139 lines
4.8 KiB
Markdown
139 lines
4.8 KiB
Markdown
# Frequently Asked Questions
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Here are some FAQs concerning the Lotus implementation and participation in
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Testnet.
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For questions concerning the broader Filecoin project, please
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go [here](https://filecoin.io/faqs/).
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## Introduction to Lotus
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### What is Lotus?
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Lotus is an implementation of the **Filecoin Distributed Storage Network**, written in Go.
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It is designed to be modular and interoperable with any other implementation of the Filecoin Protocol.
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More information about Lotus can be found [here](https://lotu.sh/).
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### What are the components of Lotus?
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Lotus is composed of two separate pieces that can talk to each other:
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The Lotus Node can sync the blockchain, validating all blocks, transfers, and deals
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along the way. It can also facilitate the creation of new storage deals. If you are not
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interested in providing your own storage to the network, and do not want to produce blocks
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yourself, then the Lotus Node is all you need!
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The Lotus Miner does everything you need for the registration of storage, and the
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production of new blocks. The Lotus Miner communicates with the network by talking
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to a Lotus Node over the JSON-RPC API.
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## Setting up a Lotus Node
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### How do I set up a Lotus Node?
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Follow the instructions found [here](https://lotu.sh/en+getting-started).
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### Where can I get the latest version of Lotus?
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Download the binary tagged as the `Latest Release` from the
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[Lotus Github repo](https://github.com/filecoin-project/lotus/releases).
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### What operating systems can Lotus run on?
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Lotus can build and run on most Linux and MacOS systems with at least
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8GB of RAM. Windows is not yet supported.
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### How can I update to the latest version of Lotus?
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To update Lotus, follow the instructions [here](https://lotu.sh/en+updating-lotus).
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### How do I prepare a fresh installation of Lotus?
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Stop the Lotus daemon, and delete all related files, including sealed and chain data by
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running `rm ~/.lotus ~/.lotusminer`.
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Then, install Lotus afresh by following the instructions
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found [here](https://lotu.sh/en+getting-started).
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### Can I configure where the node's config and data goes?
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Yes! The `LOTUS_PATH` variable sets the path for where the Lotus node's data is written.
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The `LOTUS_MINER_PATH` variable does the same for miner-specific information.
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## Interacting with a Lotus Node
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### How can I communicate with a Lotus Node?
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Lotus Nodes have a command-line interface, as well as a JSON-RPC API.
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### What are the commands I can send using the command-line interface?
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The command-line interface is self-documenting, try running `lotus --help` from the `lotus` home
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directory for more.
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### How can I send a request over the JSON-RPC API?
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Information on how to send a `cURL` request to the JSON-RPC API can be found
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[here](https://lotu.sh/en+api). A JavaScript client is under development.
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### What are the requests I can send over the JSON-RPC API?
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Please have a look at the
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[source code](https://github.com/filecoin-project/lotus/blob/master/api/api_full.go)
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for a list of methods supported by the JSON-RPC API.
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## The Test Network
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### What is Testnet?
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Testnet is a live network of Lotus Nodes run by the
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community for testing purposes.
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It has 2 PiB of storage (and growing!) dedicated to it.
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### Is FIL on the Testnet worth anything?
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Nothing at all! Real-world incentives may be provided in a future phase of Testnet, but this is
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yet to be confirmed.
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### How can I see the status of Testnet?
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The [dashboard](https://stats.testnet.filecoin.io/) displays the status of the network as
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well as a ton
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of other metrics you might find interesting.
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## Mining with a Lotus Node on Testnet
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### How do I get started mining with Lotus?
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Follow the instructions found [here](https://lotu.sh/en+mining).
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### What are the minimum hardware requirements?
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An example test configuration, and minimum hardware requirements can be found
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[here](https://lotu.sh/en+hardware-mining).
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Note that these might NOT be the minimum requirements for mining on Mainnet.
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### What are some GPUs that have been tested?
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A list of benchmarked GPUs can be found [here](https://lotu.sh/en+hardware-mining#benchmarked-gpus-7393).
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### Why is my GPU not being used when sealing a sector?
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Sealing a sector does not involve constant GPU operations. It's possible
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that your GPU simply isn't necessary at the moment you checked.
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## Advanced questions
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### Is there a Docker image for lotus?
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Community-contributed Docker and Docker Compose examples are available
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[here](https://github.com/filecoin-project/lotus/tree/master/tools/dockers/docker-examples).
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### How can I run two miners on the same machine?
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You can do so by changing the storage path variable for the second miner, e.g.,
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`LOTUS_MINER_PATH=~/.lotusminer2`. You will also need to make sure that no ports collide.
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### How do I setup my own local devnet?
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Follow the instructions found [here](https://lotu.sh/en+setup-local-dev-net).
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