<blockquoteclass="twitter-tweet"><plang="en"dir="ltr">I expect the new Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB RAM option, external SSD) to handle an Eth2 validator node without breaking a sweat. That's $100 of hardware running at 10 Watts to support a 32 ETH node (currently ~$10K stake).</p>— Justin Ðrake (@drakefjustin) <ahref="https://twitter.com/drakefjustin/status/1143091047058366465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2019</a></blockquote><scriptasyncsrc="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"charset="utf-8"></script>
One of the most important aspects of the Raspberry Pi experience is trying to make it as easy as possible to get started. As such, we try our best to explain things from first-principles.
## Prerequisites
- Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB RAM option)
- 64GB microSD Card
- microSD USB adapter
- 5V 3A USB-C charger
- Reliable Wifi connection
- Laptop
- Basic understanding of the [command line](https://www.learnenough.com/command-line-tutorial/basics)
> ⚠️ You will need an SSD to run the Nimbus (without an SSD drive you have absolutely no chance of syncing the Ethereum blockchain). You have two options:
>
> 1. Use an USB portable SSD disk such as the Samsung T5 Portable SSD.
>
> 2. Use an USB 3.0 External Hard Drive Case with a SSD Disk. For example, [Ethereum on Arm](https://twitter.com/EthereumOnARM) use an Inateck 2.5 Hard Drive Enclosure FE2011. Make sure to buy a case with an UASP compliant chip, particularly, one of these: JMicron (JMS567 or JMS578) or ASMedia (ASM1153E).
>
> In both cases, avoid low quality SSD disks (the SSD is a key component of your node and can drastically affect both the performance and sync time). Keep in mind that you need to plug the disk to an USB 3.0 port (the blue port).
[Raspberry Pi Imager](https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/raspberry-pi-imager-imaging-utility/) is a new imaging utility that makes it simple to manage your microSD card with Raspbian (the free Pi operating system based on Debian).
You can find the [download](https://www.learnenough.com/command-line-tutorial/basics) link for your operating system here: [Windows](https://downloads.raspberrypi.org/imager/imager_1.4.exe), [macOS](https://downloads.raspberrypi.org/imager/imager_1.4.dmg), [Ubuntu](https://downloads.raspberrypi.org/imager/imager_1.4_amd64.deb).
Since you have loaded Raspberry Pi OS onto a blank SD card, you will have two partitions. The first one, which is the smaller one, is the `boot` partition.
> **Note:** Don't forget to replace the placeholder `country`, `ssid`, and `psk` values. See [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1) for a list of 2 letter `ISO 3166-1` country codes.
You can [access the command line](https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/remote-access/ssh/) of a Raspberry Pi remotely from another computer or device on the same network using [SSH](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ssh_(Secure_Shell)).
When the Pi boots, it will look for the `ssh` file. If it is found, SSH is enabled and the file is deleted. The content of the file does not matter; it can contain text, or nothing at all.
To create an empty `ssh` file, from the home directory of the `boot` partition file, run:
```
touch ssh
```
### 7. Find your Pi's IP address
Since Raspberry Pi OS supports [Multicast_DNS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multicast_DNS) out of the box, you can reach your Raspberry Pi by using its hostname and the `.local` suffix.
The default hostname on a fresh Raspberry Pi OS install is `raspberrypi`, so any Raspberry Pi running Raspberry Pi OS should respond to:
```
ping raspberrypi.local
```
The output should look more or less as follows:
```
PING raspberrypi.local (195.177.101.93): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 195.177.101.93: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=13.272 ms
64 bytes from 195.177.101.93: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=16.773 ms
64 bytes from 195.177.101.93: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=10.828 ms
...
```
Keep note of your Pi's IP address. In the above case, that's `195.177.101.93`
### 8. SSH (using Linux or macOS)
Connect to your Pi by running:
```
ssh pi@195.177.101.93
```
You'll be prompted to enter a password:
```
pi@195.177.101.93's password:
```
Enter the Pi's default password: `raspberry`
You should see a message that looks like the following:
> **Note:** Swap acts as a breather to your system when the RAM is exhausted. When the RAM is exhausted, your Linux system uses part of the hard disk memory and allocates it to the running application.
Use the Pi's built-in text editor [nano](https://www.nano-editor.org/dist/latest/cheatsheet.html) to open up the swap file:
```
sudo nano /etc/dphys-swapfile
```
Change the value assigned to `CONF_SWAPSIZE` from `100` to `2048`:
```
...
# set size to absolute value, leaving empty (default) then uses computed value
# you most likely don't want this, unless you have an special disk situation
Follow [this guide](https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/boot-raspberry-pi-4-usb) to copy the contents of your SD card over to your SSD, and boot your Pi from your SSD.
> Make sure you connect your SSD the Pi's USB 3 port (the blue port).
>
> If your Pi is headless (no monitor attached) you can use the [`rpi-clone`](https://github.com/billw2/rpi-clone) repository to copy the contents of the SD over to the SSD; in a nutshell, replace steps 14 and 15 of the above guide with the following commands (which you should run from the Pi's `home` directory):
`screen` is a tool that lets you safely detach from the SSH session without exiting the remote job. In other words `screen` allows the commands you run on your Pi from your laptop to keep running after you've logged out.
>**Note:** If you haven't generated your validator key(s) and/or made your deposit yet, follow the instructions on [this page](./deposit.md) before carrying on.
We'll use the `scp` command to send files over SSH. It allows you to copy files between computers, say from your Raspberry Pi to your desktop/laptop, or vice-versa.
Copy the folder containing your validator key(s) from your computer to your `pi`'s homefolder by opening up a new terminal window and running the following command:
> **Note:** Don't forget the colon (:) at the end of the command!
As usual, replace `195.177.101.93` with your Pi's IP address, and `<VALIDATOR_KEYS_DIRECTORY>` with the full pathname of your `validator_keys` directory (if you used the Launchpad [command line app](https://github.com/ethereum/eth2.0-deposit-cli/releases/) this would have been created for you when you generated your keys).
> **Tip:** run `pwd` in your `validator_keys` directory to print the full pathname to the console.
You'll be asked to enter the password you created to encrypt your keystore(s). Don't worry, this is entirely normal. Your validator client needs both your signing keystore(s) and the password encrypting it to import your [key](https://blog.ethereum.org/2020/05/21/keys/) (since it needs to decrypt the keystore in order to be able to use it to sign on your behalf).
>**Note:** If you haven't already, we recommend registering for, and running, your own Infura endpoint to connect to eth1. For instruction on how to do so, see [this page](./infura-guide.md).
If you look near the top of the logs printed to your console, you should see confirmation that your beacon node has started, with your local validator attached:
INF 2020-12-01 11:25:34.556+01:00 Loading block dag from database topics="beacnde" tid=19985314 file=nimbus_beacon_node.nim:198 path=build/data/shared_pyrmont_0/db
INF 2020-12-01 11:25:35.921+01:00 Block dag initialized
INF 2020-12-01 11:25:37.073+01:00 Generating new networking key
...
NOT 2020-12-01 11:25:45.267+00:00 Local validator attached tid=22009 file=validator_pool.nim:33 pubKey=95e3cbe88c71ab2d0e3053b7b12ead329a37e9fb8358bdb4e56251993ab68e46b9f9fa61035fe4cf2abf4c07dfad6c45 validator=95e3cbe8
To keep track of your syncing progress, have a look at the output at the very bottom of the terminal window in which your validator is running. You should see something like:
Keep an eye on the number of peers your currently connected to (in the above case that's `15`), as well as your [sync progress](./keep-an-eye.md#syncing-progress).
> **Note:** 15 - 20 peers and an average sync speed of **0.5 - 1.0** blocks per second is normal on `Pyrmont` with a Pi. If you're sync speed is much slower than this, the root of the problem may be your USB3.0 to SSD adapter. See [this post](https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=245931) for a recommended workaround.
To detach your `screen` session but leave your processes running, press `Ctrl-A` followed by `Ctrl-D`. You can now exit your `ssh` session (`Ctrl-C`) and switch off your laptop.
Verifying your progress is as simple as `ssh`ing back into your Pi and typing `screen -r`. This will resume your screen session (and you will be able to see your node's entire output since you logged out).
While `screen` is a nice tool for testing, it's not really a good idea to rely on it for serious use. For a more professional setup, we recommend [setting up a systemd service](https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/linux/usage/systemd.md) with an autorestart on boot (should you experience an unexpected power outage, this will ensure your validator restarts correctly).
