corda/docs/source/running-a-node.rst

Running nodes locally

Note

You should already have generated your node(s) with their CorDapps installed by following the instructions in generating-a-node.

There are several ways to run a Corda node locally for testing purposes.

Starting a Corda node using DemoBench

See the instructions in demobench.

Starting a Corda node from the command line

Run a node by opening a terminal window in the node's folder and running:

java -jar corda.jar

By default, the node will look for a configuration file called node.conf and a CorDapps folder called cordapps in the current working directory. You can override the configuration file and workspace paths on the command line (e.g. ./corda.jar --config-file=test.conf --base-directory=/opt/corda/nodes/test).

You can increase the amount of Java heap memory available to the node using the -Xmx command line argument. For example, the following would run the node with a heap size of 2048MB:

java -Xmx2048m -jar corda.jar

You should do this if you receive an OutOfMemoryError exception when interacting with the node.

Optionally run the node's webserver as well by opening a terminal window in the node's folder and running:

java -jar corda-webserver.jar

Warning

The node webserver is for testing purposes only and will be removed soon.

Command-line options

The node can optionally be started with the following command-line options:

• --base-directory, -b: The node working directory where all the files are kept (default: .).
• --bootstrap-raft-cluster: Bootstraps Raft cluster. The node forms a single node cluster (ignoring otherwise configured peer addresses), acting as a seed for other nodes to join the cluster.
• --clear-network-map-cache, -c: Clears local copy of network map, on node startup it will be restored from server or file system.
• --config-file, -f: The path to the config file. Defaults to node.conf.
• --dev-mode, -d: Runs the node in developer mode. Unsafe in production. Defaults to true on MacOS and desktop versions of Windows. False otherwise.
• --help, -h: Displays the help message and exits.
• --initial-registration: Start initial node registration with Corda network to obtain certificate from the permissioning server.
• --install-shell-extensions: Installs an alias and auto-completion for users of bash or zsh. See below for more information.
• --just-generate-node-info: Perform the node start-up task necessary to generate its nodeInfo, save it to disk, then quit.
• --just-generate-rpc-ssl-settings: Generate the ssl keystore and truststore for a secure RPC connection.
• --log-to-console, --verbose, -v: If set, prints logging to the console as well as to a file.
• --logging-level <[ERROR,WARN,INFO,DEBUG,TRACE]>: Enable logging at this level and higher. Defaults to INFO.
• --network-root-truststore, -t: Network root trust store obtained from network operator.
• --network-root-truststore-password, -p: Network root trust store password obtained from network operator.
• --no-local-shell, -n: Do not start the embedded shell locally.
• --on-unknown-config-keys <[FAIL,WARN,INFO]>: How to behave on unknown node configuration. Defaults to FAIL.
• --sshd: Enables SSH server for node administration.
• --sshd-port: Sets the port for the SSH server. If not supplied and SSH server is enabled, the port defaults to 2222.
• --version, -V: Prints the version and exits.

Installing shell extensions

Users of bash or zsh can install an alias and command line completion for Corda. Run:

java -jar corda.jar --install-shell-extensions

Then, either restart your shell, or for bash users run:

. ~/.bashrc

Or, for zsh run:

. ~/.zshrc

You will now be able to run a Corda node from anywhere by running the following:

corda --<option>

Upgrading shell extensions

Once the shell extensions have been installed, you can upgrade them in one of two ways.

1. Overwrite the existing corda.jar with the newer version. The next time you run Corda, it will automatically update the completion file. Either restart the shell or see above<installing-shell-extensions> for instructions on making the changes take effect immediately.

2. If you wish to use a new corda.jar from a different directory, navigate to that directory and run:

   java -jar corda.jar

   Which will update the corda alias to point to the new location, and update command line completion functionality. Either restart the shell or see above<installing-shell-extensions> for instructions on making the changes take effect immediately.

Enabling remote debugging

To enable remote debugging of the node, run the node with the following JVM arguments:

java -Dcapsule.jvm.args="-agentlib:jdwp=transport=dt_socket,server=y,suspend=y,address=5005" -jar corda.jar

This will allow you to attach a debugger to your node on port 5005.

Starting all nodes at once on a local machine from the command line

Native

If you created your nodes using deployNodes, a runnodes shell script (or batch file on Windows) will have been generated to allow you to quickly start up all nodes and their webservers. runnodes should only be used for testing purposes.

Start the nodes with runnodes by running the following command from the root of the project:

• Linux/macOS: build/nodes/runnodes
• Windows: call build\nodes\runnodes.bat

Warning

On macOS, do not click/change focus until all the node terminal windows have opened, or some processes may fail to start.

If you receive an OutOfMemoryError exception when interacting with the nodes, you need to increase the amount of Java heap memory available to them, which you can do when running them individually. See starting-an-individual-corda-node.

docker-compose

If you created your nodes using Dockerform, the docker-compose.yml file and corresponding Dockerfile for nodes has been created and configured appropriately. Navigate to build/nodes directory and run docker-compose up command. This will startup nodes inside new, internal network. After the nodes are started up, you can use docker ps command to see how the ports are mapped.

Warning

You need both Docker and docker-compose installed and enabled to use this method. Docker CE (Community Edition) is enough. Please refer to Docker CE documentation and Docker Compose documentation for installation instructions for all major operating systems.

Starting all nodes at once on a remote machine from the command line

By default, Cordform expects the nodes it generates to be run on the same machine where they were generated. In order to run the nodes remotely, the nodes can be deployed locally and then copied to a remote server. If after copying the nodes to the remote machine you encounter errors related to localhost resolution, you will additionally need to follow the steps below.

To create nodes locally and run on a remote machine perform the following steps:

1. Configure Cordform task and deploy the nodes locally as described in generating-a-node.

2. Copy the generated directory structure to a remote machine using e.g. Secure Copy.

3. Optionally, bootstrap the network on the remote machine.

   This is optional step when a remote machine doesn't accept localhost addresses, or the generated nodes are configured to run on another host's IP address.

   If required change host addresses in top level configuration files [NODE NAME]_node.conf for entries p2pAddress , rpcSettings.address and rpcSettings.adminAddress.

   Run the network bootstrapper tool to regenerate the nodes network map (see for more explanation network-bootstrapper):

   java -jar corda-tools-network-bootstrapper-Master.jar --dir <nodes-root-dir>

4. Run nodes on the remote machine using runnodes command <starting-all-nodes-at-once>.

The above steps create a test deployment as deployNodes Gradle task would do on a local machine.