Nodepilot makes it easy to setup and maintain a standalone blockchain node on Azure. This guide will help you with the steps that you need to perform for Nodepilot.

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Prerequisites

  • An Azure account
  • Azure Virtual Network setup with subnets in desired location

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Create Service Principal

For Nodepilot to be able to crete and manage resources on your Azure account, you need to .

You can create an access key by following the instructions.

  • Azure Console

  • Azure Cli

  1. Login to your Azure Account: Log in to your Azure account using the Azure portal: https://portal.azure.com/

  2. Create a Service Principal:

    • In the left-hand menu, select “Azure Active Directory”.
    • Go to “App registrations” and click on ”+ New registration”.
    • Fill in the necessary details for your application, such as the name.
    • Under “Supported account types”, choose the appropriate option based on your use case.

  3. Create a Client Secret:

    • After creating the app registration, go to the “Certificates & secrets” section.
    • Under the “Client secrets” section, click on ”+ New client secret”.
    • Add a description, choose an expiration (or leave it never-expiring), and click “Add”.

  4. Assign Role (Permissions) to Service Principal:

    • Once the client secret is created, go to the Azure resource (like a resource group or specific resource) you want your application to have access to.
    • In the resource’s “Access control (IAM)” section, click on ”+ Add role assignment”.
    • Choose a role that corresponds to the permissions you need. The “Contributor” role is commonly used for managing resources.

  5. Select a Principal:

    • In the “Add role assignment” window, under “Assign access to”, choose “User, group, or service principal”.
    • In the “Select” box, search for and select the app registration (service principal) you created.

  6. Access Secrets in Your Application:

    • In your application or script, you will use the Service Principal’s Application ID (Client ID) and the Client Secret to authenticate.
    • Use these credentials to authenticate with Azure services like Azure Resource Manager, Azure Key Vault, etc.

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Inputs to Scale3 Nodepilot

Nodepilot requires some inputs to run the setup. The following are the inputs that you need to provide:

PropertyDescriptionExampleComments
HostnameName of the serversui-mainnet-fullnodeThis will be used as the hostname of the server and visible on Azure
LocationAzure locationWest EuropeLocation where you want to create the server
VPC NameAzure Virtual Network Namescale3-vpcVPC Name where you want to create the server
Blockchain networkBlockchain network to deploy the node forsui-mainnetSupported mainnet, testnet, devnet
Service PrincipalService Principal Secrets-Keys that you created in the previous step

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Resources Provisioned

  • Azure Linux VM with 50 GB of OS disk.
  • Standard SSD Disk for storing blockchain data
  • Two Firewalls
    • Allow SSH from Nodepilot IP
    • Allow traffic to required ports from anywhere