Proof of Authority Development Chain

DiasproNet1 Blockchain POA Network

DiasproNet1 is a private testnet blockchain for ZBank. It will explore what blockchain technology can do for ZBank and their customers. The Proof of Authority (PoA) algorithm is typically used for private blockchain networks as it requires pre-approval of, or voting in of, the account addresses that can approve transactions (seal blocks).

Environment Setup & Tools Required

Download Go Ethereum Tools version Geth & Tools 1.9.7 from Go Ethereum.
Download MyCrypto Desktop App from MyCrypto. MyCrypto is a free, open-source, client-side interface that allows you to interact directly with the blockchain.
Puppeth (to generate the genesis block)
Clique Proof of Authority Algorithm
Terminal in Mac

Launching the DiasproNet1 network

Step 1. After downloading the toos archive Geth & Tools 1.9.7 decompress and save the file named geth-alltools-darwin-amd64-1.9.7-a718daa6.tar.gz in your computer hardrive.
Renaming it as DiasproNet1.
The tools saved here will be used in developing our blockchain
Step 2. Generate two new nodes with new account addresses within the DiasproNet1 folder that will serve as our pre-approved sealer addresses.

./geth --datadir node1 account new ./geth --datadir node2 account new
Step 3. After choosing the password and record the public key of the two nodes.
- Sealer address Node1: 0xFEDC4E75751dd9709FFf094e4f90d531a1117b47
- Sealer address address Node2: x32B053D602Ad9F8ffadAA69a26aA24490aC1674A
Step 4. Create a genesis block using puppeth by following these steps:
4.1 Open a terminal window, navigate to the DiasproNet1 folder and type the following command:./puppeth. This should show the following prompt.

4.2 Type in the name for the network, "DiasproNet1" and hit enter to move forward in the wizard.

4.3 Type 2to pick the Configure new genesis option, then 1 to Create new genesis from scratch:

4.4 Choose the Clique (Proof of Authority) consensus algorithm.
4.5 Paste both account addresses from the first step one at a time into the list of accounts to seal.
4.6 Paste them again in the list of accounts to pre-fund. There are no block rewards in PoA, so you'll need to pre-fund.
4.7 Choose no for pre-funding the pre-compiled accounts (0x1 .. 0xff) with wei.
4.8 Specify your chain/network ID: 444 and then hit enter.
4.9 You should see a success message and redirected to the main menu. Choose the Manage existing genesis option.
4.10 Export genesis configurations. This will fail to create two of the files, but you only need networkname.json.
Step 5. Initialize each node with the new networkname.json with geth.
5.1 Using geth, initialize each node with the new networkname.json.
./geth --datadir node1 init diaspronet1.json
./geth --datadir node2 init diaspronet1.json
Step 6. Now, the nodes can be used to begin mining blocks
6.1 Run the nodes in separate terminal windows with the commands.
- ./geth --datadir node1 --unlock "SEALER_ONE_ADDRESS" --mine --rpc --allow-insecure-unlock
- ./geth --datadir node2 --unlock "SEALER_TWO_ADDRESS" --mine --port 30304 --bootnodes "enode://SEALER_ONE_ENODE_ADDRESS@127.0.0.1:30303" --ipcdisable --allow-insecure-unlock
NOTE1: Type your password and hit enter - even if you can't see it visually!

NOTE2: Run the first node, unlock the account, enable mining, and the RPC flag. Only one node needs RPC enabled.

NOTE3: Set a different peer port for the second node and use the first node's enode address as the bootnode flag.

NOTE4: If nodes are note mining and get error saying waiting for signers, add --syncmode full at the end of both commands.

The private Proof of Authority blockchain should now be running and you should see both nodes producing new blocks!

Connect to MyCrypto Network

Open up MyCrypto to get the private key of the ETH address you use to pre-fund your chain. Be sure the Kovan network is selected.

Make sure you have the private key of your pre-funded address that you wrote down when you first dwonloaded and set MyCrypto.

Unlock your wallet using your mnemonic phrase and choose the address you want to inspect.
Select the ETH address you use to pre-fund your chain, and in the "Select" dropdown list, choose Wallet Info.
Click on the eye icon next to the Private Key field, and copy and paste the private key of the wallet. Keep this handy, as you will use it in a bit.

Now you are going to connect MyCrypto with the blockchain you created. Follow the next steps.

Open up MyCrypto, then click Change Network at the bottom left:

Send a Transaction

With both nodes up and running, the blockchain can be added to MyCrypto for testing.

Use the MyCrypto GUI wallet to connect to the node with the exposed RPC port.With both nodes up and running, the blockchain can be added to MyCrypto for testing. Set up a custom network, and include the chain ID, and use ETH as the currency.
- Click "Add Custom Node", then add the custom network information that you set in the genesis.

Make sure that you scroll down to choose Custom in the "Network" column to reveal more options like Chain ID.
Type ETH in the Currency box.
In the Chain ID box, type the chain id you generated during genesis creation.(444)
In the URL box type: http://127.0.0.1:8545. This points to the default RPC port on your local machine.
Finally, click Save & Use Custom Node.

Import the keystore file from the node1/keystore directory into MyCrypto. This will import the private key.
Send a transaction from the node1 account to the node2 account.
Copy the transaction hash and paste it into the "TX Status" section of the app, or click "TX Status" in the popup.
You just created a blockchain and sent a transaction!

Defintions

RPC : The --rpc flag enables us to talk to our second node, which will allow us to use MyCrypto(or Metamask)to transact on our chain.
MINE: The --mine flag tells the node to mine new blocks.
PORT: For listening to communication. Since the first node's sync port already took up 30320, we need to change this one to 30321 using --port.
BOOTNODES : The --bootnodes flag allows you to pass the network info needed to find other nodes in the blockchain. This will allow us to connect both of our nodes.
ENODE: We will need this address to tell the second node where to find the first node.
MINERTHREADS: The --minerthreads flag tells geth how many CPU threads, or "workers" to use during mining. Since our difficulty is low, we can set it to 1.
SYNCMODE FULL : Synchronizes a full node starting at genesis, verifying all blocks and executing all transactions.
BLOCKTIME = 5 seconds
Chain ID = 444
NetworkID = Protects a node from connecting to the nodes that are synchronizing with other networks.