Running a Cardano Node. Easy Way with NOWNodes

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As the Cardano platform is one of the most popular blockchains in the world, more and more individuals are seeking ways of running a Cardano node. In this guide, we will walk you through running your own node process, as well as accessing a Cardano mainnet environment with NOWNodes.

We will talk about the Cardano node requirements, installation, and set-up, as well as reveal to you the easiest way to access a Cardano mainnet.

Easy Way to Access Cardano Mainnet with NOWNodes

Running a Cardano node requires a valuable investment of your time, money, and knowledge for building your own ADA node. Instead, you can choose an easy option to access the ADA node by leaving all the difficulties to a reliable node provider such as NOWNodes. 

To connect to a Cardano mainnet using NOWNodes, follow these steps:

1. Sing in for the personal account by only providing your email address for the registration.

2. Choose one of the available tariff plans. You can choose a FREE plan or one of the paid plans according to your needs. NOWNodes paid plans are one of the most affordable on the node providers market.  

3. If you take the FREE plan, then you need to choose 5 different blockchains which you would like to access. You need simply push the ‘’ADD’’ button in front of the Cardano ticker.

4. Then navigate to your “DASHBOARD”, scroll down the page, and get the Cardano API key by pushing the “ADD NEW KEY” button.

5. The only step left is to create a request by using one of the available methods in the NOWNodes Docs.

Once you have copied your Cardano API key, you can send a request to the Cardano mainnet using the provided endpoints. You can make these requests over HTTP or HTTPS using a tool like curl, Postman, or within your programming language of choice like Python, JavaScript, etc.

6. Handle the Response

After sending your request, you’ll get a response back from the NOWNodes server. The exact format of the response will depend on the command you sent, but generally, it will be a JSON object containing the information you requested.

Also, NOWNodes provides access to ADA Cardano Explorer and Blockfrost Cardano node API.

With NOWNodes service, you can easily access the Cardano mainnet, including full Cardano node, Cardano explorer, and Cardano WebSocket and focus on scaling and growing your dApps and crypto businesses. If you are not looking for easy solutions, you can run a Cardano node by yourself with our guide.

How to Run a Cardano Node by Yourself?

Running an ADA node by yourself can be challenging due to the technical expertise required, the need for significant computational resources, the necessity of a stable internet connection, and the ongoing responsibilities and maintenance involved. Before setting up the Cardano node, you should meet the Cardano node requirements. 

Cardano Node Requirements

Before you can run an ADA node, you will need to ensure that your system meets the minimum Cardano node requirements. The following are the minimum requirements for running a Cardano node:

• Operating system: Linux or Windows

• Storage: 10 GB free disk space

• Internet: High-speed internet connection

Make sure your system meets ADA node hardware requirements before you start to install a Cardano node.

Install a Cardano Node

Once you have confirmed that your system meets the minimum ADA node requirements, you can proceed with the installation of the node. There are several ways to install a Cardano-node, including using pre-compiled binaries or building from source code. In this guide, we will cover how to install a Cardano node using pre-compiled binaries.

Steps to Install a Cardano Node:

• Download the latest version of Cardano-node from the official Cardano GitHub.

• Extract the downloaded file to a directory of your choice.

• Open a terminal window and navigate to the directory where you extracted the files.

1. Installing Prerequisites

Before you start building a node, you should set up OS packages, including folder structure, and retrieve files from the repository. 

Firstly, ensure you have the appropriate software prerequisites, including GHC, Cabal, and Libsodium. 

Additionally, you need the build essentials package. For a Linux-based system, use the following pre-prequest script:

After that, you will need to check the syntax of guild-deploy.sh with the following command:

Use the following common command that installs most components:

Running the script above will create a folder structure.

 2. Cloning the node

The next step is to clone the node. To do this, you should clone the Cardano-node repository to $HOME/git folder on your system:

You will then navigate to the Cardano directory:

3. Building the node

Once in the Cardano-node directory, you can build the latest ADA node using the following script with the use of Cabal tool:

This process will likely take a while. So this tool is going to copy the binaries built into ~/.local/bin folder.

While some may need to build the ADA node themselves, most can download the binaries from the cardano-node release notes. Once downloaded, you can make them accessible in your preferred PATH environment.

4. Verify

To verify output, start cardano-cli or cardano-node with the command:

After the build process is complete, you need to update your system’s PATH to include the location of the built node executables. If you built the node in the default location, you can update the path with:

You can check if everything is working correctly with:

5. Running the node

The last step is to run a node. Run the following command:

The script includes a customizable variable called CPU_CORES, which allows you to specify the number of CPU cores that the node will utilize when it starts up.

Your ADA node should now be up and running. You can verify this by checking the logs for any errors or warnings.

Setting Up the Node

Once you have installed the node, you will need to configure it to connect to the Cardano mainnet network. This involves setting up the network topology, configuring the Cardano mainnet parameters, and synchronizing the blockchain.

Network Topology

The network topology defines the peers that your node will connect to on the Cardano network. You can configure the network topology using a JSON file that specifies the IP addresses and ports of the other nodes on the network.

Node Parameters

The node parameters define the behavior of your node, such as its logging settings, database location, and other configuration options. You can configure the full node parameters using a JSON file that specifies these settings.

Synchronizing the Blockchain

Once you have configured your node, you will need to synchronize the blockchain to ensure that your ADA node has the latest copy of the blockchain. This can take some time, depending on the size of the blockchain and the speed of your internet connection.

Overall, you need to be sure that for running a node you can afford expensive servers, highly skilled DevOps engineers, or your own knowledge and financial support. Keep in mind that you can cut the price of your ADA node maintenance and speed up the implementation process with a node provider. Or if you simply find the process of installing and setting up a Cardano node too complex, you can always rely on NOWNodes. 

Also, with NOWNodes, you can enjoy access to ADA Cardano Explorer and Blockfrost Cardano node API. Find all the available endpoints here. 

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CRYPTO CONTRIBUTOR, CONTENT CREATOR, INVESTOR & FOUNDER OF MT AGENCY.
I have written guides and educational content on thousands of cryptocurrencies and financial services and conducted various types of analysis, including price forecasts and technical analyses of blockchain projects.