Introduction
Blockchain technology offers the world new ways of maintaining a distributed, immutable ledger that can be used to record a wide range of events and transactions. However, the computational resources needed for a blockchain can be substantial. Google Cloud Platform (GCP) offers a range of cloud computing services that can be leveraged to ease the deployment and maintenance of blockchain nodes. In this tutorial, we will explore how to integrate GCP with the Celo blockchain, a mobile-first platform that aims to make financial dApps and crypto payments accessible to anyone with a smartphone.
Codebase for this Tutorial
Objective
By the end of this tutorial, you will know how to set up a Celo blockchain node on GCP, including creating and configuring a virtual machine (VM), installing the necessary software and dependencies, and deploying the Celo blockchain node.
Prerequisites
Before we begin, make sure you have the following:
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Basic knowledge of blockchain and how it works.
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Familiarity with Celo blockchain and its architecture.
Requirements
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An account on Google Cloud Platform.
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Basic understanding of cloud computing and how to use GCP.
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Basic knowledge of command-line interfaces.
Integration and Necessary Steps
Why Use GCP for Celo Blockchain?
Google Cloud Platform offers a robust infrastructure for running virtual machines with customizable levels of CPU, memory, and storage. GCP’s worldwide network of data centers also ensures low latency and high availability, which can be critical for maintaining a reliable node on the blockchain network. Furthermore, GCP offers a range of data analytics and machine learning services that can be integrated with blockchain data to derive insights and automate processes.
Step 1: Creating a VM on Google Cloud
First, you will need to create a VM on Google Cloud. Here are the steps:
Log in to the Google Cloud Console.
From the navigation menu, go to Compute Engine > VM Instances.
Click on the Create button to create a new VM instance.
Name your instance, select a region and zone, and choose a machine type. For a Celo node, it’s recommended to use a machine type with at least 2 vCPUs and 4GB of memory.
In the Boot disk section, click Change, select Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, and set the disk size to at least 100GB.
Click Create to create the instance.
Step 2: Configuring the VM
Now, we need to configure the VM to allow traffic on the ports that the Celo node will use. Here’s how:
From the navigation menu, go to VPC network > Firewall.
Click Create Firewall Rule.
Give the rule a name, and under Targets, select All instances in the network.
Under Source filter, select IP ranges and enter 0.0.0.0/0.
Under Protocols and ports, select Specified protocols and ports, choose tcp and enter the following ports: 30303, 30304, 30503.
Click Create.
Step 3: Installing Dependencies
Next, we need to install the necessary software on the VM. SSH into your VM from the VM Instances dashboard by clicking the SSH button next to your instance. Then, run the following commands to update the system and install the necessary packages:
//bash
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y build-essential libssl-dev
Step 4: Installing Celo Blockchain Software
Now, let’s install the Celo blockchain software:
Download and install Celo CLI (Command Line Interface):
//bash
npm install -g @celo/celocli
Initialize a new node and synchronize it with the network:
bash
celocli node:sync --celo-env alfajores
Note: alfajores is the testnet provided by Celo. Replace it with mainnet if you want to connect to the main network.
Check the status of the synchronization:
//bash
celocli node:synced
Step 5: Running a Celo Node
To start your Celo node, use the following command:
//bash
celocli node:run
Conclusion
Congratulations! You’ve successfully deployed a Celo node on Google Cloud Platform. By utilizing the scalability and reliability of GCP, you can ensure that your Celo node is always available and responsive. Moreover, you can leverage additional GCP services like Cloud Functions and BigQuery to process and analyze your blockchain data.
Please, remember to replace any placeholders in the commands with the relevant information. Also, the exact commands and steps may vary depending on updates to the software and specific requirements of your project.
About the Author
Victor Onuoha is a copywriter and Python, PHP, Go, Solidity, and Web3 Developer. In addition to having a tremendous love for blockchain and its potential to revolutionize the world, I have always been interested by new technologies.
Connect with me on Twitter
References
- Celo Documentation: Official documentation for Celo blockchain.
- Website: https://docs.celo.org/
- Google Cloud Platform Documentation: Official documentation for Google Cloud Platform.
