FULL Setup testnet

Quick sync

В In this section of the installation, we will ensure that our node will be synchronized.

Current software versions can be found here https://docs.axelar.dev/releases/testnet

Info how to update testnet https://docs.axelar.dev/releases/testnet/upgrade

Info how to update mainnet https://docs.axelar.dev/releases/mainnet/upgrade

Creating a password for the keyring file

Axelar keyring file will be encrypted with this password. The password must be at least 8 characters.

Below we will need this password to run the script. We will insert it into the command to run the script through a KEYRING_PASSWORD variable.

Installing Axelar

Copying to our server the axelerate-community repository:

git clone https://github.com/axelarnetwork/axelarate-community.git
cd axelarate-community

Before running the script, increase the system permission by the number of open files with the command:

ulimit -n 16384

Otherwise, during installation, we will see the following error:

Run the installation script. In the script, instead of my-secret-password we need to insert the password that we came up with for keyring:

KEYRING_PASSWORD='my-secret-password' ./scripts/node.sh -a v0.13.6

We get the output:

Ready! Axelar node is down and started syncing. It was installed in the ~/.axelar_testnet folder.

Keys Backup

Backup seed phrase (mnemonic phrase). Download and DELETE it. When launched, the script prepared a ready-made backup file for us. Download it to your computer via WinSCP (for Windows), Cyberduck (for MacOS), FileZilla or another FTP utility. And delete from the server! The file is in the folder:

~/.axelar_testnet/validator.txt

Backup Tendermint consensus secret key (it is needed to restart the node).​ Download but DO NOT delete from the server! The file is located at:

~/.axelar_testnet/.core/config/priv_validator_key.json

View Logs

To view the logs, you need to enter the command:

tail -f ~/.axelar_testnet/logs/axelard.log

It will be seen that the blockchain is actively loaded. Log example:

Axelar Synchronization by Snapshot

Synchronization from scratch is too long fun. So let's download the latest Snapshot of the Axelar blockchain. There are two verified resources:

1. quicksync.io

2. staketab.com | инструкции

Instruction:

Let's stop the node:

kill -9 $(pgrep -f "axelard start")

Install the necessary programs:

sudo apt-get update -y
sudo apt-get install wget liblz4-tool aria2 -y

Let's delete the data directory into which the blockchain managed to load, create an empty one and go into it:

rm -r ~/.axelar_testnet/.core/data
mkdir -p ~/.axelar_testnet/.core/data
cd ~/.axelar_testnet/.core/data

Let's upload a snapshot.

wget -O - https://cosmos-snap.staketab.com/axelar/axelar-testnet-lisbon-3_2022-02-20.tar | tar xf -

In our case, we are uploading uncompressed information, so we will not unpack it.

Let's resume the work of the Axelar node. Let me remind you that instead of my-secret-password you need to insert your keyring password:

cd ~/axelarate-community
ulimit -n 16384
KEYRING_PASSWORD='my-secret-password' ./scripts/node.sh -n testnet

Let's check if everything is in order. Logs: tail -f ~/.axelar_testnet/logs/axelard.log

If the blockchain is loading, then you need to wait until the synchronization catches up with the last block of the network. Let's check:

curl localhost:26657/status | jq '.result.sync_info'

We need to look at the catching_up :

• true: the node is still downloading the blockchain.

• false: The node has finished downloading the blockchain. And loads actual blocks.

Sample output:

Ready! The node is synchronized. Now you can request test tokens and create a validator.

Get AXL tokens from faucet​

Get AXL testnet tokens from a faucet Axelar Testnet Faucet.

To do this, we sould find out our address. Let's insert our keying password instead of my-secret-password:

echo 'my-secret-password' | ~/.axelar_testnet/bin/axelard keys show validator -a --home ~/.axelar_testnet/.core

Output:

Copy the address and request tokens on the Axelar Testnet Faucet.

Check the balance. As usual my-secret-password is your password, {MY_ADDRESS} is your address:

cd ~/axelarate-community
ulimit -n 16384
echo 'my-secret-password' | ~/.axelar_testnet/bin/axelard q bank balances {MY_ADDRESS} --home ~/.axelar_testnet/.core

Output:

On the wallet 6000000 uaxl.

Starting processes vald and tofnd

These processes are required for the validator to work.

Let's create a password for tofnd

Now we substitute the passwords in the command below: my-secret-password - this is the password for keyring my-tofnd-password - this is the password for tofnd

KEYRING_PASSWORD='my-secret-password' TOFND_PASSWORD='my-tofnd-password' ./scripts/validator-tools-host.sh

Upon successful launch, we get the following output:

Among other things, we see a hint on how to become a validator:

To become a validator get some uaxl tokens from the faucet (testnet only) and stake them
Broadcaster address: axelar1fa3m6jtfn2l2yghs8vj3ksdd7el4w23mcmnspy

Make a backup

It is mandatory to backup and DELETE the following files:

Tofnd mnemonic: /root/.axelar_testnet/.tofnd/import Broadcaster mnemonic: /root/.axelar_testnet/broadcaster.txt

Check the logsvald, tofnd:

tail -f ~/.axelar_testnet/logs/vald.log
tail -f ~/.axelar_testnet/logs/tofnd.log

Log example:

Register broadcaster proxy

Each validator must register a broadcaster in order to send messages from it.

Find out our broadcaster account address

We saw it when entering the script above. If you didn't write down the address, you can find it at:

~/.axelar_testnet/broadcaster.address

Fill up broadcaster address

To do this, copy the address and paste it into Axelar faucet.

Check the balance (faucet sends out 6 AXL):

echo 'my-secret-password' | ~/.axelar_testnet/bin/axelard q bank balances {MY_ADDRESS} --home ~/.axelar_testnet/.core

Register broadcaster address

Substitute in the command below: my-secret-password and {BROADCASTER_ADDR}.

echo 'my-secret-password' | ~/.axelar_testnet/bin/axelard tx snapshot register-proxy {BROADCASTER_ADDR} --from validator --chain-id axelar-testnet-lisbon-3 --home ~/.axelar_testnet/.core

Get the output:

Check the broadcaster address registration

echo 'my-secret-password' | ~/.axelar_testnet/bin/axelard q snapshot proxy $(cat ~/.axelar_testnet/validator.bech)

Ready! We have registered a broadcaster account address!

Creation of a validator

Let's start with a little theory 😊

{KEYRING_PASSWORD} - in other words my-secret-password - this is the password of Axelar keyring file.

{STAKE_AMOUNT} - this is the number of tokens we stake on our validator. This number is calculated in uaxl, where 1 AXL = 1000000 uaxl.

{MY_MONIKER} -this is the name of the node that we now need to come up with and set with this command.

{MY_identity} - with this parameter, you can assign a picture to the validator. You can generate this code on the site https://keybase.io/ without SMS but with registration😊

{MY_details} - write additional information here. For example, your Discord.

Let's change the command below for ourselves and enter into the command line:

echo '{KEYRING_PASSWORD}' | ~/.axelar_testnet/bin/axelard tx staking create-validator \
--amount {STAKE_AMOUNT}uaxl \
--moniker "{MY_MONIKER}" \
--commission-rate="0.10" \
--commission-max-rate="0.20" \
--commission-max-change-rate="0.01" \
--min-self-delegation="1" \
--pubkey="$(~/.axelar_testnet/bin/axelard tendermint show-validator \
--home ~/.axelar_testnet/.core)" \
--from validator \
--chain-id axelar-testnet-lisbon-3 \
--home ~/.axelar_testnet/.core \
--identity="{MY_identity}" \
--details="{MY_details}" \

This is what the output looks like:

When creating a validator, tokens are delegated from the address {MY_ADDRESS} (validator account).

Additional commands

Find out the Valoper address​

{VALOPER_ADDR} , {BROADCASTER_ADDR} and {MY_ADDRESS} - they are completely different things.

{VALOPER_ADDR} - validator address. If we look at the validator in the explorer, we will see that its address is similar to the {MY_ADDRESS} address. This is because the Validator is created based on the {MY_ADDRESS} address. There can only be 1 validator per 1 address. In my case: {MY_ADDRESS} - validator account (originally generated address) axelar1n3876h9d0r674kxp30cx488ggha300cq6kdd54 {VALOPER_ADDR} - validator address axelarvaloper1n3876h9d0r674kxp30cx488ggha300cq6hmgx6 {BROADCASTER_ADDR} - broadcaster account address axelar1fa3m6jtfn2l2yghs8vj3ksdd7el4w23mcmnspy

Command to find out {VALOPER_ADDR} address associated with validator account:

echo 'my-secret-password' | ~/.axelar_testnet/bin/axelard keys show validator -a --bech val --home ~/.axelar_testnet/.core

Check the amount of coins delegated to the validator​

 ~/.axelar_testnet/bin/axelard q staking validator {VALOPER_ADDR} | grep tokens

Delegating an additional stake to a validator​

echo 'my-secret-password' | ~/.axelar_testnet/bin/axelard tx staking delegate {VALOPER_ADDR} {STAKE_AMOUNT}uaxl --from validator --chain-id axelar-testnet-lisbon-3 --home ~/.axelar_testnet/.core

Control

This is not a mandatory step, but informative. You can see if all the validator indicators work:

echo 'my-secret-password' | ~/.axelar_testnet/bin/axelard health-check --tofnd-host localhost --operator-addr {VALOPER_ADDR} --home ~/.axelar_testnet/.vald