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Validator Setup

This guide walks you through setting up a Harmonic Salsa validator from scratch.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:
  • A server meeting the hardware requirements
  • Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or later (or equivalent Linux distribution)
  • Root or sudo access
  • Stable internet connection

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Install Dependencies

First, install the required system dependencies:
Ubuntu
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libssl-dev libudev-dev pkg-config zlib1g-dev llvm clang cmake make libprotobuf-dev protobuf-compiler libclang-dev
Fedora
sudo dnf install openssl-devel systemd-devel pkg-config zlib-devel llvm clang cmake make protobuf-devel protobuf-compiler perl-core libclang-dev

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Install Rust

Install the Rust toolchain: 
curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh
source $HOME/.cargo/env
rustup component add rustfmt
The Harmonic Salsa repository includes a rust-toolchain.toml file that automatically selects the correct Rust version.

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Build from Source

Clone and build the Harmonic Salsa validator: 
git clone https://github.com/harmonic/salsa.git
cd salsa
./cargo build --release
The debug build (./cargo build) is not suitable for running a testnet or mainnet validator. Always use --release for production.
After building, the binaries will be located in target/release/:
  • agave-validator: The main validator binary
  • solana: CLI tool for interacting with the network
  • solana-keygen: Key generation utility

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Generate Validator Identity

1

Generate identity keypair

Create a new keypair that will serve as your validator’s identity:
solana-keygen new -o ~/validator-keypair.json
Store this keypair securely. Anyone with access to this file can control your validator.
View your validator identity:
solana-keygen pubkey ~/validator-keypair.json
2

Generate vote account keypair

Create a keypair for your vote account:
solana-keygen new -o ~/vote-account-keypair.json
The vote account tracks your validator’s voting history and accumulated credits.
3

Generate authorized withdrawer keypair

Create a keypair for withdrawing from your vote account:
solana-keygen new -o ~/authorized-withdrawer-keypair.json
Keep this keypair in cold storage. It’s only needed for withdrawing rewards.
4

Fund your validator identity

Your validator identity needs SOL to:
  • Create the vote account (rent-exempt minimum)
  • Pay transaction fees
For testnet:
solana config set --url https://api.testnet.solana.com
solana airdrop 1 ~/validator-keypair.json
For mainnet, you’ll need to fund the account from an exchange or wallet.
5

Create the vote account

Create your validator’s vote account:
solana create-vote-account \
  ~/vote-account-keypair.json \
  ~/validator-keypair.json \
  ~/authorized-withdrawer-keypair.json \
  --commission 10
This command:
  • Creates a new vote account using vote-account-keypair.json
  • Associates it with your validator identity
  • Sets the withdrawer to authorized-withdrawer-keypair.json
  • Sets commission to 10% (adjust as needed)
Verify the vote account was created:
solana vote-account $(solana-keygen pubkey ~/vote-account-keypair.json)
6

Create ledger directory

Create a directory for the ledger data:
mkdir -p ~/validator-ledger
For best performance, use a dedicated NVMe SSD for the ledger.
7

Start the validator

Start your validator with basic configuration:
agave-validator \
  --identity ~/validator-keypair.json \
  --vote-account ~/vote-account-keypair.json \
  --ledger ~/validator-ledger \
  --entrypoint entrypoint.mainnet-beta.solana.com:8001 \
  --entrypoint entrypoint2.mainnet-beta.solana.com:8001 \
  --entrypoint entrypoint3.mainnet-beta.solana.com:8001 \
  --entrypoint entrypoint4.mainnet-beta.solana.com:8001 \
  --entrypoint entrypoint5.mainnet-beta.solana.com:8001 \
  --known-validator 7Np41oeYqPefeNQEHSv1UDhYrehxin3NStELsSKCT4K2 \
  --known-validator GdnSyH3YtwcxFvQrVVJMm1JhTS4QVX7MFsX56uJLUfiZ \
  --known-validator DE1bawNcRJB9rVm3buyMVfr8mBEoyyu73NBovf2oXJsJ \
  --known-validator CakcnaRDHka2gXyfbEd2d3xsvkJkqsLw2akB3zsN1D2S \
  --only-known-rpc \
  --log ~/validator.log \
  --rpc-port 8899 \
  --dynamic-port-range 8000-8020 \
  --limit-ledger-size 50000000
For testnet, replace the entrypoints with:
--entrypoint entrypoint.testnet.solana.com:8001
--entrypoint entrypoint2.testnet.solana.com:8001
--entrypoint entrypoint3.testnet.solana.com:8001
8

Verify validator is running

Check that your validator is running:
solana gossip | grep $(solana-keygen pubkey ~/validator-keypair.json)
Monitor catchup status:
solana catchup ~/validator-keypair.json
View your validator’s vote account:
solana vote-account $(solana-keygen pubkey ~/vote-account-keypair.json)

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Configuration File (Optional)

For easier management, you can create a configuration file instead of using command-line arguments. Create ~/validator.conf: 
identity=/home/sol/validator-keypair.json
vote-account=/home/sol/vote-account-keypair.json
ledger=/home/sol/validator-ledger
entrypoint=entrypoint.mainnet-beta.solana.com:8001
entrypoint=entrypoint2.mainnet-beta.solana.com:8001
known-validator=7Np41oeYqPefeNQEHSv1UDhYrehxin3NStELsSKCT4K2
only-known-rpc
rpc-port=8899
log=/home/sol/validator.log
limit-ledger-size=50000000
Then start the validator: 
agave-validator --config ~/validator.conf

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Running as a System Service

Create a systemd service file at /etc/systemd/system/agave-validator.service: 
[Unit]
Description=Agave Validator
After=network.target
Wants=systuner.service
StartLimitIntervalSec=0

[Service]
Type=simple
Restart=always
RestartSec=1
User=sol
LimitNOFILE=1000000
LogRateLimitIntervalSec=0
Environment="PATH=/home/sol/.local/share/solana/install/active_release/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin"
ExecStart=/home/sol/.local/share/solana/install/active_release/bin/agave-validator --config /home/sol/validator.conf

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
Enable and start the service: 
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable agave-validator
sudo systemctl start agave-validator
Check service status: 
sudo systemctl status agave-validator
sudo journalctl -u agave-validator -f

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Next Steps

Operations

Learn about day-to-day validator operations

Configuration

Explore advanced configuration options

Monitoring

Set up monitoring for your validator

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions

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