How to deploy an Lava Validator Testnet?

Spheron allows you to deploy a compute instance pre-installed with Lava, all set up and ready to use on the Akash Network. To deploy a Lava 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 Lava 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 Lava 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 or Recover Your Wallet

Go to Shell Command from the left navigation and follow these steps:

1. To create a new wallet

lavad keys add wallet

2. To recover an existing wallet

lavad keys add wallet --recover

Then, enter your mnemonic phrase when prompted.

Fund Your Wallet

1. Visit the #faucet channel on the official Lava Network Discord server (opens in a new tab) and request funds by sharing the address you previously created.
2. Check your wallet balance using:

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

Make sure you have at least 100000ulava tokens.

3. If you don't see a balance, your node might still be syncing with the blockchain. Wait until the catching_up status is false.
4. Monitor your wallet on the Lava Explorer: Keep an eye on your transactions and balance by visiting Lava Explorer (opens in a new tab) and entering your wallet address. This step is crucial for ensuring that your wallet has been successfully funded and is correctly reflecting the transactions on the blockchain.

Verify Network Synchronization

Check the synchronization status with:

lavad 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:

lavad tx staking create-validator --amount=90000ulava --pubkey=$(lavad tendermint show-validator) --moniker "YOUR_MONIKER_NAME" --details "YOUR_DETAILS" --website "YOUR_WEBSITE_URL" --chain-id=lava-testnet-2 --commission-rate=0.1 --commission-max-rate=0.2 --commission-max-change-rate=0.05 --min-self-delegation=1 --gas="auto" --gas-adjustment "1.5" --gas-prices="0.05ulava" --from=wallet -y

2. Customize the command with your details:
   Replace YOUR_MONIKER_NAME, YOUR_DETAILS, and YOUR_WEBSITE_URL with your information.
3. Make sure you see the validator details:

lavad q staking validator $(lavad keys show wallet --bech val -a)

4. Wait a few minutes after executing this command, before checking your node on the Lava validators list (opens in a new tab).

Deploy Your Own

Deploy your own Lava Validator Testnet with Spheron:

(opens in a new tab)

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