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.

Prerequisites

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

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.

  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 “Accounts in this organizational directory only (Default Directory only - Single tenant)“
    • Click “Register” to create the app registration.
  3. Create a Client Secret:

    • After creating the app registration, go to the “Certificates & secrets” section on the left.
    • Under the “Client secrets” section, click on ”+ New client secret”.
    • Add a description, choose an expiration, and click “Add”.
    • Copy the client secret value before leaving the page. You will need it later.
  4. Assign Role (Permissions) to Service Principal:

    • Once the client secret is created, go to the Azure resource group you want your application to have access to. If you don’t have a Resource Group, create one on the Azure portal here. Note down the Resource Group name, Subscription Name and Region.
    • In the resource group’s “Access control (IAM)” section, click on “Add role assignment”.
    • In “Priviledged administrator roles” tab, select “Contributor” role, click next.
    • Select members, search for the app registration (service principal) you created, and review and assign.
  5. To get the app id and tenant id, open the app registration overview page, you will see the app id and tenant id there.

  6. To find the subscription id, you need to open the subscription page, you will see the subscription id there. Make sure to use the same subscription that you used in assigning the role to the service principal.

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
VPC Resource GroupAzure Virtual Network Resource Group Namescale3-vpc-rgResource Group of the VPC
Subnet NameAzure Virtual Network Subnet Name to usescale3-subSubnet Name where you want to create the server
Blockchain networkBlockchain network to deploy the node forsui-mainnetSupported mainnet, testnet, devnet
Service Principal App IdApp Registration ID-Application (client) ID of the Application
Client SecretSecret value of Application-Application Client secret value of the registered app
TenantTenant ID value-Tenant ID of the Azure account
Subscription IDAzure billing Subscription ID-Subscription ID of the Azure account

Resources Provisioned

  • Azure Linux VM with 50 GB of OS disk.
  • Standard SSD Disk for storing blockchain data
  • Firewall rules to allow traffic to node
    • Allow SSH from Nodepilot IPs.
    • Allow traffic to required ports from anywhere.