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Run a Subnet Node

Introduction​

This article describes how to run a node that tracks a Subnet. It requires building AvalancheGo, adding Virtual Machine binaries as plugins to your local data directory, and running AvalancheGo to track these binaries.

This tutorial specifically covers tracking a Subnet built with Avalanche's Subnet-EVM, the default Virtual Machine run by Subnets on Avalanche.

Build AvalancheGo​

It is recommended that you first complete this comprehensive guide which demonstrates how to build and run a basic Avalanche node. Below are the high level details.

System Requirements

  • CPU: Equivalent of 8 AWS vCPU
  • RAM: 16 GiB
  • Storage: 1 TiB SSD
  • OS: Ubuntu 20.04 or MacOS >= 12

Note that as network usage increases, hardware requirements may change.

To build from source:

  1. Install gcc

  2. Install go

  3. Set the $GOPATH

  4. Create a directory in your $GOPATH

mkdir -p $GOPATH/src/github.com/ava-labs
  1. Clone AvalancheGo

In the $GOPATH, clone AvalancheGo, the consensus engine and node implementation that is the core of the Avalanche Network.

cd $GOPATH/src/github.com/ava-labs
git clone https://github.com/ava-labs/avalanchego.git
  1. Run the Build Script

From the avalanchego directory, run the build script

cd $GOPATH/src/github.com/ava-labs/avalanchego
./scripts/build.sh

Manage the Subnet Binaries​

After building AvalancheGo successfully,

1. Clone Subnet-EVM​

cd $GOPATH/src/github.com/ava-labs
git clone https://github.com/ava-labs/subnet-evm.git

2. Build the Binary and Save as a Plugin​

In the Subnet-EVM directory, run the build script, and save it in the “plugins” folder of your .avalanchego data directory. Name the plugin after the VMID of the Subnet you wish to track. The VMID of the WAGMI Subnet is the value beginning with “srEX...”.

cd $GOPATH/src/github.com/ava-labs/subnet-evm
./scripts/build.sh ~/.avalanchego/plugins/srEXiWaHuhNyGwPUi444Tu47ZEDwxTWrbQiuD7FmgSAQ6X7Dy
Where can I find Subnet parameters like VMID?

VMID, Subnet ID, ChainID, and all other parameters can be found in the "Chain Info" section of the Subnet Explorer.

3. Specify the Plugin with a Config.json​

Create a file named config.json and add a track-subnets field that is populated with the SubnetID you wish to track. The SubnetID of the WAGMI Subnet is the value beginning with “28nr...”.

cd ~/.avalanchego
echo '{"track-subnets": "28nrH5T2BMvNrWecFcV3mfccjs6axM1TVyqe79MCv2Mhs8kxiY"}' > config.json

Run the Node​

Run AvalancheGo with the —config-file flag to start your node and ensure it tracks the Subnets included in the configuration file.

cd $GOPATH/src/github.com/ava-labs/avalanchego
./build/avalanchego --config-file ~/.avalanchego/config.json --network-id=fuji

Note: The above command includes the --network-id=fuji command because the WAGMI Subnet is deployed on Fuji Testnet.

Run via the command line instead

If you would prefer to track Subnets using a command line flag, you can instead use the --track-subnets flag.

For example: 

./build/avalanchego --track-subnets 28nrH5T2BMvNrWecFcV3mfccjs6axM1TVyqe79MCv2Mhs8kxiY --network-id=fuji

You should now see terminal filled with logs and information to suggest the node is properly running and has began bootstrapping to the network.

Bootstrapping and RPC Details​

It may take a few hours for the node to fully bootstrap to the Avalanche Primary Network and tracked Subnets.

When finished bootstrapping, the endpoint will be: 

localhost:9650/ext/bc/<BlockchainID>/rpc

if run locally, or

XXX.XX.XX.XXX:9650/ext/bc/<BlockchainID>/rpc

if run on a cloud provider. The “X”s should be replaced with the public IP of your EC2 instance.

For more information on the requests available at these endpoints, please see the Subnet-EVM API Reference documentation.

Because each node is also tracking the Primary Network, those RPC endpoints are available as well.