Joining the network

This page covers the process of joining the Entropy network as a validator node, along with specific information that each node must provide.

Joining process

The process works something like this:

1. The new validator operates an Entropy chain node and a threshold server.
2. This new validator registers with the chain, and the chain then assigns it to a signing subgroup.
3. Once a new validator is aware of the subgroup it has joined, it requests the current validators in that group for a copy of the key-shares specific to that subgroup. To make this request, it sends a ‘POST’ request to ‘validator/sync_kvdb’ with the database keys of the shares it needs.
4. After the new validator has received all the shares, the node notifies the chain that it has successfully synchronized.

sequenceDiagram
    title Joining The Network
    participant NV as New_Validator
    participant CV as Current_Validator
    participant C as Chain

    NV->>NV: Spins up chain instance
    NV->>NV: Starts threshold server
    C->>NV: Places validator in subgroup
    NV->>CV: Contacts validator in subgroup asks for keys
    CV->>NV: Validates validator's subgroup then encrypts and sends keys
    NV->>C: Once all keys are received informs chain it has synced

Required information

Each individual validator node requires the following information before it can join the network:

• Endpoint: The IP address of its threshold server.
• X25519 Public Key: Its public encryption key for encrypting messages to and from other validators.
• Threshold Server Signing Account: The account for the threshold server to submit transactions to the Entropy chain.