Overview Regular maintenance ensures your Ubu-Block nodes remain secure, performant, and reliable. This guide covers essential maintenance tasks and best practices.
Database Maintenance Database Backups Regularly backup your blockchain and private databases:
Manual Backup
Automated Backup Script
Off-site Backup
# Create backup directory mkdir -p /backup/ubu-block/ $( date +%Y-%m-%d ) # Backup blockchain database sqlite3 data/blockchain.db ".backup /backup/ubu-block/$( date +%Y-%m-%d)/blockchain.db" # Backup private database sqlite3 data/private.db ".backup /backup/ubu-block/$( date +%Y-%m-%d)/private.db" # Verify backups ls -lh /backup/ubu-block/ $( date +%Y-%m-%d ) /
Create /usr/local/bin/backup-ubu-block.sh: #!/bin/bash BACKUP_DIR = "/backup/ubu-block" DATE = $( date +%Y-%m-%d ) DATA_DIR = "/opt/ubu-block/data" RETENTION_DAYS = 30 # Create backup directory mkdir -p " $BACKUP_DIR / $DATE " # Backup databases sqlite3 " $DATA_DIR /blockchain.db" ".backup $BACKUP_DIR / $DATE /blockchain.db" sqlite3 " $DATA_DIR /private.db" ".backup $BACKUP_DIR / $DATE /private.db" # Compress backups cd " $BACKUP_DIR / $DATE " tar -czf "../ubu-block- $DATE .tar.gz" * .db cd .. rm -rf " $DATE " # Remove old backups find " $BACKUP_DIR " -name "ubu-block-*.tar.gz" -mtime + $RETENTION_DAYS -delete echo "Backup completed: $BACKUP_DIR /ubu-block- $DATE .tar.gz"
Schedule with cron: # Daily backup at 2 AM 0 2 * * * /usr/local/bin/backup-ubu-block.sh >> /var/log/ubu-block/backup.log 2>&1
Sync backups to remote storage: # Using rsync to remote server rsync -avz /backup/ubu-block/ user@backup-server:/backups/ubu-block/ # Using AWS S3 aws s3 sync /backup/ubu-block/ s3://my-bucket/ubu-block-backups/ # Using rclone (supports many providers) rclone sync /backup/ubu-block/ remote:ubu-block-backups/
Always backup the private.db file securely. It contains private keys and sensitive node data.
Database Optimization Optimize SQLite databases to maintain performance:
# Optimize blockchain database sqlite3 data/blockchain.db "VACUUM;" sqlite3 data/blockchain.db "ANALYZE;" # Optimize private database sqlite3 data/private.db "VACUUM;" sqlite3 data/private.db "ANALYZE;"
What these commands do:
VACUUM: Reclaims unused space and defragments the databaseANALYZE: Updates query optimizer statistics for better performance
Run VACUUM when the database is not actively being used, as it requires exclusive access and can take time for large databases.
Database Integrity Checks Regularly verify database integrity:
# Check blockchain database sqlite3 data/blockchain.db "PRAGMA integrity_check;" # Quick check (faster for large databases) sqlite3 data/blockchain.db "PRAGMA quick_check;" # Check foreign key constraints sqlite3 data/blockchain.db "PRAGMA foreign_key_check;"
Schedule automatic checks:
# Weekly integrity check 0 3 * * 0 sqlite3 /opt/ubu-block/data/blockchain.db "PRAGMA integrity_check;" >> /var/log/ubu-block/integrity.log 2>&1
Log Management Log Rotation Manage log file sizes to prevent disk space issues:
systemd Journal
Application Logs
# Check current journal size sudo journalctl --disk-usage # Limit journal size to 500MB sudo journalctl --vacuum-size=500M # Keep only 30 days of logs sudo journalctl --vacuum-time=30d # Configure permanent limits in /etc/systemd/journald.conf sudo nano /etc/systemd/journald.conf
Add or modify: [Journal] SystemMaxUse =500M SystemMaxFileSize =50M MaxRetentionSec =30day
Restart journald: sudo systemctl restart systemd-journald
If logging to files, configure logrotate: Create /etc/logrotate.d/ubu-block: /var/log/ubu-block/*.log { daily rotate 30 compress delaycompress missingok notifempty create 0640 ubu-block ubu-block sharedscripts postrotate systemctl reload ubu-submission > /dev/null 2>&1 || true endscript }
Test configuration: sudo logrotate -d /etc/logrotate.d/ubu-block
Log Analysis and Cleanup Periodically review and clean up logs:
# Find and remove old log archives find /var/log/ubu-block/ -name "*.gz" -mtime +90 -delete # Archive important logs before deletion tar -czf /backup/logs- $( date +%Y-%m-%d ) .tar.gz /var/log/ubu-block/ * .log
Software Updates Updating Ubu-Block
Backup before updating
Always create a backup before updating: /usr/local/bin/backup-ubu-block.sh
Pull latest changes
cd /opt/ubu-block git fetch origin git checkout main git pull origin main
Review changes
Check what changed: git log --oneline -10 git diff HEAD~10 HEAD
Rebuild the application
cargo clean cargo build --release
Stop the node
sudo systemctl stop ubu-submission
Replace binaries
sudo cp target/release/submission /usr/local/bin/ sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/submission
Restart the node
sudo systemctl start ubu-submission sudo systemctl status ubu-submission
Verify the update
# Check logs for errors sudo journalctl -u ubu-submission -f # Validate blockchain cargo run -- validate # Test API curl http://localhost:9091/api/v1/health
System Package Updates Keep the underlying system updated:
# Ubuntu/Debian sudo apt update sudo apt upgrade -y sudo apt autoremove -y # Update Rust toolchain rustup update stable
Test updates in a staging environment before applying to production nodes.
Security Maintenance File Permission Audits Regularly verify file permissions:
# Check critical file permissions ls -la /opt/ubu-block/data/ ls -la /etc/ubu-block/ # Correct permissions if needed chmod 700 /opt/ubu-block/data chmod 600 /opt/ubu-block/data/private.db chmod 644 /opt/ubu-block/data/blockchain.db chmod 600 /etc/ubu-block/config.toml
SSH Key Rotation If managing nodes remotely, rotate SSH keys periodically:
# Generate new SSH key ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/ubu-block-new # Add new key to server ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/ubu-block-new.pub user@server # Test new key ssh -i ~/.ssh/ubu-block-new user@server # Remove old key from server ssh user@server "sed -i '/old-key-comment/d' ~/.ssh/authorized_keys"
Certificate Management If using TLS/SSL, monitor certificate expiry:
# Check certificate expiry openssl x509 -in /etc/ssl/certs/ubu-block.crt -noout -dates # Renew Let's Encrypt certificate sudo certbot renew --dry-run
Performance Maintenance Resource Cleanup Clean up unnecessary files:
# Clean Rust build artifacts cd /opt/ubu-block cargo clean # Remove old Docker images (if using Docker) docker system prune -a --filter "until=720h" # Clean package cache sudo apt clean # Ubuntu/Debian
Optimize SQLite for your workload:
# Add pragmas to improve performance (use with caution) sqlite3 data/blockchain.db << EOF PRAGMA journal_mode = WAL; PRAGMA synchronous = NORMAL; PRAGMA cache_size = -64000; PRAGMA temp_store = MEMORY; EOF
WAL (Write-Ahead Logging) mode allows concurrent reads and writes, improving performance for multi-user scenarios.
Disaster Recovery Testing Testing Backups Regularly test backup restoration:
Create test environment
mkdir -p /tmp/restore-test/data
Restore from backup
tar -xzf /backup/ubu-block/ubu-block-2026-03-04.tar.gz -C /tmp/restore-test/data/
Verify restored data
# Check database integrity sqlite3 /tmp/restore-test/data/blockchain.db "PRAGMA integrity_check;" # Verify data sqlite3 /tmp/restore-test/data/blockchain.db "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM blocks;"
Disaster Recovery Plan Document your recovery procedures:
Backup locations : Where are backups stored?Recovery time objective (RTO) : How quickly can you restore service?Recovery point objective (RPO) : How much data loss is acceptable?Contact information : Who to notify during an outage?Restoration steps : Detailed steps to restore from backup
Maintenance Schedule Recommended maintenance schedule:
Monitor node status and logs
Verify blockchain integrity
Check disk space
Review error logs
Create database backups
Review and analyze performance metrics
Check security logs for anomalies
Test API endpoints
Optimize databases (VACUUM, ANALYZE)
Update system packages
Rotate and archive logs
Review and update documentation
Test disaster recovery procedures
Update Ubu-Block software
Security audit and penetration testing
Review and update disaster recovery plan
Capacity planning and scaling assessment
Maintenance Checklist Use this checklist for routine maintenance:
## Weekly Maintenance Checklist - [ ] Verify all nodes are running - [ ] Create and verify backups - [ ] Check disk space (>20% free) - [ ] Review error logs - [ ] Validate blockchain integrity - [ ] Check database sizes and growth - [ ] Monitor resource usage (CPU, memory) - [ ] Verify peer connections - [ ] Test API health endpoints - [ ] Review security logs ## Monthly Maintenance Checklist - [ ] Optimize databases (VACUUM, ANALYZE) - [ ] Update system packages - [ ] Rotate and compress logs - [ ] Test backup restoration - [ ] Review performance metrics - [ ] Update monitoring dashboards - [ ] Check SSL certificate expiry - [ ] Document any changes
Automated Maintenance Script Create a comprehensive maintenance script:
/usr/local/bin/ubu-maintenance.sh
#!/bin/bash set -e LOG_FILE = "/var/log/ubu-block/maintenance.log" DATA_DIR = "/opt/ubu-block/data" log () { echo "[$( date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')] $1 " | tee -a " $LOG_FILE " } log "Starting maintenance tasks..." # Backup databases log "Creating backups..." /usr/local/bin/backup-ubu-block.sh # Optimize databases log "Optimizing databases..." sqlite3 " $DATA_DIR /blockchain.db" "VACUUM; ANALYZE;" sqlite3 " $DATA_DIR /private.db" "VACUUM; ANALYZE;" # Check integrity log "Checking database integrity..." sqlite3 " $DATA_DIR /blockchain.db" "PRAGMA integrity_check;" | tee -a " $LOG_FILE " # Clean old logs log "Cleaning old logs..." journalctl --vacuum-time=30d # Check disk space log "Checking disk space..." df -h " $DATA_DIR " | tee -a " $LOG_FILE " # Validate blockchain log "Validating blockchain..." cd /opt/ubu-block && cargo run -- validate 2>&1 | tee -a " $LOG_FILE " log "Maintenance tasks completed."
Schedule monthly:
0 4 1 * * /usr/local/bin/ubu-maintenance.sh
Next Steps
Monitoring Monitor node health and performance
Troubleshooting Resolve common issues