Node Deployment Guide

This runbook covers all steps necessary to install the Internet Computer Operating System (IC-OS).

The physical machine is expected to be racked and stacked according to its respective manual.

If you encounter issues through any of these steps, check the Node Provider Troubleshooting page. If that does not solve your problem, you are encouraged to ask for assistance in the Node Provider Matrix channel.

Note: the following instructions are for onboarding nodes without using a NitroKey HSM. If your data center was set up with an HSM, then you will need to follow the legacy NitroKey HSM installation runbook.

Requirements

• A USB (3.0 speed that can hold at least 4GB) to put the image file on (Faster USBs will allow the process to go much faster.)
• The node_operator_private_key.pem for your data center (Acquired from Node Provider Onboarding step 7)
  • If your data center was set up with an HSM, please see the NitroKey HSM node installation runbook.
• It is recommended that each server have a label with the BMC's MAC address for ease of identification in future dashboard upgrades.

1. Download installation image

🚨🚨🚨 Download the IC-OS image and checksum released 2023-07-10, 7:38:52 AM UTC. Do NOT use the IC-OS image and checksum released 2023-07-17, 2:20:46 PM UTC.

Download the latest release of the IC-OS USB Installer Image and the corresponding checksum from the Internet Computer Dashboard Releases.

2. Verify checksum and unarchive file

Mac OS X

1. Open the Terminal and type:

   shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/disk-img.tar.gz
   

2. Compare the calculated checksum with the IC-OS installation image checksum file downloaded in the previous step. Warning: Only continue if they are identical, otherwise please post your issue in the Node Provider Matrix channel.

   Open the Terminal and type:

   tar xzvf ~/Downloads/disk-img.tar.gz
   

Linux / Ubuntu

1. Open the Terminal and type:

   sha256sum ~/Downloads/disk-img.tar.gz
   

2. Compare the calculated checksum with the IC-OS installation image checksum file downloaded in the previous step. Warning: Only continue if they are identical, otherwise please post your issue in the Node Provider Matrix channel.

   Open the Terminal and type:

   tar xzvf ~/Downloads/disk-img.tar.gz
   

Windows

1. Open PowerShell and type:

   Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 .\Downloads\disk-img.tar.gz
   

2. Compare the calculated checksum with the IC-OS installation image checksum file downloaded in the previous step. Warning: Only continue if they are identical, otherwise please post your issue in the Node Provider Matrix channel.

   Open PowerShell and type:

   tar xzvf .\Downloads\disk-img.tar.gz
   

3. Create Bootable USB Stick

Mac OS X

1. Open the Terminal and type:

   diskutil list
   

2. All available drives should be shown. Identify which device corresponds to your USB stick. You may need to unmount the USB drive:

   sudo diskutil unmount /dev/YOUR_USB_DEVICE_MOUNTED_PARTITION # E.g. /dev/disk4s1
   

3. The file path is an example. Use the absolute path to the downloaded image. Warning: You risk losing your own data if you specify a wrong device.

   sudo dd if=/Users/YOUR_USER_NAME/Downloads/disk.img of=/dev/YOUR_USB_DEVICE bs=1M
   

   If you get a “device is busy” error from the dd command, you can try running the following command to unmount all of the partitions on the disk, then re-run the dd command:

   sudo diskutil unmountDisk /dev/YOUR_USB_DEVICE # E.g. /dev/disk4
   

Linux / Ubuntu

1. Open the Terminal and type

   blkid
   

2. All available drives should be shown. Identify which device corresponds to your USB stick. You may need to unmount the USB drive:

   sudo diskutil unmount /dev/YOUR_USB_DEVICE_MOUNTED_PARTITION # E.g. /dev/sdb1
   

3. Replace /dev/YOUR_USB_DEVICE with the device that corresponds to your USB stick. Warning: You risk losing your own data if you specify a wrong drive.

   sudo dd if=~/Downloads/disk.img of=/dev/YOUR_USB_DEVICE bs=1M
   

Windows

1. Download and install Rufus Portable
2. Start Rufus
3. Select the USB stick under device and select the previously downloaded IC-OS disk image and press start

   

4. You may see some warnings. Make sure you don't have any other USBs in your computer and chose OK

   

   

5. The "Ready" bar will go from left to right as it completes.

4. Add configuration

A. Open Config.ini in a text editor

Mac OS X

1. Open Finder. You should now be able to see the CONFIG partition. If it's not visible, remove the USB and insert it again.

   

2. Double-click config.ini to open it in TextEdit.

Linux

1. Open the File Manager. You should now be able to see the CONFIG partition. If it's not visible, remove the USB and insert it again.

   

2. Double-click config.ini to open it in KWrite.

Windows

1. Open the Disk Management utility with a right click on the Start menu

   #:

2. Right click the CONFIG partition
3. Select Change drive letter or paths...

   

4. Select any letter from the drop-down list

   

5. Click OK.
6. You should now be able to see the CONFIG partition in your Windows Explorer. Select the config.ini configuration file

   

7. Click on Edit to open it.

B. Edit Config.ini

1. Insert your IPv6 prefix, subnet and gateway.

   

   • The IPv6 prefix should consist of four groups of hexadecimal digits, separated by colons (':'). Each group can contain up to four hex digits.
   • For example, a valid prefix could look like this: 2a00:fb01:400:100
   • Important:
     • The prefix should not have a trailing ':'
     • IPv6 CIDR notation allows for a double colon ('::') to represent consecutive groups of zeroes in an address. However, the prefix configuration in this context does not support '::'. The '::' shorthand should not be used. Even if some groups are all zeros, they must be explicitly written out.

2. Save the changes.

   • If you have trouble saving this file directly, you may need to save to a known location first, then copy the file into place.
   • If you need help, please do not hesitate to post your issue in the Node Provider Matrix channel.

     

C. Copy Node Operator private key to config partition

1. Copy node_operator_private_key.pem (created in Node Provider Onboarding step 7) to the CONFIG partition. This file should have the name node_operator_private_key.pem, and sit next to config.ini, NOT inside the ssh_authorized_keys folder.

5. Connect Crash Cart

1. In order to configure the UEFI and initiate the installation of the IC-OS, please connect a crash cart to the physical machine.
2. Plug-in the VGA/Video, keyboard and IC-OS USB stick

   

6. UEFI Setup and Boot Menu

Use the related page below to set up the BIOS/UEFI according to your hardware vendor.

• Gen2 hardware
  • IC-OS Installation - UEFI Configuration - Gen2 Dell
  • IC-OS Installation - UEFI Configuration - Gen2 Supermicro
• Gen1 hardware
  • IC-OS Installation - UEFI Configuration - Gen1 Dell (Poweredge R6525)
  • IC-OS Installation - UEFI Configuration - Gen1 Supermicro

Important: Do NOT enable the RAID bios setting. Doing so will cause issues with the IC-OS installation.

Resume from this point when you are finished configuring the BIOS.

7. IC-OS Installation

1. Please wait while the USB Installer is booting up. This process can take up to 3 minutes.

   

2. The IC-OS installation starts. Please keep an eye on the progress. This part can take up to 10 minutes. Please remember to check the Possible Node Onboarding Errors page if you encounter any errors.

   

3. If the installation finished successfully, it will initiate a reboot.

   
   

8. First Boot

Please remember to check the Possible Node Onboarding Errors page if you encounter any errors onboarding. Do NOT re-try the onboarding after proceeding to this section, as this can cause duplication within the registry.

1. Once you see this message, you may unplug the USB stick and VGA/Video. You can ignore the message to remove the HSM, as you did not use an HSM to onboard your nodes.

   

Congratulations! Your machine successfully joined the Internet Computer! Again, once you see this message, do NOT re-try the onboarding after proceeding to this section, as this can cause duplication within the registry. The machine has joined the IC and the Node Provider will start receiving rewards!

9. Verify node onboarding

1. Verify that your node was successfully onboarded by checking its status on the dashboard is set to either “Awaiting Subnet” or “Active in Subnet”.
   • The dashboard can be searched by your Node Provider principal. There, you should see the Node ID of your node (Node ID outputted in step 8).
   • If the status of your node is not either “Awaiting Subnet” or “Active in Subnet”, or if it is not listed under your Node Provider principal, you should contact the Node Provider Matrix channel for assistance.