Solana Testnet Validator - Zero Downtime Migration | SLV

🚀 Zero Downtime Migration Procedure

This guide explains how to migrate an existing Solana testnet validator to a new server without downtime.

Prerequisites

Ensure the following two validator nodes are already set up:

Active Testnet Validator Node (Source)
New Testnet Validator Node (Destination)

⚠️ Both nodes must be set up using the slv v init command.

Make sure you already have a spare server available. If you do not have a spare server, executing this procedure could halt your active validator, causing a system crash.

Both nodes must be fully synchronized to the latest slot (verify with solana catchup; slot difference must be 0).

In this example, the validator nodes are named as follows:

Source (Active, From) Name: main-node
Destination (New, To) Name: spare-node

⚠️ Both nodes must have identical configurations, except for IP addresses (ansible_host) and names.

Public keys used for both nodes:

yaml
identity_account: FgYddqZuWLWiHCxWGG3J7VdzD2TGcCzKEZTHWdeHSLV
vote_account: oY4zjHQuRE1MQYAnQmfrodoXukBkfGVfYWUZNrn7SLV
authority_account: hY9VpH6ahHLS4uhegd16cQ5wNaicejVtv2PxrzRySLV

Setting Up the New Spare Node

Set up the new spare node by executing:

bash
slv v init
.
.
? Do you want to create a new identity key now? (Y/n) › No
? Please Enter Your Identity Public Key › FgYddqZuWLWiHCxWGG3J7VdzD2TGcCzKEZTHWdeHSLV
? Enter Inventory Name (FgYddqZuWLWiHCxWGG3J7VdzD2TGcCzKEZTHWdeHSLV) › epics-spare-node
? Do you want to create a new vote account key now? (Y/n) › No
? Please Enter Your Vote Account Public Key › oY4zjHQuRE1MQYAnQmfrodoXukBkfGVfYWUZNrn7SLV
? Please Enter Your Vote Account's Authority Key › hY9VpH6ahHLS4uhegd16cQ5wNaicejVtv2PxrzRySLV

Deploying and Synchronizing the Destination Node

Deploy the destination node first:

bash
slv v deploy -n testnet -p spare-node

Verify synchronization is complete and the slot difference is 0.

Verify Configuration of Source and Destination Nodes

Confirm configurations for both nodes are identical using:

bash
cat ~/.slv/inventory.testnet.validators.yml

⚠️ Both nodes must have identical settings, except for the IP address (ansible_host) and name.

yaml
testnet_validators:
  hosts:
    main-node:
      name: main-node
      ansible_host: XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX
      ansible_user: solv
      ansible_ssh_private_key_file: ~/.ssh/id_rsa
      identity_account: FgYddqZuWLWiHCxWGG3J7VdzD2TGcCzKEZTHWdeHSLV
      vote_account: oY4zjHQuRE1MQYAnQmfrodoXukBkfGVfYWUZNrn7SLV
      authority_account: hY9VpH6ahHLS4uhegd16cQ5wNaicejVtv2PxrzRySLV
      validator_type: agave
    spare-node:
      name: spare-node
      ansible_host: YYY.YYY.YYY.YYY
      ansible_user: solv
      ansible_ssh_private_key_file: ~/.ssh/id_rsa
      identity_account: FgYddqZuWLWiHCxWGG3J7VdzD2TGcCzKEZTHWdeHSLV
      vote_account: oY4zjHQuRE1MQYAnQmfrodoXukBkfGVfYWUZNrn7SLV
      authority_account: hY9VpH6ahHLS4uhegd16cQ5wNaicejVtv2PxrzRySLV
      validator_type: agave

Executing Validator Node Migration

Execute node migration with the following commands:

1. Select Solana Network

bash
slv v switch
? Select Solana Network (testnet)
❯ testnet
  mainnet

2. Enter Source Validator Name

bash
✨ Switching Testnet Validator Identity...
? From Validator Name › main-node

3. Enter Destination Validator Name

bash
? To Validator Name › spare-node

Upon successful migration, you'll see output similar to:

bash
PLAY RECAP ********************************************************************
main-node : ok=3 changed=1 unreachable=0 failed=0 skipped=2 rescued=0 ignored=0
spare-node : ok=4 changed=3 unreachable=0 failed=0 skipped=1 rescued=0 ignored=0

Successfully swapped hosts spare-node and main-node in testnet_validators
✅ Successfully Switched Validator Identity

Your validator node migration is now complete.