# Strategies with Validator Nodes - Taiko L2 (Alpha-7 Updated)

By [0xOuterGod](https://paragraph.com/@0xoutergod) · 2024-01-02

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I don't mean to repeat myself. Since this is a guide focused on the installation of a validator node, I refer you to the introduction of my [**previous article**](https://mirror.xyz/0xb6f7E524D55672C10634D0dA7AED9cB738022274/qbu1XDN-XKp29bJ95BQfbd8A58wlrBQZuEgtu93qhZI), where I talked in-more-depth about _what a validator node is_ and _why it makes sense to launch one in testnet_.

In this article I intend to focus mainly on how to successfully launch a **validator node on Taiko L2**.

But first, **_what is Taiko?_**

Taiko L2 - Soluzione di Scalabilità di Ethereum tramite ZK-Rollup, EVM Equivalente
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taiko is a **Type 1 ZK-EVM Ethereum ZK-Rollup**, having greater compatibility than other competing ZK-Rollup solutions such as Linea zkEVM or Polygon zkEVM.

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/963ceef112a6a3ac6960784bbe8f85091bb5055630bdbe9ea30c13f62f43e0ad.png)

They raised **$22M** from several Tier 1 VCs - including _Sequoia China_, _Generative Ventures_, _BAI Capital_, _GGV Capital_, _GSR Markets_, _Kucoin Ventures_, _OKX Ventures_ - but also from angel investors, most notably _Vitalik Buterin_.

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/1350ce5d50307a47cdf2ed7160e416c1da43c20a62fc7d8e7fdcff3bc705ce5b.jpg)

The **$TKO** token has been confirmed by the team itself in their whitepaper and will be used as a reward for block proposers who participate in the creation of proofs, and this mechanism will be perfectly transparent to users.

However, I asked myself a question first of all: **_will there be a $TKO airdrop?_**

The answer is this:

![Hello Spachib, how are ya? Jokes aside, this is a screenshot from Taiko's official Discord](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/12a59366ccfd900f5fce6bcec7822cb92044ee1f8a22a68b515f3c4bb5d81abb.png)

Hello Spachib, how are ya? Jokes aside, this is a screenshot from Taiko's official Discord

So yes, it is **ABSOLUTELY** worth trying your luck, especially if there is this kind of confirmation from the Taiko Labs team itself!

### Wen token?

This is a legitimate question. However, let's start from the beginning: wen mainnet?

About this topic, Taiko Labs is very clear.

![https://taiko.xyz/docs/concepts/overview](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/a3f69c1ae10869a565bd06f9eda0e11e686333682a0f072932a08133e5ebf6e5.png)

https://taiko.xyz/docs/concepts/overview

> _Taiko Mainnet expects to launch with blob data transaction support_ **_after EIP-4844_** **_is released_**_. However, Taiko can support transactions without EIP-4844 blob data as well._

We can see from [**Ethereum’s Official Roadmap**](https://wenmerge.com/) that protodanksharding will be launched via **_Dencun update_**, the release is scheduled

*   on _Goerli network_ for **January 17, 2024**;
    
*   on _Sepolia network_ for **January 30, 2024**;
    
*   on _Holesky network_ for **February 7, 2024**.
    

The Shapella update took _2 months of testing_ before it was released on the mainnet, I therefore assume that we will wait **_at least April-May 2024_** to have Taiko L2 launched on the mainnet.

Now let's see together how to launch the simple-node!

> _Don’t forget to subscribe on Mirror to stay tuned to all future articles._

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**Taiko Simple Node Installation - Step-by-Step Guide (Updated to the Latest Testnet!)**
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To begin the procedure, you need a computer with any Linux distro installed, Ubuntu 20.04 or later will do, an SSD with +200 GB and a fast Internet connection.

For those without resources capable of supporting a validator node at home, you can fall back on **VPS (Virtual Private Server)** solutions, that is, you can rent a virtual server.

There are several solutions, which I recommend below:

*   [**Contabo**](https://contabo.com/en/vps/), I recommend the **Cloud VPS M model**, with 6 vCPU Cores, 16 GB RAM, 400 GB SSD SATA3;
    
*   [**Aeza**](https://aeza.net/?ref=432182), I recommend at least the **VIEs-3** or **PARs-3** model, with 4 vCPU Cores, 8 GB RAM, 120 GB NVMe. This is a Russian VPS service and payment by credit/debit card is not possible from many Western countries, but payments in crypto (BTC, BEP20, ERC20, TRC20, DASH, LTC, XMR...) are possible.
    

After payment is made, you will receive the **IP address** to access.

![Contabo doesn't pay me in advertising them...yet. Referral link is possible? 👉🏻👈🏻](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/ce955069c6e5becac5334e686ddec0cfb6de6ee5161fb5bb44a2ce3357a848dc.png)

Contabo doesn't pay me in advertising them...yet. Referral link is possible? 👉🏻👈🏻

If operating from Windows, download the [PuTTy](https://www.putty.org/) app - SSH and telnet client - and enter the IP address of the VPS. A Linux terminal screen will open for you.

Enter the **username** (usually _root_) and **password** you chose at the time of purchase. If you have done everything correctly, the following screen will appear:

![After login on PuTTy on VPS provided by Contabo ](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/de3453100b6b0dd5434f1930ffb4d9e296cbff21e1dd4bf0c7cf575bff61ca02.png)

After login on PuTTy on VPS provided by Contabo 

Now enter the following commands and execute them:

    sudo apt -y update
    sudo apt -y upgrade
    sudo apt -y install git ca-certificates curl gnupg lsb-release
    sudo apt autoremove
    

Create the keyrings folder and install `docker`:

    sudo mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings
    
    curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg
    
    echo \
      "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
      $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null
    
    sudo apt -y update
    sudo apt -y install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-compose-plugin
    

To make sure that everything has been installed correctly, run the following command, it should return the message shown in the comment:

    sudo docker run hello-world
    
    # Hello from Docker!
    # This message shows that your installation appears to be working correctly
    

At this point we are ready to install the Taiko Simple Node. Let's start by cloning the repository on Github, copy the sample `.env` file and open it with nano:

    git clone https://github.com/taikoxyz/simple-taiko-node.git
    cd simple-taiko-node
    cp .env.sample .env
    
    nano .env
    

![Create a new API Key on BlockPi: https://dashboard.blockpi.io/](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/6fda80739cdc82c14627f872873d2df413af0dfbe14271afc122ee36b7c21d70.png)

Create a new API Key on BlockPi: https://dashboard.blockpi.io/

![Remember to activate the Archive mode, since Taiko L2 Katla requires a Holesky archive node to work properly](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/7d30799ac969f96c8208856109f66e75a56217f6c972063fb15a7fe9c46d804c.png)

Remember to activate the Archive mode, since Taiko L2 Katla requires a Holesky archive node to work properly

Here be careful to change the file parameters as follows, using data from your [**BlockPi dashboard**](https://dashboard.blockpi.io/)**:**

    # Add your BlockPi HTTPS and WSS links, activate "Archive mode"
    L1_ENDPOINT_HTTP = HTTP of your RPC
    L1_ENDPOINT_WS = WSS of your RPC
    L1_BEACON_HTTP = https://ethereum-holesky-beacon-api.publicnode.com
    
    # If you want to be a block proposer, change these settings
    ENABLE_PROPOSER = true
    L1_PROPOSER_PRIVATE_KEY = <private-key-wallet>
    L2_SUGGESTED_FEE_RECIPIENT = <public-address>
    
    # Add these prover endpoints
    PROVER_ENDPOINTS=http://hekla.stonemac65.xyz:9876,http://kenz-prover.hekla.kzvn.xyz:9876
    

For every endpoint, check the fee requested by the third party prover. You can find the entire prover market list on Taiko’s documentation at this [**link**](https://docs.taiko.xyz/guides/run-a-taiko-node/)**.**

Save the `.env` file as reported earlier by pressing `Ctrl + X`, `Y` and then `Enter`.

Now run the command:

    docker compose --profile proposer up -d
    

Use the [**following bridge**](https://bridge.katla.taiko.xyz/) to move some Holesky ETH to Katla L2 (1 ETH is enough).You can request some faucet on Holesky here: [**Link**](https://holesky-faucet.pk910.de/)

**Congratulations, you have successfully completed the installation of your node!**

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/c69a6c827cb22a33c67f86fe37c69bfb51347dd4b9936aff1bf2c79b216ed01e.png)

To see if everything is working properly, you can access a dashboard from the following link, replace `YOUR_IP` with your VPS IP address:

    YOUR_IP:3001/d/L2ExecutionEngine/l2-execution-engine-overview
    

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/b7fd0b051d8b57905bb953124083185c6c089f4646e4b846e766dc42385d58d1.png)

As an alternative, [**wolfez**](https://twitter.com/wolfez44) and [**helios**](https://twitter.com/77Helios) from [**dojonode.xyz**](https://dojonode.xyz/) offer the ability to launch a custom dashboard that will summarize the activity of your Taiko L2 node in an easy-to-read GUI.

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/d58667ea49af222100aa780ba2831db675d6d407053f0586b9b0330c91e4a7c8.png)

To do this, launch the following commands one at a time:

    cd
    git clone --single-branch --branch dashboard-only https://github.com/wolfderechter/taiko-node-dashboard-docker
    
    cd taiko-node-dashboard-docker
    docker compose up
    

Upon launching the last command, you will be able to enter the IP address of your VPS, followed by `port 7744`, into your browser and view the status of your validator node.

    YOUR_IP:7744
    

To update the Taiko node to the latest release, run the following commands and be sure to change the RPCs in case you run out of your provider's RUs (BlockPi, Alchemy, Infura...):

    cd simple-taiko-node
    docker compose --profile proposer down
    git pull origin main && docker compose pull
    docker compose --profile proposer up -d
    
    # Check logs with the following command, proposer logs only
    docker compose --profile proposer logs -f
    

This guide has been updated in order to support the **new Alpha-6**, _on Holesky L1 and Katla L2_ network, the final phase of Taiko L2 testnet.

_If you like my work, I suggest you to subscribe and mint the entry in order to support my work. The cost is insignificant for you, but it helps me to know that you like this kind of content._

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*Originally published on [0xOuterGod](https://paragraph.com/@0xoutergod/strategies-with-validator-nodes-taiko-l2-alpha-7-updated)*