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Add a System Unit File

Pick your service unit

Choose one of two systemd units to run the daemon. They are mutually exclusive:

  • sentinelhub.service: runs the sentinelhub binary directly. You handle each chain upgrade by hand.
  • cosmovisor.service: wraps the binary with Cosmovisor, which swaps in the new binary automatically at the upgrade height.

Both are valid for any full node, validator or RPC/API. Pick one and follow only that subsection.

Option 1: sentinelhub.service​

Open the sentinelhub.service with a text editor

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/sentinelhub.service

Paste the below text

sentinelhub.service

/etc/systemd/system/sentinelhub.service
[Unit]
Description=Sentinel Hub Daemon
After=network.target

[Service]
User=sentinel
Type=simple

# For Ubuntu installation
ExecStart=/usr/bin/sentinelhub start
# For Manual installation
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/sentinelhub start

Restart=on-failure
StartLimitInterval=0
RestartSec=5
LimitNOFILE=1048576
LimitMEMLOCK=2048132

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Reload the systemd Daemon

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Enable autostart of Sentinel Hub service

sudo systemctl enable sentinelhub.service

Option 2: cosmovisor.service​

Cosmovisor is a tool within the Cosmos ecosystem that assists in the smooth and safe upgrade of the blockchain software. It helps automate the process of updating the software to a new version while ensuring a seamless transition and minimal disruptions to the network. This is crucial in maintaining the security and efficiency of the network as it evolves over time.

Install Cosmovisor​

To install Cosmovisor, use the following command:

go install cosmossdk.io/tools/cosmovisor/cmd/cosmovisor@latest

If you encounter a sonic-related error during installation, retry with the following command:

go install -ldflags="-checklinkname=0" cosmossdk.io/tools/cosmovisor/cmd/cosmovisor@latest

This command will generate the Cosmovisor binary in the go/bin/ folder.

Add a symbolic link to the /usr/local/bin/ directory for system-wide access to Cosmovisor:

sudo ln -s /home/sentinel/go/bin/cosmovisor /usr/local/bin/

(You may also refer to the Cosmovisor installation instructions)

Environment Setup​

Create the required directories inside your ~/.sentinelhub folder:

mkdir -p ~/.sentinelhub/cosmovisor
mkdir -p ~/.sentinelhub/cosmovisor/genesis
mkdir -p ~/.sentinelhub/cosmovisor/genesis/bin
mkdir -p ~/.sentinelhub/cosmovisor/upgrades

Configure the environment variables according to your shell type, which may involve editing either ~/.profile or ~/.bashrc:

Environmental Variables

echo "# Cosmovisor Environmental Variables" >> ~/.bashrc
echo "export DAEMON_NAME=sentinelhub" >> ~/.bashrc
echo "export DAEMON_HOME=$HOME/.sentinelhub" >> ~/.bashrc
echo "export DAEMON_ALLOW_DOWNLOAD_BINARIES=false" >> ~/.bashrc
echo "export DAEMON_LOG_BUFFER_SIZE=512" >> ~/.bashrc
echo "export DAEMON_RESTART_AFTER_UPGRADE=true" >> ~/.bashrc
echo "export UNSAFE_SKIP_BACKUP=true" >> ~/.bashrc

source ~/.bashrc

You may leave out UNSAFE_SKIP_BACKUP=true, however the backup takes a decent amount of time and public snapshots of old states are available.

Copy the current sentinelhub binary into the cosmovisor/genesis folder:

cp $GOPATH/bin/sentinelhub ~/.sentinelhub/cosmovisor/genesis/bin

Now check the cosmovisor version

cosmovisor version

You will get something like that:

cosmovisor version: v1.7.0
11:03AM INF running app args=["version"] module=cosmovisor path=/home/sentinel/.sentinelhub/cosmovisor/genesis/bin/sentinelhub
12.0.2

To check your work, check sentinelhub version to confirm it matches with cosmovisor version

sentinelhub version

If you get 12.0.2 (which is the current version at the time of writing) everything went fine

Create the cosmovisor.service file​

Set up a service to allow Cosmovisor to run in the background as well as restart automatically if it runs into any problems:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/cosmovisor.service

Add the following block

cosmovisor.service

/etc/systemd/system/cosmovisor.service
[Unit]
Description=Cosmovisor Daemon
After=network-online.target

[Service]
Environment="DAEMON_NAME=sentinelhub"
Environment="DAEMON_HOME=/home/sentinel/.sentinelhub"
Environment="DAEMON_RESTART_AFTER_UPGRADE=true"
Environment="DAEMON_ALLOW_DOWNLOAD_BINARIES=false"
Environment="DAEMON_LOG_BUFFER_SIZE=512"
Environment="UNSAFE_SKIP_BACKUP=true"
User=sentinel
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/cosmovisor run start
Restart=always
RestartSec=3
LimitNOFILE=infinity
LimitNPROC=infinity

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Reload and enable​

Reload the systemd Daemon

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Enable autostart of Cosmovisor service

sudo systemctl enable cosmovisor.service