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Fleek Network Testnet Phase {1} Official Release & Instructions

The Fleek Foundation is excited to announce that Fleek Network Testnet Phase {1} is officially live as of 2pm EST today (October 19th).

Follow the instructions below to onboard as a node operator for Testnet Phase {1}.

Getting Started as a Phase {1} Node Operator

Spin up a node using the latest binary version, and then head to the testnet faucet to mint & stake the testnet tokens needed to onboard your node and participate in the Phase {1} testnet:

  1. Install node and generate keys
    • After starting your node you will probably get a "Not Staked" message
  2. Add Fleek Network as a custom network in Metamask.
  3. Go to https://faucet.testnet.fleek.network/ and click connect wallet.
    • Make sure you have Fleek Network as your selected network
  4. Mint testnet FLK. This transaction won't need to be signed in your wallet.
    • Wait until the balance of the account in your wallet increases
  5. Click Stake Testnet FLK, modal will pop up, copy and paste your keys from the node binary into the form to the respective boxes. Put your IP in the domain box and click stake at the bottom of modal
  6. Confirm the transaction on Metamask.
    • NOTE: Metamask will say this txn will cost gas, but it won't and the gas will never be deducted from your wallet balance
  7. Wait until Metamask says confirmed on your transaction. When staked, go back to your node and check logs (You will start to see logs when the next epoch starts in ~30 minutes).
    • You can check your node stake with a health check. You should see 1000 in the stake field (Currently what our min stake is set to)
  8. Done ⚡

For detailed node installation instructions, check out our docs!

Hardware/Node Requirements for Phase {1}

For testnet Phase {1}, we recommend the following initial setup:

  • CPUs that adhere to the x86_64 architecture (64-bit) [Required]
  • A minimum of 32GB of memory
  • Reasonable disk space for installation, estimated at minimum of 20GB

These requirements are not final and will be refined based on the metrics and feedback collected during each testnet phase. We encourage trying different setups to help figure out optimal requirements and provide feedback in our Discord server. Click here for more details on recommended specs for this phase.

Expectations

This phase will provide an honest initial look at the network's capabilities without the interference of third-party systems, meaning the performance metrics and data will be reflective of the actual network itself. However, it is important to keep in mind that a few of the performance-related optimizations that will be present in mainnet will not be present in this phase, for example:

1. Node specs are not enforced in Phase {1}

On mainnet, there would be a warm-up period for all new nodes joining the network where their performance would be tested/confirmed before being allowed to join the network (meaning bad nodes would never make it in).

2. Reputation scoring isn’t fully optimized

Work in Fleek Network is allocated based on a performance-based reputation score. The reputation system and scoring need data and time to reach optimal levels and accuracy (ex. a few weeks), so in a 1-week testnet period starting from scratch it won’t reach full optimization, meaning work won’t be allocated as optimally as it would on mainnet.

3. It’s early and definitely going to keep iterating and improving

With all that being said, the hope is Phase {1} will still be able to demonstrate very promising performance. The above is just to be transparent that Phase {1} isn’t as optimized as it will be in mainnet, and why that is. Meaning that whatever performance levels we are able to achieve here in Phase {1}, a mainnet environment would yield even better results.

For more info about Testnet Phase {1}, the goals, methodology, etc. Check out the preview blog from earlier this week.

Stay tuned to our Discord and X to follow the progress and the performance data that will be shared throughout and after the conclusion of Phase {1}.

-Fleek Foundation ⚡