Staking
So you are ready to start staking FSN and would like to setup your very own node on FUSION? Let this article aid you on your journey to become a FUSION validator and FSN miner. If you're merely looking to stake with a pool look here.
Prerequisites
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VPS (Virtual Private Server)
2 Core 4GB 80-100+GB SSD (larger ssd storage will last longer as the chain grows)
Ubuntu 18.04/20.04 LTS -
A terminal control window such as PuTTY SSH Client for remote control of your VPS
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5000+ FSN
Staking tickets á 5k FSN, higher number is recommended for compounding purposes as you can only stake 5k/10k/15k.. etc.
VPS Suggestions
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Contabo VPS S SSD (200GB ssd @ 4.99€ /mo.)
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Hetzner CPX21 (80GB ssd @ 8,21€ /mo.)
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Hetzner CPX31 (160GB ssd @ 14,76€ /mo.)
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Vultr Compute (80GB ssd @ $20 /mo.)
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Digital Ocean Droplet (80GB ssd @ $20 /mo.)
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Google Cloud Compute ($50+ /mo, $300 free credits for new customers)
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Anything else that meets the recommended specs.
The first step of the node setup will be to connect to your VPS, this process will differ between providers but most of them will use some form of SSH which means you will be using tools like Putty for windows or the terminal for Mac to connect to your vps. To avoid making this process to complicated, please refer to each VPS provider’s own guide on how to access the terminal of your VPS.
SSH Guides
Now that you have connected to your VPS via SSH you will see a terminal window that will look something like this.
SSH start screen using Putty for Windows.
To continue with the node setup you will need docker installed on your VPS so we go ahead and do that before running the script. If the terminal is asking about permissions you might have to enter your password again. (Note: You need to be sure you are connected to the VPS before proceeding, otherwise you will be installing things on your own system, which is not what you want to do).
sudo apt-get install docker.io -y
This is where the fun begins. All you have to do now is to execute the QuickNodeSetup script using the command below and follow the installation instructions.
bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/FUSIONFoundation/efsn/master/QuickNodeSetup/fsnNode.sh)"
This will install dependencies and take you to the FUSION Node Manager menu.
FUSION Node Manager Menu.
This menu will be populated with more options when your node is installed but for now we will focus on “1. Install node and dependencies”, go ahead and select it by hitting “1”.
Type of node to install.
Now you need to select what type of node you want to run. We do what the menu tells us and select “1. minerandlocalgateway”.
Select mainnet or testnet node.
Select “Y” to install a mainnet node.
Paste content of keystore file.
Unless you already have an empty staking wallet, go to whallet.net and create a new wallet, make sure to store the .json keystore file in a safe place. Open the file in notepad and copy/paste the contents of the file onto the vps terminal. (Right mouse-click or [shift + ins] to paste in putty for example)
Staking wallet address confirmation.
After that, you are asked to confirm that the address of the keystore you just posted is indeed your empty staking wallet. If yes, hit “Y”.
Staking wallet password.
Enter the password of your staking wallet keystore file.
Next you will be greeted by a number of [Y/n] selections for ticket auto-buy, mining, auto-start and node explorer listing. You want to select “Y” on all of these unless you have a reason not to.
Name your node.
The last step is to name your node, enter something unique you can remember and hit enter and the node will be installed.
Now you are able to search for your node on the node explorer to check its status. The node will be syncing for a few days to catch up to all the other nodes, this gives you ample time to complete the last step which is to transfer “Time-Locked” FSN from your holding wallet to the empty staking wallet.
Add FSN to your staking wallet
When your node is in sync it will require some FSN to buy tickets and this is where FUSION’s Time-Lock comes in handy as it enables you to split your FSN in sections of time and only transfer one of those sections. This essentially means you will be able to send ownership of your FSN for the staking duration to your staking wallet while the full ownership of your FSN always remain in your holding wallet, keeping it safe and secure.
Your holding wallet can be any of the options supported by whallet.net but a hardware wallet is recommended.
Open up your holding wallet in whallet.net and hit send next to your FSN.
Send transaction view in whallet.net
On the send transaction modal, enter your empty staking wallet address that you created earlier and entered during the node install.
Enter number of FSN to send, anything that isnt an even 5000 will not be staked until you reach an even number so keep that in mind and also leave a little bit for gas.
Select “Timelock” tab and select the number of months you wish to send. Most people recommend 3–6 months, it’s a balance between how much of the ownership you wish to risk and how often you have to replenish the staking wallet. Less than 30 days will not be staked so you always have to keep the length in your staking wallet longer than that.
Hit send! The transaction should confirm in about 15 seconds and shortly after. Send also a little bit of full FSN (0.02 FSN or so) as gas, so your node will start buying tickets unless it’s still syncing in which case it will buy tickets when the sync is completed.
That’s about it! Now you just have to monitor the node, make sure it doesn't go offline or go below 30 days worth of Time-Lock. If the node goes offline when one of your tickets is picked then this ticket will be retreated and you wont be allowed to stake using those 5000 FSN for 30 days!
If this guide helped you make it as a miner of FSN, feel free to support efforts of @algoreee making more guides and continue building on tools like FSNEX and Fusion Mining.
Update your node: In order to update your node if a network upgrade happens. Just connect to your VPS again and type in
bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/FUSIONFoundation/efsn/master/QuickNodeSetup/fsnNode.sh)"
This takes you to a menu. Option 2 in the menu is to update your node. Choose this to update. The process should only take a minute. That is all you need to do.
Close your node: If you need to close your node, do it the following way to assure yourself you won't retreat tickets in the process. 1. 1. Connect to your node and type in bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/FUSIONFoundation/efsn/master/QuickNodeSetup/fsnNode.sh)" 2. Turn off Auto-buy tickets. 3. Wait until all your tickets have been picked. You can track this in https://www.fusionmining.org/ or block explorers. You wait until it appears you are no longer staking anything (this can take some days). 4. You can close the node and stop paying for it. 5. "Send back to assets" your FSN. 6. Do whatever you want next.
If you don't follow those steps when closing down, there's a chance you close the node while tickets are still active, and if those tickets get picked they will retreat and you lose the 5000 30 day TLs attached to those tickets.
Useful links:
FUSION MINING — More guides, staking pools list, reward statistics etc.
NODE MONITOR— Track your node’s current status, blockheight etc.
FSNEX.COM — Fusion block explorer to track balances, transactions etc.
FUSION Dev. Community TG — Node and dev support and discussions.