Setting Up a Local Casper Condor Network for Development

July 16, 2024 · 5 min read

Developer Advocate for Casper Association

Casper Condor is a major upgrade to the Casper Network. This guide walks you through creating a local Condor environment for testing and development using Dockerized NCTL and the Rust Casper Client.

Prerequisites

Docker installed and running on your machine

Part 1: The Dockerized NCTL (Network Control Tool)

NCTL is your tool for managing the Casper network. We'll use a Dockerized version for easier setup.

Clone the Repository:

git clone https://github.com/make-software/casper-nctl-docker.git
cd casper-nctl-docker

Switch to the Condor Branch:
```
git checkout feat-2.0
```
Clone the casper-node Repository:
```
git clone https://github.com/casper-network/casper-node.git
cd casper-node
git checkout release-2.0.0-rc3
```
Ensure you're in the casper-nctl-docker directory when running this command

Build the Docker Image:

docker build -f casper-nctl-condor.Dockerfile -t casper-nctl:rc3 .

This may take a while

Verify the Image:

docker image ls

Look for the casper-nctl:rc3 image in the output

REPOSITORY                 TAG        IMAGE ID       CREATED        SIZE
casper-nctl                rc3        9fd1e7b25d42   40 hours ago   433MB

Start the NCTL Docker Container:

Docker Compose (Recommended): If you're using the docker-compose.yml file, make sure that the image under the mynctl service points to casper-nctl:rc3. Then run docker-compose up.

Manual Docker Command:

docker run -d --name mynctl -p 11101:11101 casper-nctl:rc3

Once it is up and running you should see that there are 5 nodes and 5 sidecars running and another 5 nodes and 5 sidecars that are inactive:

 casper-nctl  | validators-1:casper-net-1-node-1       RUNNING   pid 996, uptime 0:00:03
 casper-nctl  | validators-1:casper-net-1-node-2       RUNNING   pid 998, uptime 0:00:03
 casper-nctl  | validators-1:casper-net-1-node-3       RUNNING   pid 1002, uptime 0:00:03
 casper-nctl  | validators-1:casper-net-1-sidecar-1    RUNNING   pid 997, uptime 0:00:03
 casper-nctl  | validators-1:casper-net-1-sidecar-2    RUNNING   pid 1000, uptime 0:00:03
 casper-nctl  | validators-1:casper-net-1-sidecar-3    RUNNING   pid 1011, uptime 0:00:03
 casper-nctl  | validators-2:casper-net-1-node-4       RUNNING   pid 1082, uptime 0:00:02
 casper-nctl  | validators-2:casper-net-1-node-5       RUNNING   pid 1084, uptime 0:00:02
 casper-nctl  | validators-2:casper-net-1-sidecar-4    RUNNING   pid 1083, uptime 0:00:02
 casper-nctl  | validators-2:casper-net-1-sidecar-5    RUNNING   pid 1085, uptime 0:00:02
 casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-node-10      STOPPED   Not started
 casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-node-6       STOPPED   Not started
 casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-node-7       STOPPED   Not started
 casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-node-8       STOPPED   Not started
 casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-node-9       STOPPED   Not started
 casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-sidecar-10   STOPPED   Not started
 casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-sidecar-6    STOPPED   Not started
 casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-sidecar-7    STOPPED   Not started
 casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-sidecar-8    STOPPED   Not started
 casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-sidecar-9    STOPPED   Not started

Part 2: Casper Client (Rust)

To interact with your local Condor network, we'll use the Casper Client. You have two options for using the Casper Client:

Option 1: Using the Casper Client from the Docker Image

The casper-nctl:rc3 Docker image already includes the casper-client.
You can skip the next two steps if you want to use the pre-installed client.

Option 2: Using Your Local Casper Client

Clone the Repository (Optional):

git clone https://github.com/casper-ecosystem/casper-client-rs.git
cd casper-client-rs

Switch to the Condor-Compatible Branch (Optional):
```
git checkout feat-track-node-2.0
```
Activate NCTL scripts:
```
source nctl-activate.sh casper-nctl
```

4 Test Your Setup:

nctl-view-node-status

This command should return the status of all the nodes running in your local network, indicating a successful setup. The output should look similar to this:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2024-07-10T15:31:42.181535 [INFO] [2043] NCTL :: node #1 :: status:
{
"api_version": "2.0.0",
"peers": [
   {
      "node_id": "tls:05b5..7b39",
      "address": "127.0.0.1:22103"
   },
   {
      "node_id": "tls:527e..37d2",
      "address": "127.0.0.1:22105"
   },
   {
      "node_id": "tls:b1d0..870f",
      "address": "127.0.0.1:22102"
   },
   {
      "node_id": "tls:dcdf..e348",
      "address": "127.0.0.1:22104"
   }
],
"build_version": "2.0.0-d5c0d238f",
"chainspec_name": "casper-net-1",
"starting_state_root_hash": "2d92cf9f3ff3eb70f40be598b61cbf747c1b5ea67df9596d84a88c5458028a80",
"last_added_block_info": {
   "hash": "c1056e0e5978e725777f48e4488462d7794e6547f25b1fbcc4ba261ca2864395",
   "timestamp": "2024-07-10T15:31:38.601Z",
   "era_id": 19,
   "height": 205,
   "state_root_hash": "6c5502c3443f526e943fa5a5421349e938464c063c8dd0ada616c997e3805612",
   "creator": "0190664e16a17594ed2d0e3c279c4cf5894e8db0da15e3b91c938562a1caae32ab"
},
"our_public_signing_key": "01fed662dc7f1f7af43ad785ba07a8cc05b7a96f9ee69613cfde43bc56bec1140b",
"round_length": "4s 96ms",
"next_upgrade": null,
"uptime": "13m 15s",
"reactor_state": "Validate",
"last_progress": "2024-07-10T15:18:26.354Z",
"available_block_range": {
   "low": 0,
   "high": 205
},
"block_sync": {
   "historical": null,
   "forward": null
},
"latest_switch_block_hash": "5192198c783ed8b66e206c37b34c5e268c84be2f4b78dd9899eecf5f37fb9f68"
}
.
.
.

Troubleshooting

If sidecars or nodes are not running: If you see null values under each node in the output of nctl-view-node-status, it means the version of casper-sidecar is not compatible with the casper-node.

Solution:

Go to the casper-node/ci/ci.json file.
Change the casper-sidecar branch under external_deps from:
```
"branch": "feat-2.0"
```
to:
```
"branch": "release-1.0.0rc2_node-2.0.0rc3" 
```
This is because the casper-node we are using is release-2.0.0-rc3. The required combination of versions of casper-sidecar and casper-node may change in the future (rc4 etc.).
Rebuild the NCTL image: docker build -f casper-nctl-condor.Dockerfile -t casper-nctl:rc3 .

Using the Casper Client

Command Format(Using local casper-client): cargo run --release [command] --node-address http://127.0.0.1:11101
Command Format(Using casper-client from the docker image): casper-client [command] --node-address http://127.0.0.1:11101

Accessing the NCTL Block Web Explorer

The NCTL Docker setup includes a web-based block explorer. You can access it in your browser at:

http://127.0.0.1:8080

This allows you to visually explore blocks, transactions, and other details of your local network.

Important Notes

Work in Progress: Condor compatibility is still evolving. Some features may be unstable or incomplete.

Additional Tips

Community Resources: Join the Casper Telegram for help and discussion.

Prerequisites​

Part 1: The Dockerized NCTL (Network Control Tool)​

Part 2: Casper Client (Rust)​

Troubleshooting​

Using the Casper Client​

Accessing the NCTL Block Web Explorer​

Important Notes​

Additional Tips​