Getting Started

Operating System

Minimum Supported Version	🐧 Ubuntu 22.04	🪟 Windows 11	🍎 macOS 12 (Monterey)

Hardware

Hardware	CPU	RAM	Node Storage	Farm Storage
Minimum ¹	4 Cores+	8GB	100GB ²	100GB
Recommended	Intel Core i7-6700 or equivalent	16GB+	256GB	♾️ ³

¹ Nodes that meet minimum requirements should be able to farm and sync with the network under normal conditions. However, performance may decline during periods of heavy network load, such as when blocks are filled with numerous transactions.

² While 100GB is sufficient for running a farming node, a domain node will require more than 100GB of storage.
³ Storage contribution impacts block and vote rewards on the Autonomys Network. More plotted sectors will lead to faster and more frequent rewards. You can start with as little as 100 GB, but allocating more will maximize your reward potential.

Internet Considerations

Operating a node and farmer can be data intensive. It is advisable to have a stable and unlimited internet connection.

Reference Hardware

Our benchmarking tests were performed using the Intel Core i7-6700 CPU. We calibrated the transaction weights to ensure that a full block does not contain more transactions than this CPU can handle within the 2-second block execution time limit. This guarantees that nodes with hardware equivalent to or better than the Intel Core i7-6700 can process blocks at full capacity without performance issues.

While farmers using hardware below this specification may function effectively under most conditions, they could face challenges during peak network activity. If blocks consistently fill with transactions, nodes with lower specifications might struggle to keep pace, which could impact farming performance and rewards.

You can see detailed machine information used for the reference hardware.

Storage

Hard Drives Not Supported

Hard disk drives are not supported. The use of smart caching, tiered storage, raid, or other acceleration methods will not be effective due to the significant random read IOPS required for the proving process.

SSD storage is required. High end models are not necessary and a mid range SSD from a reputable manufacturer with adequate endurance should be sufficient. Be cautious with lesser known brands as they may face issues with maintaining consistent read performance. You can also use NVMe SSDs but this is not required.

File Systems (Linux)

File Descriptor Limit

Linux systems may have a default file descriptor limit, which can vary based on distribuition. Exceeding this limit could cause errors. For detailed information, visit our Tips & Tricks guide.

☑️ ext4

This file system maximizes usable space for the farmer.

Recommended Formatting Command for Drives Dedicated to Subspace Plots:

sudo mkfs.ext4 -m 0 -T largefile4 /dev/sdX

❌ XFS

Resizing a plot when the drive is nearly full (98% or more) will render the plot unfarmable unless sufficient additional space is freed up through other means. Full disk utilization can only be achieved during the plot's initial creation and will yield less usable space compared to ext4.

❌ CoW

Copy-on-Write file systems (ReFS, BTRFS, ZFS, bcachefs, HAMMER) are not recommended due to increased latency and reduced write speeds associated with managing unnecessary data copies.

Disable CoW on BTRFS:

sudo chattr +C /path/to/farm

❌ RAID

The farmer employs checksums for data integrity and can recover from corrupted blocks. Striping provides no benefits and raises the risk of needing to replot multiple drives instead of just one.

❌ SWAP

Only necessary if your system has limited RAM.

Security Considerations

Safety and Security Guide

For detailed information, visit our Safety and Security guide.

Ensure your system is regularly updated, configure port forwarding, set up your firewall, and follow best practices for network safety. For comprehensive security guidelines, please refer to our Safety and Security guide.

Wallet

Wallets Guide

For detailed information, visit our Wallets guide.

Before you begin, make sure you have a wallet to receive rewards. We recommend using SubWallet, but PolkadotJS is also available. Install one of these wallets as a browser extension and create a new account. Your account address will be required during the setup process.

Networking

Port Forwarding & Firewall Guide

For detailed information on network configurations, including port forwarding requirements and firewall settings, please refer to our Port Forwarding & Firewall guide.

Dependencies

Windows No Output Bug

If you face an error where the node outputs nothing and no error code is given it is likely you just need to install the latest Visual C++ Redistributable package here

Linux libcomp.so.1 error.

If you encounter an error related to libgomp.so.1, install the libgomp1 library with sudo apt-get install libgomp1.

Linux File Descriptor Limit

Linux has a hard limit of 100k file descriptors. Exceeding this may cause errors. Refer to our guide here