Setting up full and archive nodes for Midnight

Running a full or archive node allows you to sync with the Midnight blockchain, validate transactions, and maintain the chain's state without relying on third-party infrastructure. Full nodes are ideal for real-time interaction and efficient storage, while archive nodes provide comprehensive historical data for applications requiring deep blockchain analysis.

Full Node vs. Archive Node

A full node syncs with the blockchain, validates transactions, and provides real-time state queries. It prunes historical states older than a configurable number of blocks (default: 256 blocks), making it suitable for most DApp development and real-time network interactions. Full nodes use disk space efficiently, requiring significantly less storage than archive nodes.

An archive node maintains the entire history of the blockchain, including all blocks and states since genesis. This comprehensive storage consumes substantial disk space but is essential for use cases requiring access to historical data, such as:

• Building block explorers
• Conducting in-depth blockchain analysis or debugging
• Querying historical transaction data
• Auditing complete chain history

Set up an archive node by adding the --state-pruning archive --blocks-pruning archive parameters.

Prerequisites

Before setting up your Midnight full node, ensure you have the following:

• Docker installed and configured.
• Cardano-db-sync instance set up with accessible PostgreSQL port.
• Sufficient resources (CPU, memory, and storage).

Setting up a full node

Step 1: Configure PostgreSQL database

Set up a PostgreSQL instance with the following parameters:

• Host: PostgreSQL server address.
• Port: Default 5432.
• Username: Database user.
• Password: Database password.
• Database name: Name of the database (e.g., cexplorer).

Step 2: Run the Docker command for a full node

Use the following Docker command to set up your full node. Choose the configuration for your target network.

For Preview network:

docker run \
  --name midnight-full-node \
  --platform linux/amd64 \
  -p 30333:30333 \
  -v midnight-data:/node \
  -e CFG_PRESET="preview" \
  -e BASE_PATH="/node/chain/" \
  -e POSTGRES_HOST="<your-postgres-host>" \
  -e POSTGRES_PORT="5432" \
  -e POSTGRES_USER="<your-db-user>" \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD="<your-db-password>" \
  -e POSTGRES_DB="cexplorer" \
  midnightnetwork/midnight-node:<VERSION> \
  --chain=/res/preview/chain-spec-raw.json \
  --bootnodes /dns/bootnode-1.preview.midnight.network/tcp/30333/ws/p2p/12D3KooWK66i7dtGVNSwDh9tTeqov1q6LSdWsRLJvTyzTCaywYgK \
  --bootnodes /dns/bootnode-2.preview.midnight.network/tcp/30333/ws/p2p/12D3KooWHqFfXFwb7WW4jwR8pr4BEf562v5M6c8K3CXAJq4Wx6ym \
  --no-private-ip

For Preprod network:

docker run \
  --name midnight-full-node \
  --platform linux/amd64 \
  -p 30333:30333 \
  -v midnight-data:/node \
  -e CFG_PRESET="preprod" \
  -e BASE_PATH="/node/chain/" \
  -e POSTGRES_HOST="<your-postgres-host>" \
  -e POSTGRES_PORT="5432" \
  -e POSTGRES_USER="<your-db-user>" \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD="<your-db-password>" \
  -e POSTGRES_DB="cexplorer" \
  midnightnetwork/midnight-node:<VERSION> \
  --chain=/res/preprod/chain-spec-raw.json \
  --bootnodes /dns/bootnode-1.preprod.midnight.network/tcp/30333/ws/p2p/12D3KooWQxxUgq7ndPfAaCFNbAxtcKYxrAzTxDfRGNktF75SxdX5 \
  --bootnodes /dns/bootnode-2.preprod.midnight.network/tcp/30333/ws/p2p/12D3KooWNrUBs22FfmgjqFMa9ZqKED2jnxwsXWw5E4q2XVwN35TJ \
  --no-private-ip

Replace the following:

• <VERSION> - Node version from the release compatibility matrix
• <your-postgres-host> - PostgreSQL server address (use host.docker.internal if Cardano-db-sync runs on the same machine)
• <your-db-user> - Database username configured in Cardano-db-sync
• <your-db-password> - Database password configured in Cardano-db-sync

Security

For production deployments, enable SSL/TLS for PostgreSQL connections. Only set ALLOW_NON_SSL=true for local development environments.

Setting up an archive node

Step 1: Configure PostgreSQL database

Set up a PostgreSQL instance with the following parameters:

• Host: PostgreSQL server address
• Port: Default 5432
• Username: Database user
• Password: Database password
• Database Name: Name of the database (for example, cexplorer)

Step 2: Run the Docker command for an archive node

To set up an archive node, add the pruning parameters to store all historical states. Choose the configuration for your target network.

For Preview network:

docker run \
  --name midnight-archive-node \
  --platform linux/amd64 \
  -p 30333:30333 \
  -v midnight-data:/node \
  -e CFG_PRESET="preview" \
  -e BASE_PATH="/node/chain/" \
  -e POSTGRES_HOST="<your-postgres-host>" \
  -e POSTGRES_PORT="5432" \
  -e POSTGRES_USER="<your-db-user>" \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD="<your-db-password>" \
  -e POSTGRES_DB="cexplorer" \
  midnightnetwork/midnight-node:<VERSION> \
  --chain=/res/preview/chain-spec-raw.json \
  --bootnodes /dns/bootnode-1.preview.midnight.network/tcp/30333/ws/p2p/12D3KooWK66i7dtGVNSwDh9tTeqov1q6LSdWsRLJvTyzTCaywYgK \
  --bootnodes /dns/bootnode-2.preview.midnight.network/tcp/30333/ws/p2p/12D3KooWHqFfXFwb7WW4jwR8pr4BEf562v5M6c8K3CXAJq4Wx6ym \
  --state-pruning archive \
  --blocks-pruning archive \
  --no-private-ip

For Preprod network:

docker run \
  --name midnight-archive-node \
  --platform linux/amd64 \
  -p 30333:30333 \
  -v midnight-data:/node \
  -e CFG_PRESET="preprod" \
  -e BASE_PATH="/node/chain/" \
  -e POSTGRES_HOST="<your-postgres-host>" \
  -e POSTGRES_PORT="5432" \
  -e POSTGRES_USER="<your-db-user>" \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD="<your-db-password>" \
  -e POSTGRES_DB="cexplorer" \
  midnightnetwork/midnight-node:<VERSION> \
  --chain=/res/preprod/chain-spec-raw.json \
  --bootnodes /dns/bootnode-1.preprod.midnight.network/tcp/30333/ws/p2p/12D3KooWQxxUgq7ndPfAaCFNbAxtcKYxrAzTxDfRGNktF75SxdX5 \
  --bootnodes /dns/bootnode-2.preprod.midnight.network/tcp/30333/ws/p2p/12D3KooWNrUBs22FfmgjqFMa9ZqKED2jnxwsXWw5E4q2XVwN35TJ \
  --state-pruning archive \
  --blocks-pruning archive \
  --no-private-ip

Replace the same placeholder values as in the full node setup above.

Storage requirements

Archive nodes require significantly more disk space than full nodes. Ensure you have sufficient storage capacity (4+ TB recommended for Mainnet) before running an archive node.

Verifying the Node

Check logs

Monitor the node's logs to ensure it syncs with the network:

docker logs -f <node-name>

Test connectivity

Ensure the node's P2P port (default: 30333) is open and reachable for network communication. Use tools like telnet, netcat, or nmap to verify the port status and ensure the node is properly connected to the network.