How to deploy an Babylon Validator Testnet?

Spheron allows you to deploy a compute instance pre-installed with Babylon, all set up and ready to use on the Akash Network. To deploy a Babylon validator testnet:

1. Click "New Cluster" on the top right corner.
2. Choose "Compute" to use CPU-based instances for running containers.
3. Choose your desired Compute Type option under Compute Type.
4. Select Start from Marketplace App.
5. Pick Babylon Validator Testnet from the marketplace.
6. Select your preferred Region, if any. If you do not add a region, the container will be deployed in any region for Spot, or in the us-east region for On Demand. Click here to know more.
7. Spheron will automatically select the recommended plan for the specific template. If you intend to move forward with the recommended plan, just Click "Deploy" to initiate deployment.
8. Select the instance plan that suits your needs. You can use the "Create Custom Plan" toggle to create custom plans for your CPU based instance.
9. Configure Storage (SSD) plan for your instance. Use the "Add Persistent Storage" toggle to add persistent storage for your instance.
10. Add your "Moniker" under Template Configuration.
11. Click "Deploy" to initiate deployment.

Verify Installation

• The Babylon Validator Testnet can be accessed only after the Compute Instance is provisioned. Thus, you need to wait for the installation to complete before you can start using it.
• As the node starts, the Instance Logs will display the output about the operations performed. You can refresh the logs by clicking the refresh icon.

Create a New Key for Your Node

You can run the following command in Shell:

babylond keys add wallet

Fund Your Wallet

1. Visit the #faucet channel on the official Babylon Discord server.
2. Request funds by sharing the address you created in the channel using the command:

!faucet <your-address>

3. Check your wallet balance using this command:

babylond q bank balances $(babylond keys show wallet -a)

Ensure you have received 1,100,000 ubbn.

Generate a BLS Key Pair

Wait for the funds to be credited, then run this command:

babylond create-bls-key $(babylond keys show wallet -a)

Update Configurations

Run the following commands to update configuration:

> sed -i -e "s|^key-name *=.*|key-name = \"wallet\"|" $HOME/.babylond/config/app.toml
> sed -i -e "s|^timeout_commit *=.*|timeout_commit = \"10s\"|" $HOME/.babylond/config/config.toml

Verify Network Synchronization

Check the synchronization status with:

babylond status | jq .SyncInfo

Proceed when catching_up turns to false.

Register Your Validator

1. Use the following command to create your validator, replacing placeholders with your information:

babylond tx checkpointing create-validator --amount 1000000ubbn --pubkey $(babylond tendermint show-validator) --moniker "YOUR_MONIKER_NAME" --details "YOUR_DETAILS" --website "YOUR_WEBSITE_URL" --chain-id bbn-test-2 --commission-rate 0.05 --commission-max-rate 0.20 --commission-max-change-rate 0.01 --min-self-delegation 1 --from wallet --gas-adjustment 1.4 --gas auto --gas-prices 0.00001ubbn -y

2. Customize the command with your details:
   Replace your-moniker-name, your-details, your-website, and your-email with your own information.
3. Wait for 2-3 hours before checking your node in the inactive list at Babylon validators list (opens in a new tab)

Deploy Your Own

Deploy your own Babylon Validator Testnet with Spheron:

(opens in a new tab)

For more information, refer to the Babylon docs (opens in a new tab).