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Overview

Ubu-Block is designed to run efficiently on modest hardware while maintaining robust blockchain operations. This page outlines the system requirements for running different types of nodes.

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Hardware Requirements

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Minimum Requirements

For development and testing:
  • CPU: 2 cores (x86_64 or ARM64)
  • RAM: 2 GB
  • Storage: 10 GB available disk space
  • Network: Stable internet connection with at least 1 Mbps bandwidth
For production deployments:
  • CPU: 4 cores (x86_64)
  • RAM: 4 GB or more
  • Storage: 50 GB SSD for better I/O performance
  • Network: Stable internet connection with at least 10 Mbps bandwidth

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Node-Specific Requirements

  • RAM: 4 GB minimum (handles HTTP requests and P2P connections)
  • Storage: 20 GB minimum (stores blockchain data and private keys)
  • Network: Low latency connection required for peer synchronization
  • Ports: Requires two open ports (HTTP API and P2P communication)
  • RAM: 2 GB minimum (read-only operations)
  • Storage: 15 GB minimum (stores blockchain replica)
  • Network: Standard connection sufficient
  • Ports: Requires one open port for P2P connection to submission node
  • RAM: 4 GB minimum (cross-references data and processes rewards)
  • Storage: 25 GB minimum (stores blockchain data and verification records)
  • Network: Reliable connection for accessing official sources
  • Ports: Multiple ports for P2P and external data sources

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Software Requirements

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Operating System

Ubu-Block supports the following operating systems:
  • Linux: Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 11+, Fedora 35+, or any modern distribution
  • macOS: macOS 11 (Big Sur) or later
  • Windows: Windows 10/11 with WSL2 (recommended) or native

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Build Dependencies

If you’re using pre-built binaries from the releases page, you can skip this section.
To build Ubu-Block from source, you need:

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Rust Toolchain

  • Rust: Edition 2024 or later
  • Cargo: Latest stable version
Install Rust using rustup: 
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

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System Libraries

The following system libraries are required:
  • SQLite 3.35+: For database operations
  • OpenSSL/rustls: For TLS support
  • pkg-config: For dependency management
On Ubuntu/Debian: 
sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential pkg-config libssl-dev sqlite3
On macOS: 
brew install sqlite openssl pkg-config

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Core Dependencies

Ubu-Block relies on the following Rust crates:
  • tokio: Async runtime (version 1.x with multi-threaded runtime)
  • sqlx: Database driver (version 0.8 with SQLite support)
  • axum: HTTP server framework (for submission nodes)
  • p256: Elliptic curve cryptography for signatures
  • sha3: Hashing algorithm for block verification
  • bincode: Binary serialization

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Database Requirements

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SQLite

Ubu-Block uses SQLite for both blockchain and private data storage:
  • Version: SQLite 3.35.0 or later
  • Features Required: Full-text search, JSON1 extension
  • Recommended: Compiled with thread-safe mode

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Database Files

Each node maintains two SQLite databases:
  1. blockchain.db: Main blockchain data (public)
    • Stores blocks, transactions, and election results
    • Size grows with blockchain activity
    • Initial size: ~1 MB, can grow to several GB
  2. private.db: Private node data
    • Stores private keys and node configuration
    • Should be backed up and kept secure
    • Size: Typically < 10 MB

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Network Requirements

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Ports

Depending on your node type, you’ll need to configure the following ports:
Node TypeP2P PortHTTP PortNotes
Submission9090 (default)9091 (default)Both ports must be accessible
ObserverAny availableN/AOnly P2P port needed
VerificationConfigurableConfigurableMay need additional ports

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Firewall Configuration

Ensure your firewall allows incoming connections on the configured P2P ports for proper node synchronization.
For submission nodes: 
# Example: UFW on Ubuntu
sudo ufw allow 9090/tcp  # P2P port
sudo ufw allow 9091/tcp  # HTTP API port

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Security Requirements

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File Permissions

  • Database files: Should be readable/writable only by the node process user
  • Configuration files: Should have restricted permissions (600 or 640)
  • Private keys: Must be protected with strict file permissions

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Encryption

Ubu-Block supports encrypted communication:
  • End-to-end encryption: For all node-to-node interactions
  • TLS: For HTTP API endpoints (recommended in production)

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Cloud Deployment

Ubu-Block runs efficiently on various cloud providers:

DigitalOcean

Recommended: Basic Droplet
  • 2 vCPUs, 2 GB RAM
  • 50 GB SSD
  • Frankfurt datacenter

AWS

Recommended: t3.small
  • 2 vCPUs, 2 GB RAM
  • 30 GB EBS storage
  • Any region

Google Cloud

Recommended: e2-small
  • 2 vCPUs, 2 GB RAM
  • 30 GB persistent disk
  • Any region

Azure

Recommended: B2s
  • 2 vCPUs, 4 GB RAM
  • 30 GB managed disk
  • Any region

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Performance Considerations

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Storage I/O

  • Use SSD storage for production deployments
  • SQLite performance benefits significantly from SSD I/O
  • Consider RAID configurations for high-availability setups

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Memory Usage

  • Memory usage scales with the number of concurrent connections
  • Expect ~500 MB base memory usage per node
  • Additional memory needed for query processing and caching

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CPU Usage

  • CPU usage is generally low during normal operations
  • Spikes occur during:
    • Block validation
    • Merkle tree computation
    • P2P synchronization
    • Cryptographic operations (signing, verification)

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Next Steps

Building from Source

Compile Ubu-Block from source code

Configuration

Configure your node for deployment

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