Installing an Ethereum Blockchain Node using Geth

Prerequisites

Ensure that your system meets the following requirements:

• RAM: At least 16GB
• Storage: At least 2TB
• Internet: A stable and fast connection

All commands in this guide are executed as the root user.

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1. Install Geth

Update and Install Dependencies

Run the following commands to update your system and install essential packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y git build-essential

Install Go (Golang)

Geth requires Go, so install it using the commands below:

wget https://go.dev/dl/go1.21.7.linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.21.7.linux-amd64.tar.gz

Configure Environment Variables

Edit your ~/.bashrc file:

nano ~/.bashrc

Add the following lines at the end of the file:

export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin
export GOPATH=$HOME/go
export PATH=$PATH:$GOPATH/bin

Apply the changes:

source ~/.bashrc

Download and Build Geth

git clone https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum.git
cd go-ethereum
make geth
sudo cp build/bin/geth /usr/local/bin/

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2. Running Geth

Create a Data Directory and Start Geth

mkdir ~/ethereum
geth --datadir ~/ethereum \
  --http --http.port 8080 --http.addr "0.0.0.0" \
  --syncmode "snap" \
  --authrpc.addr "127.0.0.1" --authrpc.port 8551 \
  --authrpc.jwtsecret ~/ethereum/geth/jwtsecret \
  --maxpeers 100

This will start Geth and expose the JSON-RPC API on port 8080.

(Optional) Disable IPv6

If you experience network issues, disabling IPv6 can help:

sudo sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.all.disable_ipv6=1
sudo sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.default.disable_ipv6=1

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3. Install and Run Lighthouse (Consensus Layer)

Ethereum transitioned to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) in 2022. This means you need both:

• Execution Layer (EL) → Geth
• Consensus Layer (CL) → Lighthouse (or another beacon client)

Install Rust and Build Lighthouse

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
source $HOME/.cargo/env
rustup update
git clone https://github.com/sigp/lighthouse.git
cd lighthouse
make

(Troubleshooting) Install Required Dependencies

If you encounter errors while running make, install clang and other required dependencies:

sudo apt install -y libc6-dev build-essential clang cmake
export CC=gcc
export CFLAGS="-I/usr/include"

Run Lighthouse

lighthouse beacon_node --network mainnet --datadir ~/beacon --http --http-address 0.0.0.0 --http-port 5052 --execution-endpoint http://127.0.0.1:8551 --execution-jwt ~/ethereum/geth/jwtsecret --checkpoint-sync-url https://mainnet-checkpoint-sync.attestant.io

You may check more endpoints at: (https://eth-clients.github.io/checkpoint-sync-endpoints/)

⚠️ Make sure Geth is running before starting Lighthouse.

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4. Testing Your Ethereum Node

Once both Geth and Lighthouse are running, you can test your node by making an RPC call:

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_blockNumber","params":[],"id":1}' \
  http://192.168.1.150:8080

If your node is running correctly, it will return something like:

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"result":"0x0"}

(Replace 192.168.1.150 with your actual server IP.)

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Final Notes

• This tutorial sets up an Ethereum full node using Geth and Lighthouse.
• Your node will synchronize with the Ethereum network, which can take time.
• Ensure your system meets the hardware requirements to avoid performance issues.

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Check status:

Command:

geth attach ~/ethereum/geth.ipc

In console:

eth.syncing

Example results:

{
  currentBlock: 8959360,
  healedBytecodeBytes: 0,
  healedBytecodes: 0,
  healedTrienodeBytes: 0,
  healedTrienodes: 0,
  healingBytecode: 0,
  healingTrienodes: 0,
  highestBlock: 21971505,
  startingBlock: 0,
  syncedAccountBytes: 29609285538,
  syncedAccounts: 137604971,
  syncedBytecodeBytes: 5151118382,
  syncedBytecodes: 794044,
  syncedStorage: 609184446,
  syncedStorageBytes: 135929810634,
  txIndexFinishedBlocks: 0,
  txIndexRemainingBlocks: 1
}

net.peerCount