Prerequisites
Last updated
Last updated
Operating a stake pool in a Cardano prior to registering a stake pool in the Mainnet production environment offers a risk-free approach to start learning practically about the technical skills, commitment, responsibilities and benefits of operating a Cardano stake pool.
When operating a stake pool on Mainnet, using a Testnet environment to test configuration changes and upgrades as well as troubleshoot any issues that may arise without impacting the production environment is very helpful.
While explaining how to implement a stake pool on Mainnet, The How to Set Up a Cardano Stake Pool guide also includes instructions throughout describing how to configure a stake pool to operate in a Testnet environment.
As a Stake Pool Operator (SPO) for Cardano, you need:
Operational knowledge of how to set up, run and maintain a Cardano node continuously
A commitment to maintain your node 24/7/365
System operation skills including general knowledge of using , , and
Server administration skills (operational and maintenance)
Fundamental understanding of
Experience of development and operations (DevOps)
Experience in how to and .
In the , successfully complete the section including the
Before continuing this guide, you must satisfy the above requirements.
Two separate servers: 1 block producer node, 1 registered relay node
One air-gapped offline machine (cold environment)
Operating system: 64-bit Linux (i.e. Ubuntu 22.04 LTS)
Processor: An Intel or AMD x86 processor with two or more cores, at 2GHz or faster
Memory: 24GB RAM (including swap space)
Storage: 250GB free storage
Internet: Static IP address and a broadband connection supporting speeds at least 10 Mbps
Data Plan: At least 1GB per day (30GB per month)
Power: Reliable electrical power
ADA balance: At least 505 ADA for pool deposit and transaction fees
Four separate servers: 1 block producer node, 3 relay nodes (2 registered relays and 1 unregistered relay) located in at least two different physical locations around the world
One air-gapped offline machine (cold environment)
Operating system: 64-bit Linux (i.e. Ubuntu 22.04 LTS)
Processor: 4 core or higher CPU
Memory: 24GB+ RAM
Storage: 300GB+ free storage
Internet: Static IP addresses and broadband connections supporting speeds of at least 100 Mbps
Data Plan: Unlimited
Power: Reliable electrical power with UPS or other backup power source
ADA balance: More pledge and stake is better, to be determined by a0, the pledge influence factor
One server: 1 block producer node
Operating system: 64-bit Linux (i.e. Ubuntu 22.04 LTS)
Processor: An Intel or AMD x86 processor with two or more cores, at 2GHz or faster
Memory: 8GB RAM
Storage: 25GB free storage
Internet: Static IP address and a broadband connection supporting speeds at least 10 Mbps
Data Plan: At least 1GB per day (30GB per month)
Power: Reliable electrical power
ADA balance: 0 ADA (Request tokens and stake pool delegations using the )
If you need ideas on how to harden your stake pool's nodes, refer to .
Refer to the respective guide to or .
If you are rebuilding or reusing an existing cardano-node installation, refer to the section .