Managing Your Node

Master the art of maintaining your Gintonic distillery node. Learn about logs, updates, GPU health monitoring, and best practices for optimal performance.

Managing Your Gintonic Distillery Node

Now that your node is up and running, earning you $GIN, it's important to keep an eye on its performance and health. This section will show you how to monitor your node, understand its status, and perform basic maintenance tasks.

Accessing and Understanding Logs

Logs are like your node's diary - they record everything that happens. Here's how to read them:

1. Open a terminal on your machine

2. Run this command:

   sudo cat /root/distillery_logs/script.log

You'll see entries like:

[2024-08-24 15:30:22] INFO: Node started successfully
[2024-08-24 15:35:10] INFO: Completed task XYZ123, processed 1000 blocks
[2024-08-24 15:40:05] WARN: High GPU temperature detected

Don't worry about understanding every line. Look out for:

• INFO: Normal operations

• WARN: Potential issues to keep an eye on

• ERROR: Problems that need your attention

The logs contain information about:

• Installation of required dependencies.

• Calculation of available video card memory.

• Petals server startup.

• Retrieval of the PeerID.

• PID of the running distillery server process.

• Sending a request to the backend with the blockchain address and PeerID.

Starting and Stopping Your Node

Need to take your node offline for a bit? No problem:

To stop your node:

docker stop gintonic-distillery

To start it back up:

docker start gintonic-distillery

Remember, your node only earns $GIN when it's online and processing tasks. Try to minimize downtime!

Your Gintonic client can be stopped in several ways:

• Using the docker stop command (as shown above)

• Manually killing the process

• Restarting or shutting down your machine

• Using the CTRL+C keyboard shortcut if running in an interactive terminal

Regardless of how it's stopped, you can always restart your node using the docker start command provided earlier.

Updating Your Node

We're constantly improving Gintonic. To get the latest version:

1. Stop your node:

   docker stop gintonic-distillery

2. Remove the old container:

   docker rm gintonic-distillery

3. Pull the latest image:

   ```bash

docker pull gintonic/distillery:latest ``` 4. Start a new container:

```bash
docker run -d --gpus all -v ~/gintonic-config.json:/app/config.json --name gintonic-distillery gintonic/distillery:latest
```

Monitoring GPU Health

Your GPU is the workhorse of your node. Keep it healthy:

1. Install GPU monitoring tools:

   sudo apt install nvidia-smi

2. Check GPU status:

   nvidia-smi

Watch out for:

• High temperatures (over 80°C).

• Memory errors.

• Power fluctuations.

If you notice any issues, consider adjusting your GPU allocation in the gintonic-config.json file.

Best Practices

• Regular Check-ins: Look at your node status daily

• Update Regularly: Check for updates weekly

• Cool and Clean: Ensure good ventilation for your GPU

• Stable Power: Use a UPS if possible to prevent sudden shutdowns

By keeping your node healthy and up-to-date, you're not just maximizing your $GIN earnings - you're ensuring the Gintonic network stays robust and efficient.

In the next section, we'll cover common troubleshooting steps to help you solve any issues that might pop up. Keep distilling!