol-params-file params.json | awk ‘{ print $1 }’)

echo fee: $fee

You will see something like:

fee: 199865

Calculate change – copy paste the following:

txOut=$((${total_balance}-${stakePoolDeposit}-${fee}))

echo txOut: ${txOut}

You will see something like:

txOut: 12621346

Build the transaction – copy paste the following:

cardano-cli transaction build-raw \

${tx_in} \

–tx-out $(cat payment.addr)+${txOut} \

–invalid-hereafter $(( ${currentSlot} + 10000)) \

–fee ${fee} \

–certificate-file pool.cert \

–certificate-file deleg.cert \

–out-file tx.raw

Copy tx.raw to the air-gapped machine via USB stick

Sign the transaction on the air-gapped machine – copy paste the following:

cardano-cli transaction sign \

–tx-body-file tx.raw \

–signing-key-file payment.skey \

–signing-key-file $HOME/cold-keys/node.skey \

–signing-key-file stake.skey \

–mainnet \

–out-file tx.signed

Copy tx.signed to the Block Producer node environment.

Send the transaction

cardano-cli transaction submit \

–tx-file tx.signed \

–mainnet

You should see Transaction Successfully Submitted.

Congrats!

Verifying Stake Pool Operation

On the air-gapped machine

cardano-cli stake-pool id –cold-verification-key-file $HOME/cold-keys/node.vkey –output-format hex > stakepoolid.txt

cat stakepoolid.txt

copy stakepoolid.txt to Block Producer node environment via USB stick and Filezilla

On the Block Producer Environment

Verify stake pool ID is included in the blockchain.

cardano-cli query stake-snapshot –stake-pool-id $(cat stakepoolid.txt) –mainnet

A non-empty string means you are registered congrats!

You can check your stake pool id on Cardano scan https://cardanoscan.io/

Configure Your Topology Files On Relay Node 1

***This section is on relay node1

Create the topologyUpdater.sh script which publishes your node information to a topology fetch list.

We need to do this to propagate our node information so delegators can find your pool. Copy paste the following:

cat > $NODE_HOME/topologyUpdater.sh << EOF

#!/bin/bash

# shellcheck disable=SC2086,SC2034

USERNAME=$(whoami)

CNODE_PORT=6000 # must match your relay node port as set in the startup command

CNODE_HOSTNAME=”CHANGE ME” # optional. must resolve to the IP you are requesting from

CNODE_BIN=”/usr/local/bin”

CNODE_HOME=$NODE_HOME

CNODE_LOG_DIR=”\${CNODE_HOME}/logs”

GENESIS_JSON=”\${CNODE_HOME}/shelley-genesis.json”

NETWORKID=\$(jq -r .networkId \$GENESIS_JSON)

CNODE_VALENCY=1 # optional for multi-IP hostnames

NWMAGIC=\$(jq -r .networkMagic < \$GENESIS_JSON)

[[ “\${NETWORKID}” = “Mainnet” ]] && HASH_IDENTIFIER=”–mainnet” || HASH_IDENTIFIER=”–testnet-magic \${NWMAGIC}”

[[ “\${NWMAGIC}” = “764824073” ]] && NETWORK_IDENTIFIER=”–mainnet” || NETWORK_IDENTIFIER=”–testnet-magic \${NWMAGIC}”

export PATH=”\${CNODE_BIN}:\${PATH}”

export CARDANO_NODE_SOCKET_PATH=”\${CNODE_HOME}/db/socket”

blockNo=\$(/usr/local/bin/cardano-cli query tip \${NETWORK_IDENTIFIER} | jq -r .block )

# Note:

# if you run your node in IPv4/IPv6 dual stack network configuration and want announced the

# IPv4 address only please add the -4 parameter to the curl command below (curl -4 -s …)

if [ “\${CNODE_HOSTNAME}” != “CHANGE ME” ]; then

T_HOSTNAME=”&hostname=\${CNODE_HOSTNAME}”

else

T_HOSTNAME=”

if [ ! -d \${CNODE_LOG_DIR} ]; then

mkdir -p \${CNODE_LOG_DIR};

curl -s “https://api.clio.one/htopology/v1/?port=\${CNODE_PORT}&blockNo=\${blockNo}&valency=\${CNODE_VALENCY}&magic=\${NWMAGIC}\${T_HOSTNAME}” | tee -a \$CNODE_LOG_DIR/topologyUpdater_lastresult.json

EOF

Add permissions and run the script

cd $NODE_HOME

chmod +x topologyUpdater.sh

./topologyUpdater.sh

If successful you will see something like:

{ “resultcode”: “201”, “datetime”:”2020-07-28 01:23:45″, “clientIp”: “1.2.3.4”, “iptype”: 4, “msg”: “nice to meet you” }

Add a crontab job to automatically run topologyUpdater.sh every hour on the 33rd minute. Copy paste the following:

cat > $NODE_HOME/crontab-fragment.txt << EOF

33 * * * * ${NODE_HOME}/topologyUpdater.sh

EOF

crontab -l | cat – ${NODE_HOME}/crontab-fragment.txt > ${NODE_HOME}/crontab.txt && crontab ${NODE_HOME}/crontab.txt

rm ${NODE_HOME}/crontab-fragment.txt

if you get the error no crontab for user

then

crontab -u username -e

you will be asked to select an editor – Select option 1. Nano
and then type:

crontab -l

You should see something like:

33 * * * * /home/yourusername/cardano-my-node/topologyUpdater.sh

***This will run for 4hrs approx be patient!

After 4 hrs your node will be included in the topology fetch list

You can check the log file by typing:

cd $NODE_HOME/logs

cat topologyUpdater_lastresult.json

****After 4 hours and 4 Updates continue with the following….

UPDATE TOPOLOGY FILES ON RELAY NODE 1

***This should be carried out on Relay 1 – copy paste the following add your Block Producing node address.

cat > $NODE_HOME/relay-topology_pull.sh << EOF

#!/bin/bash

BLOCKPRODUCING_IP=xx.xxx.xx.xxx

BLOCKPRODUCING_PORT=6000

curl -s -o $NODE_HOME/mainnet-topology.json “https://api.clio.one/htopology/v1/fetch/?max=20&customPeers=\${BLOCKPRODUCING_IP}:\${BLOCKPRODUCING_PORT}:1|relays-new.cardano-mainnet.iohk.io:3001:2”

EOF

Add permissions and pull new topology files.

chmod +x relay-topology_pull.sh

./relay-topology_pull.sh

Restart the node

sudo systemctl restart cardano-node

This can take some time to re-sync check with

./gLiveView.sh

****Security -IMPORTANT

kes.skey

vrf.skey

node.cert

Only these 3 keys and certificate should be present on your Block Producing node. On relay nodes there should be no keys or certificates. Back up any keys and certificates to multiple USB sticks via FileZilla.

CONGRATULATIONS – Your stake Pool is ready to produce blocks!

If you are looking to set up a stake pool and need help setting it up we are offering a Stake Pool Setup Service for 3500 ADA (£900 approx $1100). Please note you will also need to take into consideration monthly server costs and the stake pool registration fees highlighted in this article. Contact us at admin@popupworld.co.uk if interested.

Help support the Pop Up World Blog and entrepreneurs worldwide by joining our Pop Up World Stakepool! Go to https://popupworld.co.uk/popupworldstaking

If you enjoyed this article please remember to like and subscribe for regular entrepreneur news on Pop Up World. Feel free to visit us at https://www.popupworld.co.uk

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