Created by: Richard Ripley
Before we begin, please download these:
- My Crypto
- Geth Please choose Geth & Tools version 1.9.7 for your machine. Once downloaded, go to your downloads and create a folder to store Geth within (I chose: "Blockchain Tools") and feel free to rename Geth as well.
Step 1: The first step to launch is to create a Genesis Block
- Open a terminal window, navigate to the Blockchain-Tools folder and type the following command: ./puppeth
- Type in a name for your network, like "puppernet" and hit enter to move forward in the wizard.
- Type "2" to pick the Configure new genesis option, then "1" to Create new genesis from scratch
Now you have the option to pick a consensus engine (algorithm) to use.
- Type "1" to choose Proof of Work and continue.
- You will be asked to enter a pre-fund account: Copy and paste an address from your Ethereum wallet in MyCrypto, without the 0x prefix.
- Once you paste an address and hit enter, hit enter again on the blank 0x address to continue the prompt.
- Continue with the default option for the prompt that asks Should the precompile-addresses (0x1 .. 0xff) be pre-funded with 1 wei? by hitting enter again, until you reach the Chain ID prompt.
- Come up with a number to use as a chain ID (e.g. 333) type it, then hit enter.
You should see the following success message and redirected to the original prompt:"Configured New Genesis Block"
Step 2:Create two nodes with accounts
- In the puppeth prompt, navigate to the Manage existing genesis by typing 2 and hitting enter.
- Then, type 2 again to choose the Export genesis configurations option, and continue with the default (current) directory by hitting enter.
- This will export several yournetworkname.json files - you only need the first one without aleth, parity, or harmony suffixes.
Now, we need to create at least two nodes to build the chain from the genesis block onward
- Exit puppeth by using the Ctrl+C keys combination.
- Create the first node's data directory using the geth command and a couple of command line flags by running the following line in your terminal window (Git Bash in Windows): ./geth account new --datadir node1
- Create a new text file for notes, and copy the node's address into the file and label it Node 1 Key.
- Repeat the same process for the second node by replacing the datadir parameter with the node2 folder: ./geth account new --datadir node2
Now, it's time to initialize and tell the nodes to use your genesis block
- Initialize the first node, replacing yournetworkname.json with your own: ./geth init yournetworkname.json --datadir node1
- Run the same command for node2: ./geth init yournetworkname.json --datadir node2
Step 3: Start both Nodes
-
In your notes text file, make sure to keep track of every command you run in this activity for later. You can use these notes as a cheat-sheet later to easily start your chain again.
-
Launch the first node into mining mode with the following command: ./geth --datadir node1 --mine --minerthreads 1
-
You should see the node Committing new mining work: Copy this command into your notes and label it Start Node 1.
Now you will launch the second node and configure it to let us talk to the chain via RPC
- Scroll up in the terminal window where node1 is running, and copy the entire enode:// address (including the last @address:port segment) of the first node located in the Started P2P Networking line 8 (We will need this address to tell the second node where to find the first node.)
- Open another terminal window and navigate to the same directory as before.
- Launch the second node, enable RPC, change the sync port, and pass the enode:// address of the first node in quotes by running the following command (it will differ in Windows and OS X):
-
Running in OS X:
./geth --datadir node2 --port 30304 --rpc --bootnodes "enode://"
-
Running in Microsoft Windows:
./geth --datadir node2 --port 30304 --rpc --bootnodes "enode://" --ipcdisable
- The output of the second node should show information about Importing block segments and synchronization - Copy this command into your notes and call it Start Node 2
-
Step 4:Transacting on your chain
- Open up MyCrypto to get the private key of the ETH address you use to pre-fund your chain. Be sure the Kovan network is selected.
- Unlock your wallet using your mnemonic phrase and choose the address you want to inspect.
- Select the ETH address you use to pre-fund your chain, and in the "Select" dropdown list, choose Wallet Info.
- Click on the eye icon next to the Private Key field, and copy and paste the private key of the wallet. Keep this handy, as you will use it in a bit.
Now you are going to connect MyCrypto with the blockchain you created. Follow the next steps.
- Open up MyCrypto, then click Change Network at the bottom left
- Click "Add Custom Node", then add the custom network information that you set in the genesis.
- Make sure that you scroll down to choose Custom in the "Network" column to reveal more options like Chain ID: The chain ID must match what you came up with earlier (333)
- The URL is pointing to the default RPC port on your local machine. Use http://127.0.0.1:8545.
- Once you save and use the network, double-check that it is selected and is connected.
Now that you are connected to your blockchain, you will need to load a private key that you created and funded on the network.
- If you are logged in to another wallet, you'll need to click Change Wallet on the top right, but make sure you are connected to your custom network.
- On the left pane menu, click on "View & Send".
- Next, click on the "Private Key" option to continue.
- A new window will pop-up, paste the private key of the pre-fund wallet and click on the "Unlock" button to continue.
- Look to the right, This is the account balance that was pre-funded for this account in the genesis configuration; however, these millions of ETH tokens are just for testing purposes.
Now we're going to send a transaction to ourselves to test it out. Follow the next steps.
- Copy the pre-fund address into the "To Address" field, then fill in an arbitrary amount of ETH.
- Confirm the transaction by clicking "Send Transaction", and the "Send" button in the pop-up window.
- Click the Check TX Status when the green message pops up, confirm the logout.
- You should see the transaction go from Pending to Successful in around the same block time you set in the genesis.
- You can click the Check TX Status button to update the status.