# Install

## DN-focused Setup Guide 

### System Preparation

```bash
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y \
  curl git make wget clang pkg-config libssl-dev build-essential \
  apt-transport-https gnupg cmake protobuf-compiler lz4
```

***

### Install Rust and Required Toolchains

```bash
curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh -s -- -y
source $HOME/.cargo/env

rustup update
rustup component add rust-src
rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown

rustup install nightly-2024-01-21
rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown --toolchain nightly-2024-01-21
```

***

### Build Polkadot SDK

```bash
cd ~
git clone https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-sdk.git
cd polkadot-sdk
git checkout polkadot-stable2509-2

cargo build --release
```

***

### Install Binaries

```bash
sudo mkdir -p /usr/lib/polkadot
sudo cp target/release/polkadot* /usr/lib/polkadot/
sudo ln -sf /usr/lib/polkadot/polkadot /usr/local/bin/polkadot
```

***

### Create Working Directory

```bash
mkdir -p $HOME/.polkadot
chown -R $(id -u):$(id -g) $HOME/.polkadot
```

***

### **Warp Sync for DN**

Warp Sync drastically speeds up initial boot:

**Required flag:**

```
--sync warp
```

**Recommended DB for DN:**

```
--database paritydb
```

ParityDB is more stable under DN workloads.

***

### Full Production-Ready systemd Service

```bash
current_user=$(whoami)
STARTNAME="DN_Node_Name"

sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/polkadot.service > /dev/null <<EOF
[Unit]
Description=Polkadot Dedicated Node (DN)
After=network.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=$current_user
WorkingDirectory=$HOME/.polkadot
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/polkadot \
  --validator \
  --name "$STARTNAME" \
  --chain polkadot \
  --database paritydb \
  --sync warp \
  --state-pruning 64 \
  --blocks-pruning 64 \
  --base-path $HOME/.polkadot \
  --public-addr /ip4/$(wget -qO- eth0.me)/tcp/30333 \
  --port 30333 \
  --rpc-port 9933 \
  --rpc-cors all \
  --rpc-methods Unsafe \
  --prometheus-external \
  --prometheus-port 9615 \
  --telemetry-url "wss://telemetry-backend.w3f.community/submit/ 1" \
  --telemetry-url "wss://telemetry.polkadot.io/submit/ 0" \
  --unsafe-force-node-key-generation
Restart=always
RestartSec=10
LimitNOFILE=1000000
StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF
```

***

### Start & Verify

```bash
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable polkadot
sudo systemctl restart polkadot
sudo journalctl -u polkadot -f
```

***

### **Safe Upgrades for DN (Atomic Upgrade Path)**

Never overwrite the binary directly.\
Use *Staged Atomic Upgrade*:

**Build new binary:**

```bash
cd ~/polkadot-sdk
git fetch --all
git checkout <new-tag>
cargo build --release
```

**Put new binaries in staging:**

```bash
sudo mkdir -p /usr/lib/polkadot-upgrade
sudo cp target/release/polkadot* /usr/lib/polkadot-upgrade/
```

**Validate new binary:**

```bash
/usr/lib/polkadot-upgrade/polkadot --version
```

**Atomic swap:**

```bash
sudo systemctl stop polkadot
sudo rsync -av --delete /usr/lib/polkadot-upgrade/ /usr/lib/polkadot/
sudo systemctl start polkadot
```

**Verify:**

```
sudo journalctl -u polkadot -n 150 --no-pager
```

***

### **High Availability (HA) DN Architecture**

### Minimal HA Design

```
             +----------------+
             |     RPC Node   |
             |   (Read-only)  |
             +-------+--------+
                     |
      +--------------+--------------+
      |                             |
+-----+--------+          +---------+-----+
|  Validator A |          | Validator B   |
|   (Primary)  |          |   (Backup)    |
+--------------+          +---------------+
       \          Sentry Nodes          /
        +------------+  +--------------+
```

#### Sentry node

```
--no-telemetry
--no-prometheus
--reserved-peers <validator-ip>
```

#### DN Failover Procedure:

Normally:

* Validator B runs with **--no-validate**
* If Validator A goes offline, B becomes active:

```
sudo systemctl stop polkadot   # on A
sudo systemctl restart polkadot --validator   # on B
```

Can be automated with keepalived or pacemaker.

***

## **Troubleshooting Guide**

#### Node not starting after upgrade

```
sudo journalctl -u polkadot -n 100
```

Try full sync:

```bash
polkadot --sync full --database paritydb
```

#### RocksDB corruption errors

Switch to ParityDB:

```
--database paritydb
```

#### Node not visible in Telemetry

Check external IP:

```bash
wget -qO- eth0.me
```

Open port:

```
sudo ufw allow 30333
```

#### Poor synchronization speed

Enable compiled WASM:

```
--wasm-execution compiled
```

#### Drop in peers

Increase limits:

```
--in-peers 500
--out-peers 500
```

***

#### Monitoring (Prometheus + Grafana)

Prometheus endpoint:

```
http://<node-ip>:9615/metrics
```

Key metrics:

* substrate\_block\_height
* substrate\_sync\_target
* substrate\_peers\_count
* substrate\_block\_import


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