Run Besu and Teku on Mainnet
Run Besu as an execution client and Teku as a consensus client on Ethereum Mainnet.
1. Install Besu and Teku
Ensure you meet the prerequisites for the installation option you use. For example, you must have Java 17+ if using the Besu and Teku binary distributions.
Ensure you meet the system requirements for Besu on public networks.
2. Generate the shared secret
Run the following command:
openssl rand -hex 32 | tr -d "\n" > jwtsecret.hex
You will specify jwtsecret.hex
when starting Besu and Teku. This is a shared JWT secret the clients use to authenticate each other when using the Engine API.
3. Generate validator keys
If you're running Teku as a beacon node only, skip to the next step.
If you're also running Teku as a validator client, have a funded Ethereum address ready (32 ETH and gas fees for each validator).
Generate validator keys and stake your ETH for one or more validators using the Staking Launchpad.
Save the password you use to generate each key pair in a .txt
file.
You should also have a .json
file for each validator key pair.
4. Start Besu
Run the following command or specify the options in a configuration file:
besu \
--sync-mode=X_SNAP \
--data-storage-format=BONSAI \
--rpc-http-enabled=true \
--rpc-http-host="0.0.0.0" \
--rpc-ws-enabled=true \
--rpc-ws-host="0.0.0.0" \
--host-allowlist=<IP of Besu node>,127.0.0.1,localhost \
--engine-host-allowlist=<IP of Besu node>,127.0.0.1,localhost \
--engine-rpc-enabled \
--engine-jwt-secret=<path to jwtsecret.hex>
Specify:
- The path to the
jwtsecret.hex
file generated in step 2 using the--engine-jwt-secret
option. - The IP address of your Besu node using the
--host-allowlist
and--engine-host-allowlist
options.
Also, in the command:
--sync-mode
specifies using snap sync.--data-storage-format
specifies using Bonsai Tries.--rpc-http-enabled
enables the HTTP JSON-RPC service.--rpc-http-host
is set to0.0.0.0
to allow remote RPC connections.--rpc-ws-enabled
enables the WebSocket JSON-RPC service.--rpc-ws-host
is set to0.0.0.0
to allow remote RPC connections.--engine-rpc-enabled
enables the Engine API.
You can modify the option values and add other command line options as needed.
5. Start Teku
Open a new terminal window.
Beacon node only
To run Teku as a beacon node only (without validator duties), run the following command or specify the options in the Teku configuration file:
teku \
--ee-endpoint=http://localhost:8551 \
--ee-jwt-secret-file=<path to jwtsecret.hex> \
--metrics-enabled=true \
--rest-api-enabled=true
Specify the path to the jwtsecret.hex
file generated in step 2 using the --ee-jwt-secret-file
option.
Also, in the command:
--ee-endpoint
is set to the default URL of Besu's Engine API.--metrics-enabled
enables Teku's metrics exporter.--rest-api-enabled
enables Teku's REST API service.
You can modify the option values and add other Teku command line options as needed.
Beacon node and validator client
To run Teku as a beacon node and validator in a single process, run the following command or specify the options in the Teku configuration file:
teku \
--ee-endpoint http://localhost:8551 \
--ee-jwt-secret-file <path to jwtsecret.hex> \
--metrics-enabled=true \
--rest-api-enabled=true \
--validators-proposer-default-fee-recipient=<ETH address> \
--validator-keys=<path to key file>:<path to password file>[,<path to key file>:<path to password file>,...]
Specify:
- The path to the
jwtsecret.hex
file generated in step 2 using the--ee-jwt-secret-file
option. - An Ethereum address you own as the default fee recipient using the
--validators-proposer-default-fee-recipient
option. - The paths to the keystore
.json
file and password.txt
file created in step 3 for each validator using the--validator-keys
option. Separate the.json
and.txt
files with a colon, and separate entries for multiple validators with commas.
Also, in the command:
--ee-endpoint
is set to the default URL of Besu's Engine API.--metrics-enabled
enables Teku's metrics exporter.--rest-api-enabled
enables Teku's REST API service.
You can modify the option values and add other Teku command line options as needed.
6. Wait for Besu and Teku to sync
After starting Besu and Teku, your node starts syncing and connecting to peers.
- Besu logs
- Teku logs
{"@timestamp":"2023-02-03T04:43:49,555","level":"INFO","thread":"main","class":"DefaultSynchronizer","message":"Starting synchronizer.","throwable":""}
{"@timestamp":"2023-02-03T04:43:49,556","level":"INFO","thread":"main","class":"FastSyncDownloader","message":"Starting sync","throwable":""}
{"@timestamp":"2023-02-03T04:43:49,559","level":"INFO","thread":"main","class":"Runner","message":"Ethereum main loop is up.","throwable":""}
{"@timestamp":"2023-02-03T04:43:53,106","level":"INFO","thread":"Timer-0","class":"DNSResolver","message":"Resolved 2409 nodes","throwable":""}
{"@timestamp":"2023-02-03T04:45:04,803","level":"INFO","thread":"nioEventLoopGroup-3-10","class":"SnapWorldStateDownloader","message":"Downloading world state from peers for pivot block 16545859 (0x616ae3c4cf85f95a9bce2814a7282d75dc2eac36
cb9f0fcc6f16386df70da3c5). State root 0xa7114541f42c62a72c8b6bb9901c2ccf4b424cd7f76570a67b82a183b02f25dc pending requests 0","throwable":""}
{"@timestamp":"2023-02-03T04:46:04,834","level":"INFO","thread":"EthScheduler-Services-3 (batchPersistAccountData)","class":"SnapsyncMetricsManager","message":"Worldstate download progress: 0.08%, Peer count: 8","throwable":""}
{"@timestamp":"2023-02-03T04:48:01,840","level":"INFO","thread":"EthScheduler-Services-3 (batchPersistAccountData)","class":"SnapsyncMetricsManager","message":"Worldstate download progress: 0.23%, Peer count: 8","throwable":""}
{"@timestamp":"2023-02-03T04:49:09,931","level":"INFO","thread":"EthScheduler-Services-3 (batchPersistAccountData)","class":"SnapsyncMetricsManager","message":"Worldstate download progress: 0.41%, Peer count: 11","throwable":""}
{"@timestamp":"2023-02-03T04:50:12,466","level":"INFO","thread":"EthScheduler-Services-3 (batchPersistAccountData)","class":"SnapsyncMetricsManager","message":"Worldstate download progress: 0.61%, Peer count: 10","throwable":""}
{"@timestamp":"2023-02-03T04:51:20,977","level":"INFO","thread":"EthScheduler-Services-3 (batchPersistAccountData)","class":"SnapsyncMetricsManager","message":"Worldstate download progress: 0.75%, Peer count: 10","throwable":""}
{"@timestamp":"2023-02-03T04:51:28,985","level":"INFO","thread":"EthScheduler-Services-29 (importBlock)","class":"FastImportBlocksStep","message":"Block import progress: 180400 of 16545859 (1%)","throwable":""}
2022-03-21 20:43:24.355 INFO - Syncing *** Target slot: 76092, Head slot: 2680, Remaining slots: 73412, Connected peers: 8
2022-03-21 20:43:36.363 INFO - Syncing *** Target slot: 76093, Head slot: 2879, Remaining slots: 73214, Connected peers: 10
2022-03-21 20:43:48.327 INFO - Syncing *** Target slot: 76094, Head slot: 3080, Remaining slots: 73014, Connected peers: 8
2022-03-21 20:44:00.339 INFO - Syncing *** Target slot: 76095, Head slot: 3317, Remaining slots: 72778, Connected peers: 6
2022-03-21 20:44:12.353 INFO - Syncing *** Target slot: 76096, Head slot: 3519, Remaining slots: 72577, Connected peers: 9
If you're running Teku as a beacon node only, you're all set. If you're also running Teku as a validator client, ensure Besu and Teku are fully synced before submitting your staking deposit in the next step. Syncing Besu can take several days.
7. Stake ETH
Stake your ETH for one or more validators using the Staking Launchpad.
You can check your validator status by searching your Ethereum address on the Beacon Chain explorer. It may take up to multiple days for your validator to be activated and start proposing blocks.