This guide covers everything you need to run a Shibarium full node, including system requirements, setup with Ansible or binaries, using snapshots, troubleshooting, and operational best practices. Follow each section carefully to ensure a successful deployment.

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Node System Requirements

Node typeRAMCPUStorageNetwork bandwidth
Full Node/Sentry Node16/32 GB4/8 core1 TB1 Gbit/s
Validator Node32/64 GB8/16 core1 TB1 Gbit/s
Archive (For RPC) Node32/64 GB8/16 core2-4 TB1 Gbit/s
For best performance, use direct-attached SSD storage and provision high IOPS (e.g., 16,000+ for AWS gp3, or GCP pd-ssd/pd-extreme).

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Open Necessary Ports

PortDescription
26656Heimdall p2p (sentry/full/validator)
26657Heimdall RPC (sentry/full/validator)
8545Bor RPC (archive/full node)
30303Bor p2p (sentry/full/validator)
Do not expose validator node ports to the public internet. Use sentry nodes for public access.

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Downloading and Using Snapshots

Download the latest snapshots before setup for faster sync. See the Snapshots page for links.
1

Download and extract Heimdall snapshot

wget -c <snapshot_url>tar -zxvf <file>
2

Download and extract Bor snapshot

wget -c <snapshot_url>tar -zxvf <file>
3

Move extracted data to correct directories

mv ~/snapshots/heimdall_extract ~/snapshots/datamv ~/snapshots/bor_extract ~/snapshots/chaindatasudo ln -s ~/snapshots/data /var/lib/heimdallsudo ln -s ~/snapshots/chaindata /var/lib/bor
4

Set permissions

sudo chown -R bor:nogroup /var/lib/heimdall/datasudo chown -R heimdall:nogroup /var/lib/bor/data/bor

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Full Node Setup with Ansible

Ansible automates full node setup. Ensure Python 3.x and Ansible are installed. Remove any previous Bor/Heimdall setups and Go installations.
1

Install Ansible

pip3 install ansible
2

Clone the node-ansible repo

git clone https://github.com/shibaone/node-ansiblecd node-ansible
3

Edit inventory.yml

Add your node’s IP(s) under sentry->hosts.
4

Check connectivity

ansible sentry -m ping
5

Check latest versions

Check the latest Heimdall and Bor versions for Shibarium (tags: 1.x.x-bone).
6

Test configuration

ansible-playbook playbooks/network.yml —extra-var=“bor_version=v1.x.x-bone heimdall_version=v1.x.x-bone network=shibarium node_type=sentry” —list-hosts
7

Run the playbook

ansible-playbook playbooks/network.yml —extra-var=“bor_version=v1.x.x-bone heimdall_version=v1.x.x-bone network=shibarium node_type=sentry”
8

Clean setup if needed

ansible-playbook playbooks/clean.yml
After setup, ensure seeds and bootnodes in config.toml match official values. For archive nodes, set gcmode = “archive” in bor/config.toml.

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Full Node Setup with Binaries

Follow the sequence exactly. Deviating may cause issues.
1

Install build-essential

sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install build-essential
2

Install Heimdall

curl -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/shibaone/install/bone/heimdall.sh | bash -s — <heimdall_version> shibarium sentryheimdalld version —long
3

Install Bor

curl -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/shibaone/install/bone/bor.sh | bash -s — <bor_version> shibarium sentrybor version
4

Configure seeds and bootnodes

Edit config.toml for both Heimdall and Bor as needed.
5

Update service config user permissions

sed -i ‘s/User=heimdall/User=root/g’ /lib/systemd/system/heimdalld.servicesed -i ‘s/User=bor/User=root/g’ /lib/systemd/system/bor.service
6

Start Heimdall

sudo service heimdalld start
7

Wait for Heimdall to sync

Check sync status: curl localhost:26657https://shib-io.openstatus.dev/ catching_up: false means synced.
8

Start Bor

sudo service bor start
If Bor shows a data permission error, run: sudo chown bor /var/lib/bor

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Logs and Monitoring

  • Check Heimdall logs: journalctl -u heimdalld.service -f
  • Check Bor logs: journalctl -u bor.service -f
For advanced log management, see the Journalctl tutorial.

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Troubleshooting

  • Ensure no previous Bor/Heimdall or Go installations exist before setup.
  • Always use the correct versions for your network (mainnet/testnet).
  • If services fail to start, check permissions and config files.
  • For archive nodes, verify gcmode = “archive” in Bor config.
  • If Heimdall or Bor is not syncing, check network/firewall settings and snapshot data integrity.
To reset your node, use the Ansible clean playbook: ansible-playbook playbooks/clean.yml

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Best Practices

  • Only open required ports and restrict access to validator nodes.
  • Use sentry nodes for public RPC and p2p access.
  • Regularly update your system and node software.
  • Monitor disk IOPS and network bandwidth for optimal performance.
  • Use snapshots for fast recovery and migration.