Ethereum POA ( proof of Authority ) for private network

Question

I am trying to set up private network in ethereum with POA, but I am unable to do so. getting below error

I have tried using puppeth manager to setup the genesis file. The genesis file is set up to use clique as algo. Snip of genesis file is I do understand from the error that it is related to the sealing/sealer of the block.. but how to define the accounts which can be used for sealing? Any pointers in right direction would be helpful

Answer 1

Have you created any sealer accounts prior to creating the genesis file?

if not, create at least one sealer account first by running the following:

geth account new --datadir /path/to/your/custom/datadir

Note down the address this generates, then when you run puppeth you can add this address into the pre-defined list of sealer accounts during the genesis creation process.

Once this is done you can initialise geth with the new genesis.json file:

geth --datadir /path/to/your/custom/datadir init genesis.json

then once you're up and running you need to unlock that account:

personal.unlockAccount(eth.accounts[0], "<password>", 0)

(note "0" above will keep the account unlocked permanently, or you can specify a time interval in seconds)

Then to get mining started on a single core type the following into the console:

miner.start(1)

and you should see block sealing as proof of successful mining pretty soon.

Answer 2

Simply unlock your account with

personal.unlockAccount(eth.accounts[0], "Password", 86400)

Note: The last parameter is time to leave account unlocked in seconds.

Then, start the mining

miner.start();

Answer 3

Steps to get a miner node in your PoA blockchain:

• Create account: geth --datadir=. account new
• Create genesis json using puppeth
• Modify genesis json. Set the sealers in the extraData field in genesis.json:
  • 0x00... (64 zeros) at beginning
  • account (without 0x) (stuck all the accounts you want to set as sealers)
  • 00.. (130 zeros) at end
• run the node, unlocking this account, --unlock=(account). Use also the parameter --mine