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Fleek Network Testnet Phase {0} Release

The Fleek Foundation is excited to announce that the Road to Mainnet for Fleek Network is taking its first steps today with the release of Phase {0}, an initial pre-alpha testnet focused on setting up the initial network, onboarding nodes, and testing the network’s consensus, node settings, and overall performance - gathering metrics for optimization.

During Phase {0} of testnet, the first deployment of the network will be active for a 1 week-long period (Sept 5 - 12), where we’ll run, benchmark and collect data/feedback for one week and then shut the network off to analyze, build, optimize, and publish data while the network is off. We expect a little bit of messiness/chaos by design, so that we can begin troubleshooting the network live and identify any bugs and collaborate with the community as early as possible. So if anything breaks, don’t be too alarmed.

Phase {0} Schedule:

  • Tuesday Sept 5th:
    • Testnet Phase {0} starts today, 5pm EST.
    • Node Office Hours available today from 5:00-7:00pm EST in Discord
  • Fridays Sept 8th:
    • Weekly Node Operator Open Call in Discord 3:00pm EST
  • Tuesday Sept 12th:
    • Network shutdown and analysis.
    • Initiate optimization week.
  • Wednesday Sept 14th:
    • Publish Feedback and data results.
    • And estimates for permanent testnet spin-up.
  • Next steps:
    • The follow-up gameplan is determined by the success of this first week’s test. The next phase might resurface the network with services, chain upgradability, or a new Phase {0} round of testing might be required.

We will report the findings the week of the 12th, and announce the exact date for the testnet’s next phase after the first batch of optimizations.

Phase {0} Goals: Network Setup, Node & Network Metrics

The goals for Phase {0} are straightforward as we’ll be running the network for the first time in a messy-by-design environment. In Phase {0} nodes will participate in the network’s general consensus and execute a basic ping, Hello World, and IPFS retrieval services to test basic network/compute performance. We can break our goals for this phase into 3 groups:

At the protocol level

  • Get the initial consensus running and prove the core protocol.
  • Test the basic rewards/proof interactions of nodes.
  • Benchmark the consensus performance in transaction validation/processing.
  • Test the evolution of the above in different node counts/configurations.

At the node level

  • Define ideal node requirements and setups.
  • Measure overall node performance across them.
  • Identify any limitations in setups.
  • Execute basic services.

At the network level

  • Form the initial swarm of nodes.
  • Gather data on operational costs and setup performance impacts.
  • General network topology performance mapping.
  • Measure, test, and identify the overall best network settings.

Getting Started as a Node Operator

The main way to start getting involved in this phase of Fleek Network’s testnet is by running a node.

Installation & Node Approval

To get on-boarded as a node operator, not only will you need to install and run the node, but also you must visit our Discord to submit a form with your node’s key/IP to get ‘allow-listed’ to join the network. Follow these steps:

  1. Join our Discord, and go to the Fleek Network Nodes Section
  2. Follow the instructions in the #access-guide to get onboarded.
  3. Visit our documentation and install the node via the manual/assisted installer.
  4. Visit #access-form, run the node commands, and submit the information in the form. The commands needed are the following, which generate both public/consensus keys:
    • lgtn keys show
  5. The team will review and approve your application, allow-listing your node.
  6. You will be notified in the #access-approved channel and given the Node Operator role.
  7. The network will spin up and begin work today, 5PM EST, September 5th.
  8. All announcements for node operators will be sent to #node-announcements
  9. All Friday’s at 3pm EST we will conduct Node Community Calls in #node-stage.
  10. You can ask for help in #troubleshooting, or chat with the team in the #node-operators channel

It’s important to note that the official run-time of Phase {0] is 5pm EST on September the 5th, and nodes will need to re-pull/re-install the binary at that time to ensure the latest version is live. You can find our schedule for testnet on Discord, or the top of this blog, and an initial hardware requirement breakdown below.

Expectations

During this testnet, we expect node operators to:

  • Report any issues/feedback regarding node installation or general operation in Discord.
  • Report the hardware setups utilized for the nodes being run.
  • As for general operation metrics, the node will report back automatically to the network.
  • Stay attentive to announcements in #node-announcements, as the team might request additional tests/feedback (e.g. running specific commands or test a mock service).

Hardware/Node Requirements for Phase 0

For testnet Phase {0}, we recommend the following initial setup:

  • CPUs that adhere to the x86_64 architecture (64-bit) [Required]
  • A minimum of 16GB of memory [likely to increase in future testnet phases]
  • Reasonable disk space for installation, estimated at 20GB

These requirements are not final, and will be refined based on the metrics and feedback collected during each phase of the testnet.

We encourage trying different setups to help figure out optimal requirements and provide feedback in our Discord server. We’re starting with a minimum of 16GB of memory in order to make participating in Phase 0 more economical while initial loads are smaller, increasing as the loads grow or the performance shows the need.

The Road to Phase {1}

This early phase will set the network’s foundation and initial configuration in preparation for introducing the Service Development Kit in Phase {1}.

The estimated duration for Phase {0} is September, but the transition between phases depends on achieving the goals of the previous phase. As the first metrics for this phase start rolling in, we’ll be sharing results publicly.

We encourage everyone to stay tuned to our Discord and Twitter to follow-along with the progress. Again, we thank every node and developer helping us take this first step, your help is of immeasurable value!

Fleek Foundation ⚡

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