Node Deployment Guide (with an HSM)

This runbook covers all steps necessary to install the Internet Computer Operating System (IC-OS) using the legacy NitroKey HSM instructions. To use the non-HSM onboarding instructions, follow the IC-OS Installation Runbook.

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

To complete these steps, you are expected to be physically present in the data center your machine(s) reside(s). Once you successfully onboard your first node, the others can the brought up in parallel.

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.

❗️❗️❗️DFINITY does not provide live support for Node Providers attempting to onboard nodes.

1. Choose onboarding path (HSM vs no HSM)

If you chose the HSM Node Provider Onboarding Path, continue to the next step.

If you chose to onboard without a Nitrokey HSM, follow the IC-OS Installation Runbook to onboard your nodes.

2. Obtain 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 NitroKey HSM for your data center.
• [Optional] A USB hub
  • This is helpful at some data centers for simultaneously connecting keyboard, mouse, Nitrokey, etc.
• It is recommended that each server has a label with the BMC's MAC address for ease of identification in future dashboard upgrades.

3. Download installation image

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

• Note that you should always use a release that is less than 6 weeks old in order to ensure that your node can keep up with the blockchain.

4. 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
   

5. 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.

6. 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.

     

7. 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

   

8. 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
  • IC-OS Installation - UEFI Configuration - Gen2 Gigabyte
  • IC-OS Installation - UEFI Configuration - Gen2 ASUS
• 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.

9. 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. Once you get asked to insert the HSM, please remove the keyboard and instead insert the HSM USB device.

   

4. If the installation finished successfully, it will initiate a reboot. Please do not unplug the USB stick or HSM USB device at this point.

   

10. First Boot

Please remember to check the Possible Node Onboarding Errors page if you encounter any errors onboarding.

🚨 Do NOT re-try the IC-OS installation after completing this section, as this can cause duplication within the registry.

1. The first boot of the IC-OS still requires the HSM USB device. Please wait until further instructions. This step can take up to 2 minutes.

   

2. Once you see this message, you may unplug the HSM USB device, USB stick and VGA/Video. Your machine successfully joined the Internet Computer! **Label the server with the node ID for easy future identification in the dashboard (at least the first 10 characters). ***

   

Congratulations! Your machine successfully joined the Internet Computer! The machine has joined the IC and the Node Provider will start receiving rewards!

🚨 Again: Once you reach this stage and see this message, do not attempt to restart the onboarding process. Doing so may cause duplicate entries in the registry.

11. 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 10).
   • 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.