Deploying Corda to Corda Testnet from an Azure Cloud Platform VM

This document will describe how to set up a virtual machine on the Azure Cloud Platform to deploy your pre-configured Corda node and automatically connnect to Testnet. A self-service download link can be obtained from https://marketplace.r3.com/network/testnet.

Pre-requisites

  • Ensure you have a registered Microsoft Azure account which can create virtual machines.

Deploy Corda node

Browse to https://portal.azure.com and log in with your Microsoft account.

STEP 1: Create a Resource Group

Click on the “Resource groups” link in the side nav in the Azure Portal and then click “Add”:

azure rg
Fill in the form and click “Create”:

azure rg 2

STEP 2: Launch the VM

At the top of the left sidenav click on the button with the green cross “Create a resource”.

In this example we are going to use an Ubuntu server so select the latest Ubuntu Server option:

azure select ubuntu
Fill in the form:

  • Add a username (to log into the VM) and choose and enter a password
  • Choose the resource group we created earlier from the “Use existing” dropdown
  • Select a cloud region geographically near to your location to host your VM

Click on “OK”:

azure vm form
Choose a size (“D4S_V3 Standard” is recommended if available) and click “Select”:

azure instance type
Click on “Public IP address” to open the “Settings” panel

azure vm settings
Set the IP address to “Static” under “Assignment” and click “OK”:

azure set static ip
Next toggle “Network Security Group” to advanced and click on “Network security group (firewall)”:

azure nsg
Add the following inbound rules for ports 8080 (webserver), and 10002-10003 for the P2P and RPC ports used by the Corda node respectively:

Destination port ranges: 10002, Priority: 1041  Name: Port_10002
Destination port ranges: 10003, Priority: 1042  Name: Port_10003
Destination port ranges: 8080, Priority: 1043  Name: Port_8080
Destination port ranges: 22, Priority: 1044  Name: Port_22

azure nsg 2
Click “OK” and “OK” again on the “Settings” panel:

azure settings ok
Click “Create” and wait a few minutes for your instance to be provisioned and start running:

azure create vm

STEP 3: Connect to your VM and set up the environment

Once your instance is running click on the “Connect” button and copy the ssh command:

azure ssh
Enter the ssh command into your terminal. At the prompt, type “yes” to continue connecting and then enter the password you configured earlier to log into the remote VM:

azure shell

STEP 4: Download and set up your Corda node

Now that your Azure environment is configured you can switch to the Testnet dashboard and click “Copy” to get a one-time installation script.

testnet platform
In the terminal of your cloud instance, paste the command you just copied to install and run your Corda node:

sudo ONE_TIME_DOWNLOAD_KEY=YOUR_UNIQUE_DOWNLOAD_KEY_HERE bash -c "$(curl -L https://onboarder.prod.ws.r3.com/api/user/node/TESTNET/install.sh)"

You can follow the progress of the installation by typing the following command in your terminal:

tail -f /opt/corda/logs/node-<VM-NAME>.log

Testing your deployment

To test that your deployment is working correctly, follow the instructions in Using the Node Explorer to test a Corda node on Corda Testnet to set up the Finance CorDapp and issue cash to a counterparty.

This will also demonstrate how to install a custom CorDapp.

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