TP Ethereum

Prérequis Atelier Ethereum :

● Client Ethereum (Geth) :

sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:ethereum/ethereum
sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install
ethereum

Introduction
Before we describe the steps to start the miners, it is important to understand the requirements
for each node to join the same private blockchain:
●​ Each node will use a distinct data directory to store the database and the wallet.
●​ Each node must initialize a blockchain based on the same genesis file.
●​ Each node must join the same network id different from the one reserved by
Ethereum (0 to 3 are already reserved).
●​ The port numbers must be different if different nodes are installed on the same
computer.
All the operations must be performed from your computer.
Step 1 – Create the datadir folder
When running a private blockchain, it is highly recommended to use a specific folder to store
the data (database and wallet) of the private blockchain without impacting the folders used to
store the data coming from the public blockchain.
From your computer, create the folder that will host your first miner:
computer$ mkdir -p ~/ChainSkills/miner1
Repeat the operation for the second miner :
computer$ mkdir -p ~/ChainSkills/miner2
Step 2 – Create the Genesis file
Each blockchain starts with a genesis block that is used to initialize the blockchain and
defines the terms and conditions to join the network.

Our genesis block is called “genesis.json” and is stored under “~/ChainSkills” folder. Create
a text file under ~/ChainSkills, called genesis.json, with the following content:
{
"nonce": "0x0000000000000042",
"mixhash":
"0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000",
"difficulty": "0x400",
"alloc": {},
"coinbase": "0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000000",
"timestamp": "0x00",
"parentHash":
"0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000",
"extraData": "0x436861696e536b696c6c732047656e6573697320426c6f636b",
"gasLimit": "0xffffffff",
"config": {
"chainId": 42,
"homesteadBlock": 0,
"eip155Block": 0,
"eip158Block": 0
}
}
Among the parameters, we have the following ones:
●​ difficulty: if the value is low, the transactions will be quickly processed within
our private blockchain.
●​ gasLimit: define the limit of Gas expenditure per block. The gasLimit is set to the
maximum to avoid being limited to our tests.
Step 3 – Initialize the private blockchain

It’s time to initialize the private blockchain with the genesis block.
This operation will create the initial database stored under the data directory dedicated to
each miner.
Step 3.1 – Initialize miner #1
Type the following command to create the blockchain for the first miner: computer$
cd ~/ChainSkills
computer$ geth --datadir ~/ChainSkills/miner1 init genesis.json
I1226 00:44:16.572007 cmd/utils/flags.go:615] WARNING: No etherbase set and no
accounts found as default
...
I1226 00:44:16.604262 cmd/geth/chaincmd.go:131] successfully wrote genesis block
and/or
chain rule set:
6e92f8b23bcdfdf34dc813cfaf1d84b71beac80530506b5d63a2df10fe23a660
The logs provide the following information:

●​ you need a default account

●​ the blockchain has been successfully created

If you list the content of the miner1 folder, you will notice the following subfolders:
 ●​ geth: contains the database of your private blockchain (chaindata).

●​ keystore: location of your wallet used to store the accounts that you will create on
this node.

Step 3.2 – Initialize miner #2

Repeat the same operation to initialize the second miner by specifying its own target folder
(~/ChainSkills/miner2): computer$ cd ~/ChainSkills
computer$ geth --datadir ~/ChainSkills/miner2 init genesis.json
I1226 00:47:14.867704 cmd/utils/flags.go:615] WARNING: No etherbase set
and no
accounts found as
default...
I1226 00:47:14.890635 cmd/geth/chaincmd.go:131] successfully wrote genesis
block and/or
chain rule set:
6e92f8b23bcdfdf34dc813cfaf1d84b71beac80530506b5d63a2df10fe23a660

Step 4 – Create accounts

Let’s create some accounts for our miners.
Step 4.1 – Accounts for miner #1
Create the default account that will be used to run the node.
This account will receive all ethers created by the miner in the private blockchain. These
ethers will serve to test our solutions by paying the gas required to process each transaction.
To create the default account for the miner #1, type the following command. Keep the
password in a safe place: computer$ geth --datadir ~/ChainSkills/miner1 account new
Your new account is locked with a password. Please give a password. Do not forget this
password
.
Passphrase:
Repeat passphrase:
Address:
{3e3753727dd6d965c0c696ea5619b8050ca89a49} Add an
additional account for testing purpose: computer$ geth
--datadir ~/ChainSkills/miner1 account new
Your new account is locked with a password. Please give a password. Do not forget this
password
.
Passphrase:
Repeat passphrase:
Address: {ae3ab39b3ebc425289dad620aece197a4a3f8940}
The wallet for these accounts is located right here: computer$
ls -al ~/ChainSkills/miner1/keystore

-rw------- 1 eloudsa staff 491 Dec 26 00:55 UTC--2016-12-25T23-55-58.526082355Z--

3e3753727dd6d965c0c696ea5619b8050ca89a49
-rw------- 1 eloudsa staff 491 Dec 29 17:53 UTC--2016-12-29T16-53-48.822735465Z--
ae3ab39b3ebc425289dad620aece197a4a3f8940
To list all accounts of your node, use the following command: computer$
geth --datadir ~/ChainSkills/miner1 account list
Account #0: {3e3753727dd6d965c0c696ea5619b8050ca89a49}
/Users/eloudsa/ChainSkills/miner1/keystore/UTC--2016-12-25T23-55-58.526082355Z-3e37
53727dd6d965c0c696ea5619b8050ca89a49
Account #1: {ae3ab39b3ebc425289dad620aece197a4a3f8940}
/Users/eloudsa/ChainSkills/miner1/keystore/UTC--2016-12-29T16-53-48.822735465Z-ae3ab
39b3ebc425289dad620aece197a4a3f8940

Step 4.2 – Accounts for miner #2

Repeat the same operation to create the default account for the second miner. The difference
lies in the target folder (~/ChainSkills/miner2).
The default account of miner #2: computer$ geth --datadir
~/ChainSkills/miner2 account new
Your new account is locked with a password. Please give a password. Do not forget this
password
.
Passphrase:
Repeat passphrase:
Address: {22b2f81b46146aa3e1036fd3dc5cbcf12551b2db}
An additional account of miner #2: computer$ geth
--datadir ~/ChainSkills/miner2 account new
Your new account is locked with a password. Please give a password. Do not forget this
password
.
Passphrase:
Repeat passphrase:
Address: {fa919b49ef34a821fb4cadfdfa5cc6593cb46fe1} To
list all accounts of your node, use the following command:
computer$ geth --datadir ~/ChainSkills/miner2 account list
Account #0: {22b2f81b46146aa3e1036fd3dc5cbcf12551b2db}
/Users/eloudsa/ChainSkills/miner2/keystore/UTC--2016-12-26T00-00-12.726226915Z-22b2f
81b46146aa3e1036fd3dc5cbcf12551b2db
Account #1: {fa919b49ef34a821fb4cadfdfa5cc6593cb46fe1}
/Users/eloudsa/ChainSkills/miner2/keystore/UTC--2016-12-29T16-59-28.053461367Z-fa919
b49ef34a821fb4cadfdfa5cc6593cb46fe1

Step 5 – Prepare the miners

We are ready to start the miners from our computer and to mine some ethers that will reward
our default accounts.
Step 5.1 – Miner #1: setup
Let’s start by creating a file that will contain the password for our default account, which is
the first account we created for each miner. Create a password.sec file under
~/ChainSkills/miner1/ that contains the password you configured for the first account on
miner1, in plain text.
To start the miner #1, we will require to run the following command:
computer$ geth --identity "miner1" --networkid 42 --datadir "~/ChainSkills/miner1"
--
nodiscover --mine --rpc --rpcport "8042" --port "30303" --unlock 0
--password
~/ChainSkills/miner1/password.sec --allow-insecure-unlock
--ipcpath
"~/ChainSkills/miner1/geth.ipc
"
The meaning of the main parameters is the following:

●​ identity: name of our node

 ●​ networkid: this network identifier is an arbitrary value that will be used to pair
all nodes of the same network. This value must be different from 0 to 3 (already
used by the live chains)

●​ datadir: folder where our private blockchain stores its data

●​ rpc and rpcport: enabling HTTP-RPC server and giving its listening port
number

●​ port: network listening port number, on which nodes connect to one another to
spread new transactions and blocks

●​ nodiscover: disable the discovery mechanism (we will pair our nodes later)

●​ mine: mine ethers and transactions

●​ unlock: id of the default account

●​ password: path to the file containing the password of the default account

●​ ipcpath: path where to store the filename for IPC socket/pipe You can find more
information about Geth parameters right here.
We recommend that you store the Geth command into a runnable script. In our example, this
script is called “startminer1.sh” and is located here: ~/ChainSkills/miner1
#!/bin/bash

geth --identity "miner1" --networkid 42 --datadir "~/ChainSkills/miner1" --nodiscover

--mine
--rpc --rpcport "8042" --port "30303" --unlock 0 --password
~/ChainSkills/miner1/password.sec --ipcpath "~/ChainSkills/miner1/geth.ipc"
What’s the meaning of the parameter “ipcpath“?
If you want to manage your private blockchain via the Mist browser, you will need to create
the “geth.ipc” file in the default Ethereum folder. Mist will detect that your private network
is running and will connect to it rather than starting its own instance of Geth.
Step 5.2 – Miner #1: start
Make the script runnable:
computer$ cd ~/ChainSkills/miner1
computer$ chmod +x startminer1.sh

Let’s start the miner #1: computer$

./startminer1.sh
...
You will notice that the server and the mining process start.
You default account will receive ethers mined by the node.
If you start Mist, you will see that the default account is rewarded by ethers.
Remember that these ethers are fake money only available in your private blockchain and not
on the live main chain. So, you are not (yet) rich
Step 5.3 – Miner #1: JavaScript console
You can manage your miner using the Geth Javascript console.
For example, you can start and stop mining from the console or send transactions.
This console needs to be attached to a running instance of Geth.
Open a new terminal session and type geth attach ~/ChainSkills/miner1/geth.ipc.
If you want to start or stop the mining process, proceed as below:
computer$ geth attach ~/ChainSkills/miner1/get.ipc
...
> miner.start()
...
> miner.stop()
...
You will notice that “geth attach” didn’t need any additional parameters. The reason is that
the “geth.ipc” file is generated into the Ethereum default directory.
More commands for the JavaScript console are described right there.
To quit the attached console, simply use the exit command.
Step 5.4 – Miner #1: stop
To stop your miner, go to its console window and press CTRL-C.
Another option is to kill the Geth running process as illustrated here below:
computer$ ps aux | grep geth
eloudsa 43872 0.0 2.2 556717632 363492 s001 S+ 3:49PM 1:58.01 geth --identity miner1
--
de
v
computer$ kill -INT 43872
Thanks to the identity parameter, we are able to easily identify the miner instance we want to
stop.
Now let’s continue with the second miner.
Step 5.5 – Miner #2: setup
To prepare the second miner, the instructions are similar to those described for the miner #1
with some minor changes.

First, create the “password.sec” file under ~/ChainSkills/miner2 that will contain
the password of the default account of your miner #2: Create the script
“startminer2.sh“that will be stored at the following location: ~/ChainSkills/miner2
#!/bin/bash
geth --identity "miner2" --networkid 42 --datadir "~/ChainSkills/miner2" --nodiscover
--mine
--rpc --rpcport "8043" --port "30304" --unlock 0
--password
~/ChainSkills/miner2/password.sec --allow-insecure-unlock
--ipcpath
"~/ChainSkills/miner2/geth.ipc
"
The difference from the first miner is about the following parameters:

●​ identity: a specific name used to identify our miner

●​ datadir: the folder related to the second miner

●​ rpcport: a specific HTTP-RPC port number used to reach the miner #2

●​ port: a specific network port number used to reach the miner #2

●​ password: path of the file containing the password of the default account on the
miner #2
You will notice that we have the same networkid (42). This will be useful later.

We are not providing the “ipcpath” parameter. This means that the “geth.ipc” will be created
in the data directory of the miner.

Let’s start the miner #2:

computer$ cd ~/ChainSkills/miner2
computer$ chmod +x startminer2.sh
computer$ ./startminer2.sh
...
Step 5.6 – Miner #2: JavaScript console
As for miner #1, we can manage our node through the JavaScript console.
Unlike miner #1, we will have to attach the console to the running instance of Geth because
its “geth.ipc” file has been generated in the “datadir” folder and not in the default Ethereum
folder.
To attach the console, you can attach it by mentioning the path to the IPC-RPC interface
(geth.ipc):
computer$ cd ~/ChainSkills
computer$ geth attach ipc:./miner2/geth.ipc
Another option is to attach the console to the HTTP-RPC interface:
computer$ geth attach http://127.0.0.1:8043
...
Be aware that these commands may have some limitations such as starting or stopping the
mining process:
computer $ geth attach http://127.0.0.1:8043 Welcome
to the Geth JavaScript console!
instance: Geth/miner2/v1.5.5-stable-ff07d548/darwin/go1.7.4
coinbase: 0x22b2f81b46146aa3e1036fd3dc5cbcf12551b2db
at block: 1294 (Sat, 31 Dec 2016 16:08:22 CET)
modules: eth:1.0 net:1.0 rpc:1.0 web3:1.0
> miner.stop()
ReferenceError: 'miner' is not defined
at <anonymous>:1:1

First, you can see that the “miner” module is not specified in the list of modules: eth:1.0
net:1.0 rpc:1.0 web3:1.0
This is the reason why we have an error when we try to stop the mining process.
The following command is more useful:
computer $ geth attach ipc:./miner2/geth.ipc Welcome
to the Geth JavaScript console!
instance: Geth/miner2/v1.5.5-stable-ff07d548/darwin/go1.7.4
coinbase: 0x22b2f81b46146aa3e1036fd3dc5cbcf12551b2db
at block: 1417 (Sat, 31 Dec 2016 16:12:25 CET) datadir:
/Users/eloudsa/ChainSkills/miner2
modules: admin:1.0 debug:1.0 eth:1.0 miner:1.0 net:1.0 personal:1.0 rpc:1.0
shh:1.0
txpool:1.0
web3:1.0
> miner.stop() true
Here the miner can be managed through the console because the miner module is available
from the IPC interface.
Keep this in mind if you have any trouble running a command from the Geth console.
Of course, you can define the modules available for the Geth console by mentioning them
from the command line (ipcapi and rpcapi parameters).

For example, let’s change the Geth command by mentioning the “miner” module:
#!/bin/bash
geth --identity "miner2" --dev --networkid 42 --datadir "~/ChainSkills/miner2" --nodiscover
-
-mine --rpc --rpcport "8043" --rpcapi "db,eth,net,web3,miner" --port "30304" --unlock 0
--
password
~/ChainSkills/miner2/password.sec
Start the miner and open the console with the following command:
computer $ geth attach http://127.0.0.1:8043 Welcome
to the Geth JavaScript console!
instance: Geth/miner2/v1.5.5-stable-ff07d548/darwin/go1.7.4
coinbase: 0x22b2f81b46146aa3e1036fd3dc5cbcf12551b2db
at block: 1473 (Sat, 31 Dec 2016 16:21:22 CET) modules:
eth:1.0 miner:1.0 net:1.0 rpc:1.0 web3:1.0 Now the miner
module is available from the Geth console!
You can manage the mining process:
> miner.stop() true

This shows that by changing the Geth command, you can allow or restrict the usage of some
APIs available from the HTTP-RPC or IPC-RPC interfaces.
Step 5.7 – Miner #2: stop
The principle is the same as described for the miner #1.
Step 6 – Send ethers within miner #1
To ensure that our mining node is properly installed, let’s try to send some ethers between
accounts created on each miner.
Step 6.1 – Start the miner and its console

Let’s begin to start the miner #1: computer$

cd ~/ChainSkills/miner1 computer$
./startminer1.sh
...
Open a second terminal and start the Geth console:
computer$ geth attach ~/ChainSkills/miner1/get.ipc
...
>
Step 6.2 – Check balances

Get the default account with “eth.coinbase”:

> eth.coinbase
"0x3e3753727dd6d965c0c696ea5619b8050ca89a49"

List the accounts with “eth.accounts”:

> eth.accounts
["0x3e3753727dd6d965c0c696ea5619b8050ca89a49",
"0xae3ab39b3ebc425289dad620aece197a4a3f8940"]
Of course, you will find addresses related to your environment.

Check balances with “eth.getBalance(<account id>)”:

> eth.getBalance(eth.coinbase)
2.48859375e+21
> eth.getBalance(eth.accounts[1])
0
The default account has plenty of ethers obtained during the mining process. We will use
them to test our solutions.
Use the following command to get the balance in ether:
> web3.fromWei(eth.getBalance(eth.coinbase))
3008.125
By default, the balance is expressed in Wei that is the base unit of ether.
Step 6.3 – Stop mining
We stop the mining process to let us review the content of a transaction:
> miner.stop() true

Step 6.4 – Send ethers

Through the Geth console, we send 10 ethers from account #0 to account #1:
> eth.sendTransaction({from: eth.accounts[0], to: eth.accounts[1], value: web3.toWei(10,
"ether")}
)
"0x4ed5ef14cb5df5069059ac201a7294d810b89dcc05c0f60f970b87bff7faa5b6"
The command returns a transaction hash.
As the mining process has been stopped, we can review the list of pending transactions:
> eth.pendingTransactions
[{
blockHash: null,
blockNumber: null,
from:
"0x3e3753727dd6d965c0c696ea5619b8050ca89a49", gas:
90000, gasPrice: 20000000000,
hash: "0x4ed5ef14cb5df5069059ac201a7294d810b89dcc05c0f60f970b87bff7faa5b6",
input: "0x", nonce: 0,
r: "0xdfd5465e315207e41d10a01189c41a1e9b42e7577cd256a100b3fa2157e9b0",
s: "0x39b10c973c1e9764e9b3cfd98339164d65e78971c917ae24fe880a2a7c775cf6",
to: "0xae3ab39b3ebc425289dad620aece197a4a3f8940",

transactionIndex: null,
v: "0x1c",
value: 10000000000000000000
}]
We can easily identify the following information:

●​ The sender address

●​ The recipient address

●​ The value to transfer (expressed in Wei)

●​ The hash of the transaction

●​ The cost of the transaction (gas x gasPrice) in Wei Let the miner

process the transaction:

> miner.start() true
The transaction is processed:
> eth.pendingTransactions
[]
Check the balance of the recipient:
> web3.fromWei( eth.getBalance(eth.accounts[1]))
10
The recipient address has received 10 ethers.
Congratulations your miner # 1 is properly installed!
Let’s do the same for miner #2.
Step 7 – Send ethers within miner #2

Test your miner #2 by following the steps described for miner #1.
Keep in mind that the Geth console will have to be started using one of the following
commands (change the port id according to your settings): computer$ geth attach
ipc:/Users/eloudsa/ChainSkills/miner2/geth.ipc
OR
computer$ geth attach http://127.0.0.1:8043
Step 8 – Send ethers between nodes of the private blockchain

Now, let’s try to send ethers between accounts of our miners.

We will send 5 ethers from the default account of the miner #1 to the account #1 of the miner
#2.

Step 8.1 – Start miners

First, start both miners (miner #1 and miner #2).

Step 8.2 – Check balance from miner #2

From the Geth console attached to the miner 2, check the initial balance of the account 1:

> web3.fromWei(eth.getBalance(eth.accounts[1]))
10
Step 8.3 – Send Ethers from miner #1
From the console of the first miner, send 5 ethers from the default account (eth.coinbase) to
the address of the account 1 in miner #2:
> eth.sendTransaction({from: eth.coinbase, to: '[REPLACE WITH ADDRESS OF
ACCOUNT 1 IN MINER #2]', value: web3.toWei(5, "ether")})
"0x866db90bade948dbec0679b0a673807a74d6b3d94b3a7616dd86d72eb8a72e9b"
Step 8.4 – Check balance from miner #1
Check the balance from the Geth console attached to the miner #1:
> web3.fromWei( eth.getBalance("[REPLACE WITH ADDRESS OF ACCOUNT 1 IN
MINER
#2]"))
5
We have 5 ethers while we should expect 15 ethers.

Step 8.5 – Check balance from miner #2

Check the balance from the Geth console attached to the miner #2:

> web3.fromWei( eth.getBalance(eth.accounts[1]))

10
We have 10 ethers while we should expect 15 ethers.

Why?

Because our miners are not connected to the same blockchain.

Each miner is running its own version of the private blockchain. The transactions are not
distributed within the same private blockchain.

To synchronise the blockchain, we have to pair the nodes with each other.