Manually deploy tau

Introduction¶

Every Taubyte-based Cloud is associated with a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN). You can use any domain or sub-domain you control. For instance, I've chosen enterprise.starships.ws for Starship Enterprise's Web Services.

Developers often require a temporary sub-domain for testing. You can use a sub-domain of your main domain or a different one. While g.enterprise.starships.ws or el.starships.ws are valid, my passion for Sci-Fi inspires me to select e.ftll.ink (Enterprise's Faster Than Light Link).

💡 Note: The domain can be local, but it must resolve on the hosts where tau is installed.

Infrastructure Setup¶

Choose your infrastructure. The only requirement is hosts (bare metal or VMs) running Ubuntu.

For this example, I provisioned 3 VMs:

Name	Location	IP
host-001-enterprise-starships-ws	Iowa	34.133.173.124
host-002-enterprise-starships-ws	Toronto	34.130.131.76
host-003-enterprise-starships-ws	Los Angeles	35.235.122.141

💡 Note: This setup is temporary and will be decommissioned eventually. It remains accessible for testing while operational.

Firewall Configuration¶

Ensure the following ports are open:

Ports	Protocols	Description
4242, 4247, 4252	TCP	For Peer-to-peer communication and IPFS.
80, 443	TCP	For HTTP and HTTPS - serving APIs and hosted resources.
53, 953	TCP, UDP	For DNS resolution.

Preparing the Hosts¶

Installing curl & vim¶

Ensure curl and vim (or your preferred text editor) are installed:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install curl vim

💡 Tip: If you're unfamiliar with vim, try vim-adventures for a fun introduction.

Freeing Up DNS Ports¶

Adjust DNS settings for the seer service:

sudo vim /etc/systemd/resolved.conf

In edit mode (:i), configure:

DNS=1.1.1.1
DNSStubListener=no

Apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart systemd-resolved.service
sudo ln -sf /run/systemd/resolve/resolv.conf /etc/resolv.conf

Docker Installation¶

Install Docker:

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh

Setting Up the First Host¶

The initial host, host-001-enterprise-starships-ws, will generate our cloud's secrets.

Installing Tau¶

Install tau:

curl https://get.tau.link/tau | sh

💡 Note: A single host can support multiple nodes if ports do not overlap. For this guide, we use a one-node-per-host configuration.

Upon successful installation, you should see:

  % Total    % Received % Xferd  Average Speed   Time    Time     Time  Current
                                 Dload  Upload   Total   Spent    Left  Speed
100  3982  100  3982    0     0   3962      0  0:00:01  0:00:01 --:--:--  3966
Downloading release: v1.1.2
From: https://github.com/taubyte/tau/releases/download/v1.1.2/tau_1.1.2_linux_amd64.tar.gz
######################################################################## 100.0%
Installation complete

Configuring Your Node¶

Configure the node with:

sudo tau config generate -n enterprise.starships.ws \
      -s compute --services all --ip 34.133.173.124 \
      --dv --swarm

Here's a quick rundown of the options used: - --services all activates all available services. - -n specifies the domain name (or network name) for the node. - -s assigns a name to this configuration, often referred to as a "shape." - --ip indicates the IP address the node should use for announcements. - --dv generates a domain validation key pair. - --swarm creates a swarm key for network clustering.

💡 Note: Enabling all protocols on a single node is not advisable in deployments with meaninful workloads. You should be mindful of not having services like substrate or monkey eating up all the resources.

Upon successful configuration, you'll receive the node's ID:

[INFO] ID: 12D3KooWKv5oNF2a6h9sYzRUPEAaYe6feTbBbcLYZYVFrMDDCHzY

Fine-tuning the Configuration¶

Adjust the configuration for optimal performance:

sudo vi /tb/config/compute.yaml

Update the generated domain to match your preferred domain, e.g., e.ftll.ink:

generated: e.ftll.ink

Remove the gateway protocol since gateway and substrate cannot coexist:

privatekey: <redacted>
swarmkey: keys/swarm.key
services:
    - auth
    - patrick
    - monkey
    - tns
    - hoarder
    - substrate
    - seer
p2p-listen:
    - /ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/4242
p2p-announce:
    - /ip4/34.133.173.124/tcp/4242
ports:
    main: 4242
    lite: 4247
    ipfs: 4252
location:
    lat: 40.076897
    long: -109.33771
network-fqdn: enterprise.starships.ws
domains:
    key:
        private: keys/dv_private.pem
        public: keys/dv_public.pem
    generated: e.ftll.ink
plugins: {}

💡 Tip: Correct the location manually if inaccurately determined.

Validate the configuration:

sudo tau conf validate -s compute

No error messages indicate a correct configuration.

Manually Starting the Node¶

Start the node manually:

sudo tau start -s compute

Verify the node is active by navigating to slimdig.com and performing a check with seer.tau.<your domain>, your server's public IP, and clicking the A button.

Seeing your server's IP address verifies the node is operational.

Transitioning to a Systemd Service¶

Convert the manually started service into a systemd service for resilience:

Stop the service with CTRL-C.
Create a systemd service file:

sudo vim /lib/systemd/system/tau@.service

Add the following configuration:

[Unit]
Description=Taubyte Tau Service Running %i

[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=/tb/bin/tau start -s %i
StandardOutput=journal
User=root
Group=root

LimitAS=infinity
LimitRSS=infinity
LimitCORE=infinity
LimitNOFILE=65536

Restart=always
RestartSec=1

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start the service:

sudo systemctl enable tau@compute
sudo systemctl start tau@compute

Check the service status:

sudo systemctl status tau@compute

You should see:

● tau@compute.service - Taubyte Tau Service Running compute
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/tau@.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Fri 2024-02-09 22:43:52 UTC; 1min 5s ago
   Main PID: 4588 (tau)
      Tasks: 14 (limit: 38492)
     Memory: 202.0M
        CPU: 53.521s
     CGroup: /system.slice/system-tau.slice/tau@compute.service
             └─4588 /tb/bin/tau start -s compute

Feb 09 22:43:52 host-001-enterprise-starships-ws systemd[1]: Started Taubyte Tau Service Running compute.

This ensures your node remains operational across restarts and updates.

Configuring DNS for Load Balancing¶

The Seer protocol enables DNS load balancing within the your cloud, translating protocols into valid IP addresses using the <protocol>.tau.<domain> convention. This allows efficient load balancing with a simple CNAME (or ALIAS) record.

Delegating the `tau` Subdomain¶

Delegate the tau subdomain to nodes running the Seer protocol. Here's how with Namecheap for starships.ws:

Add the Node as an A Record:

Select the A record type.
Name it seer.<domain>.
Enter the node's IP address.
Validate the entry.

Delegate with an NS Record:

Choose the NS record type.
Label it tau.<domain>.
Set its value to seer.<domain>.
Validate the entry.

Verifying the Configuration¶

Use a tool like slimdig to verify the DNS configuration:

Enter <protocol>.tau.<domain> (e.g., tns.tau.enterprise.starships.ws).
Set the query to a public DNS server like 8.8.8.8.
Click the A button to perform the lookup.

💡 Note: DNS propagation can delay effectiveness, requiring multiple attempts over several minutes.

Congratulations, your cloud is operational! If you'd like to try it out right away, check out Take it for a spin!.

Adding the Other Nodes¶

To expand your Taubyte-based Cloud, add more hosts.

Exporting the Configuration Template¶

Create a configuration template to replicate the setup across additional hosts:

sudo tau config export -s compute --protect

Enter a password for encryption:

Password?

The exported configuration will look like this (omit location for other nodes):

The exported configuration will resemble the following (omit the location to let it be automatically determined for the other nodes):

origin:
  shape: compute
  host: host-001-enterprise-starships-ws
  time: 2024-02-12T05:41:25.218338331Z
  protected: true
source:
  swarmkey: PZuGcV96BbfM...2RE8ZEfR2pZoM29z8
  services:
  - auth
  - patrick
  - monkey
  - tns
  - hoarder
  - substrate
  - seer
  p2p-listen:
  - /ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/4242
  p2p-announce:
  - /ip4/34.133.173.124/tcp/4242
  ports:
    main: 4242
    lite: 4247
    ipfs: 4252
  network-fqdn: enterprise.starships.ws
  domains:
    key:
      private: BDN9SEUFsolg...25pUUrUpFxSFhjlCv
      public: cmS5kmov/cJ9...NezzWwcYVj4YVNOg
    generated: e.ftll.ink
  plugins: {}

Retrieve the first node's multi-address:

sudo tau config show -s compute | grep Announce

The output provides the address for peer connections:

│ P2PAnnounce │ /ip4/34.133.173.124/tcp/4242/p2p/12D3KooWKv5oNF2a6h9sYzRUPEAaYe6feTbBbcLYZYVFrMDDCHzY │

Preparing the Additional Hosts¶

SSH into the remaining hosts, prepare them as described in the Preparing the Hosts section. Transfer the compute.tmpl.yaml template and the systemd service file to each.

Installing Tau¶

Install tau on each new host:

curl https://get.tau.link/tau | sh

Configuring the Additional Hosts¶

For the Second Host:

```sh
$ sudo tau config gen --ip 34.130.131.76 --use compute.tmpl.yaml  --bootstrap /ip4/34.133.173.124/tcp/4242/p2p/12D3KooWKv5oNF2a6h9sYzRUPEAaYe6feTbBbcLYZYVFrMDDCHzY
```

For the Third Host:

```sh
$ sudo tau config gen --ip 35.235.122.141 --use compute.tmpl.yaml  --bootstrap /ip4/34.133.173.124/tcp/4242/p2p/12D3KooWKv5oNF2a6h9sYzRUPEAaYe6feTbBbcLYZYVFrMDDCHzY
```

Systemd Setup¶

Ensure the tau service starts automatically on each host:

sudo cp ~/tau@.service /lib/systemd/system/tau@.service
sudo systemctl enable tau@compute
sudo systemctl start tau@compute

Verify the service status:

sudo systemctl status tau@compute

DNS Verification¶

Ensure all nodes are registered and operational using DNS queries:

Enter <protocol>.tau.<domain> and select A to perform the query.

All three servers should be listed, indicating successful integration.

Final Adjustments¶

DNS Adjustments¶

Main Domain: Add A records for each new host.

A DNS lookup should reflect all active hosts:

Generated Domain: Delegate the subdomain to your cloud by adding an NS entry.

Bootstrapping for Recovery and Expansion¶

Ensure all nodes are aware of each other:

Collect and share multi-addresses among nodes.
Update the peers section in each node's configuration.

peers:
  - /ip4/34.133.173.124/tcp/4242/p2p/12D3KooWKv5oNF2a6h9sYzRUPEAaYe6feTbBbcLYZYVFrMDDCHzY
  - /ip4/34.130.131.76/tcp/4242/p2p/12D3KooWHrp2t9npN2TW4dv47uEvJh6qfs6U2ymhkiVVNpcR3cWE
  - /ip4/35.235.122.141/tcp/4242/p2p/12D3KooWKQJfLU74VJzsvhAKUJ8KQidBr1CowMo1e1YRrSb2vTZd

Validate the configuration:

sudo tau config check -s compute

No error messages indicate readiness.

Restart?¶

No manual restarts are needed. Discovered peers are maintained in a persistent database, ensuring automatic recognition after recovery or reconfiguration.

Manually deploy tau

Introduction¶

Infrastructure Setup¶

Firewall Configuration¶

Preparing the Hosts¶

Installing curl & vim¶

Freeing Up DNS Ports¶

Docker Installation¶

Setting Up the First Host¶

Installing Tau¶

Configuring Your Node¶

Fine-tuning the Configuration¶

Manually Starting the Node¶

Transitioning to a Systemd Service¶

Configuring DNS for Load Balancing¶

Delegating the tau Subdomain¶

Verifying the Configuration¶

Adding the Other Nodes¶

Exporting the Configuration Template¶

Preparing the Additional Hosts¶

Installing Tau¶

Configuring the Additional Hosts¶

Systemd Setup¶

DNS Verification¶

Final Adjustments¶

DNS Adjustments¶

Bootstrapping for Recovery and Expansion¶

Restart?¶

Delegating the `tau` Subdomain¶