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How to sync the block and state faster

Usually, starting a new main network node will automatically synchronize block data, and this process is very long.

Next, we will introduce how to use the data export tool provided by the Starcoin toolchains to speed up the speed of new nodes synchronizing block data, and how to synchronize the state of the chain.

Download and install​

Download the corresponding precompiled Starcoin toolchains according to the system you are using. If you have already downloaded and installed starcoin, you can skip this step.

# Take Ubuntu as an example
wget https://github.com/starcoinorg/starcoin/releases/download/v1.11.10/starcoin-ubuntu-latest.zip

# Unzip
unzip starcoin-ubuntu-latest.zip

# Enter the decompression directory and check
cd starcoin-artifacts/
./starcoin_db_exporter -h

Tip: If you use it frequently, it is recommended to add it to the PATH environment variable.

Sync block data​

If a new full node is started, it is usually to download the main network block data of other nodes to the new node, and start the node with the downloaded block data. Downloaded (exported) block data is stored on a CSV file for easy data exchange and storage.

Export block​

The export-block-range subcommand is used to export block data.

# Create a directory to store the block data exported from the node
mkdir ~/bak

# export block
./starcoin_db_exporter export-block-range -i ~/.starcoin/main/ -s 1 -e 10000 -n main -o ~/bak
  • -i Specifies the data directory for the node.
  • -s Specifies the starting height of block data.
  • -e Specifies the end height of the block data.
  • -n Specifies the network.
  • -o Specifies the directory to store the exported data.

After the export, you can see that the export file is ~/bak/block_1_10000.csv in the ~/bak directory.

Import block​

The apply-block subcommand is used to import block data.

./starcoin_db_exporter apply-block -i block_1_10000.csv -n main -o ~/.starcoin/main/
  • -i Specifies the path to the CSV file to import block data.
  • -n Specifies the network.
  • -o Specifies the data directory for the node.

The import_block.sh script is provided in the starcoin repository, and the precompiled version is also packaged with the corresponding script. It is more convenient to import block data using a script instead of having to export and import manually.

./import_block.sh main ~/.starcoin/main

This script accepts two parameters, parameter 1 specifies the network name, such as main, barnard, proxima or halley, and parameter 2 specifies the directory where the data is stored, such as ~/.starcoin/main or any custom path. This script will skip the existing blocks, and each time a block is acquired, the progress will be automatically updated. After the script is interrupted and executed, the import will continue at the original height.

After executing the script, the mainnet block data will be automatically downloaded to the ~/.starcoin/main directory and imported. Wait for the download and import to complete, then you can run a new node with these block data.

Note: To use this script, make sure starcoin_db_exporter and import_block.sh are in the same path.

Status of the sync chain​

The starcoin_db_exporter command provides a snapshot function of offline export and import of main, barnard, proxima, halley networks, which is convenient to quickly build a blockchain network.

Export snapshot​

The export-snapshot subcommand is used to export snapshots.

Normal export:

# Create a directory for storing snapshot data exported from the node
mkdir ~/snapshot

# Export snapshot
./starcoin_db_exporter export-snapshot -i ~/.starcoin/main -n main -o ~/snapshot
  • -i Specifies the data directory for the node.
  • -n Specifies the network.
  • -o Specifies the directory where the exported snapshots are stored.

Incremental export:

./starcoin_db_exporter export-snapshot -i ~/.starcoin/main -n main -o ~/snapshot -t true

Use the -t option to specify whether to use incremental export, true to enable, false to disable. If you want to use incremental export, you need to ensure that there are old snapshots in the ~/snapshot directory. For example, the original snapshot height in the ~/snapshot directory is 1-400w, and now you need to export snapshots with a height of 1-500w. If incremental export is used, the subsequent 400w-500w snapshots will be exported first, and then merged with the original snapshots to save time.

Import snapshot​

The apply-snapshot subcommand is used to import snapshots.

./starcoin_db_exporter apply-snapshot -i ~/snapshot -n main -o ~/.starcoin/main
  • -i Specifies the directory where snapshots are stored.
  • -n Specifies the network.
  • -o Specifies the data directory for the node.

Import snapshots using a script​

The import_snapshot.sh script is provided in the starcoin repository, and the precompiled version is also packaged with the corresponding script.

./import_snapshot.sh main ~/snapshot/ ~/.starcoin/main

This script needs to pass 3 parameters, parameter 1 specifies the name of the network, parameter 2 specifies the storage path of the snapshot, and parameter 3 specifies the data directory of the node.

Note: To use this script, make sure starcoin_db_exporter and import_snapshot.sh are in the same path.