(Out of date) Get Ready: Service Providers

5 min readDec 20, 2020

*** NOTE: BYoN nodes are on hold till further notice and can’t be submitted. Document for historical use only…….

Part 1:Purchasing your Domain/Hosting and VPS Server for your BYoN nodes

Estimated Completion Time: 20 min

This is the first of three pieces created to assist you in the process of preparing your own BYoN (Build Your own Node) node for the StrongBlock.com platform. Help reinforce the blockchain and get paid doing it…. These instructions include the information necessary to from start to finish! Thanks goes out to the incredible work of Morty & Grzzdad for their node expertise and instruction.

I’ve updated and streamlined the process for setting up a BYoN. Using the automated setup, you now can easily have your first one built in under an hour, and additional ones even quicker.

Overview

Part 1(This guide): Sign up for webhosting & VPS (20 min)
Part 2: Webhost setup to connect the nodes to StrongBlock (<30 min)
Part 3: Install software on VPS (options: easy & medium) (5–120 min)

Like most things in life, the first one takes a little longer…
You’ll only need to order one instance of webhosting…
You’ll need a separate VPS unit for each node…

Before you start….. I’d recommend scanning through these guides quick & also looking at the ‘Tips & Tricks’ document as well.

Let’s Get Started on Part 1

First you’ll need to setup service with your webhost & VPS providers. The webhosting you arrange will cover all of your nodes. The VPS units, on the other hand, you will need one VPS per node you will be running. Click the pictures or links below to see the best deals currently running for each…..

NameCheap is the web domain and hosting provider that we will be using in the examples throughout these instructions. NameCheap is not only one of the easiest to use, but also one of the most affordable.

Contabo is the VPS server provider we will use throughout, although there are many others to chose from. Using an alternative provider may also have the potential added benefit of further decentralizing the blockchain.

While the L SSD plan checks off all the boxes for requirements, I have found the XL SSD plan syncs more smoothly, runs smoother, and won’t need to be upgraded as nearly as soon as the blockchains grow…..

Web domain/hosting

We will be purchasing a ‘shared hosting plan’ from NameCheap for our purposes. These plans combine the two items you will need to have in order to connect StrongBlock with your node. First is an internet web domain name (e.g. mysite.com). The second is a place to store files. Typically this is where a business keeps their website files for their company website, but we will simply using it hold the files that StrongBlock will need to access. NameCheap has some fairly easy to use and decent website builder tools available. Since you paid for it, why not have some fun, like I did….(e.g. strongnodes).

NameCheap offers two plans depending on the number of nodes that you plan on running on the StrongBlock platform: Stellar, and Stellar Plus. The Stellar plan allows 30 subdomains(nodes), and the Stellar Plus plan allows for unlimited subdomains(nodes).

I’m now well over 30 nodes, and wish I had just done Stellar Plus…..

Placing Order

Visit NameCheap
Pick service: Stellar, Stellar Plus
Order

Tips

As you pick your domain name it gives you current price and the renewal price.
‘WhoisGuard’ Will keep your contact info from being shared, and 300 random people from calling you all hours of the day (I learned the hard way).

VPS Server

We will be purchasing a ‘virtual private server’ for each node from Contabo for our purposes. The VPS is the machine we will rent that will run the blockchain node software. Selecting the proper plan and system setup with the VPS takes a few more steps, but is still easily done.

Contabo offers several levels of VPS service. For all practical purposes the $14.99 will handle the requirements needed to run an Ethereum full node for the foreseeable future, but the $26.99 plan offers more CPU cores, RAM, disk space, and bandwidth. Whichever plan you choose, make sure it has true SSD hard drives (not SSD boost), and enough space for the quickly growing 400+GB blockchain. Maintaining a node will periodically require a little time for software updating etc. As they occur we will provide instruction and materials to do so. Let’s get started ordering your VPS node……

Placing Order

Visit Contabo
Click ‘Select’ on the package you chose.(see above)
Select ‘Ububtu 20.04’ for Image

4. Pick where your server will be physically located (US $3 more)

5. Those are the only items you need to select. Click ‘Next’

6. Select ‘New’

7. Once ordered, Contabo will begin preparing your VPS unit, and will send you your log in details once it is ready.

Tips

It will take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours for Contabo to install your operating system. Most of mine were ready fairly quickly.
You will receive an email containing your VPS order # in case you want to check on the order status.