# DVStakers Leveling the playing field of the Ethereum staking ecosystem.

{% content-ref url="/pages/qaF1xoNRSa4CJNWe19UT" %} [Kenya Node - Phase 1](/kenya-node) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/w3A18HV98V2BN87fsPVC" %} [Kenya Node - Phase 2](/kenya-node-phase-2) {% endcontent-ref %} {% embed url="" fullWidth="false" %} # Kenya Node - Phase 1

### About the Kenyan Node **Why Kenya?** DVStakers operate nodes in Australia, Germany, the UK, and the USA, effectively covering the current geographical demographics of node distribution. Everyone knows that the continued decentralization of Ethereum is critical, and DVStakers wanted to do something about it. We wanted to showcase the global reach of DVT and decided to expand our presence to Africa. DVStakers is a distributed node operator community providing education about DVT, so it seemed like a perfect fit for our vision. Navigating through this mission was not without its challenges. Our exhaustive two-month exploration to identify an appropriate node operator did not yield the desired results. However, we remained unfazed and adopted the "build it, and they will come" approach. Our approach was centred around identifying a community or a user interested in adopting our node. Among all the possible African nations, Kenya emerged as the most suitable destination for our expansion. The country was not random; we leveraged pre-existing relationships with Snapcrackle and Eridian. Furthermore, we were buoyed by the forthcoming ETH Safari in 2023, a global event anticipated to draw enthusiasts from across continents, thereby increasing Kenya's visibility in the crypto world in our quest to find a home for the nodes. As of now, DVStakers is remotely managing the node. The setting up process was not a smooth sailing journey; it threw a few unanticipated challenges our way. We intend to delve into these challenges in a moment. Nonetheless, this experience underscored the need for detailed node guides to consider the distinct situations encountered in different regions around the globe. This way, we can mitigate such challenges in our future expansions and continue to broaden the reach of home stakers and DVT. Special thanks to [Dappnode](https://dappnode.com/) and [HomeNode](https://homenode.org/), who provided the node hardware for this initiative and Duncan, who we met online and is helping us with physical IT operations in Nairobi. This setup is not the final version but simply a 3-day proof of concept to show Ethereum DVT validators running in Kenya. ### What's running on the nodes? * Geth & Lighthouse * Nethermind & Prysm * SSV Operator: * DVStakers Obol Cluster ### Setup process We arrived in Nairobi and went to source local equipment. We could buy equipment cheaper or at the same price as back in Europe. ![](/files/VFJL7dPjIRQPE8hAXUr0)![](/files/uV9iw7jekEXleOykyvxE) ![](/files/RLQgtU2utw5AOjCNV8Jw) With all the equipment sourced (we made several trips and would not have found many parts with the help of Duncan), we started setting everything up.

The building has a backup generator for long power cuts, but a UPS was very useful for short 1-2 second power fluctuations that would have caused the nodes to turn off.

Networking was the biggest challenge to ensure everything was set up to allow remote connections.

The final setup:

The setup team:

# Kenya Node - Phase 2 In [Kenya Node - Phase 1](/kenya-node) an Ethereum full node, validator, and DVT validators were set up in an office in Nairobi, Kenya 🇰🇪 Phase 2 was pitched on a Lido Node Operator [Community Call](https://twitter.com/LidoFinance/status/1694266564642562100) and a [grant proposal](https://research.lido.fi/t/dvstakers-grant-proposal/5346) was submitted to Lido LEGO requesting funds for this project.

https://twitter.com/LidoFinance/status/1694266564642562100

With the [funds awarded](https://research.lido.fi/t/dvstakers-grant-proposal/5346/4) by Lido LEGO in October 2023, Phase 2 could begin! ## Phase 2 Goal > **To set up a fully off-the-grid Ethereum validator in a rural village in Kenya, supporting the local community through education.**

## Preparation The location chosen for the machines was a house located near the base of Kilimanjaro in Western Kenya. As the home of a local community leader of the Massai tribe, it was an ideal choice for setting up the infrastructure and equipment.

Before DVStakers traveled to Kenya to move the existing equipment from Nairobi several preparation steps were required: 1. Solar panels 2. Batteries 3. Starlink Internet 4. Site Security

All the equipment used at the property (excluding the staking machines and laptops) was locally sourced.

### Solar Panels While some electricity is available at the property through the mains powerline, this power is intermittent, and regular power cuts lasting a few hours to a few days are common. The solar panels provide a cheap, clean source of power for the machines and power for the family in their home. The panels were installed at the property by local engineers. {% hint style="info" %} 350W x 5 panels = 1,755W {% endhint %}

Solar panels completed (chickens included 🐓)

### Batteries Having reliable solar power is a great start, but the staking machines need to be online 24-7 so power storage was needed. Batteries were installed inside the property to provide consistent power at night and during less sunny periods. {% hint style="info" %} 12v batteries x 4 3kW inverter {% endhint %}

### Starlink Internet Kenya has a very good mobile internet network that is widely available and reasonably priced. However, for the amount of data needed for an Ethereum full node, faster internet was required. Starlink became active in Kenya in[ July 2023](https://twitter.com/Starlink/status/1681287681341542400), so the timing was perfect for this project! {% hint style="info" %} Equipment cost: 92,100 KSH (\~$570 USD) Monthly subscription: 6,500 KSH per month (\~$40 USD) {% endhint %}

Starlink mounted on the roof of the house

A concern about using Starlink is the high latency which can have a significant negative impact when running validator nodes, particularly DVT nodes. But latency isn't a "fixed" value and changes due to a number of factors including the number of available satellites, weather, age of satellites, etc. This screenshot shows a snapshot of a speed test conducted when Starlink was installed. The plan is to continually monitor the speed and latency to see how it changes over time. SpaceX also plans to launch more satellites over 2024 which should further lower latency.

### Site Security With the addition of solar panels and Starlink to the property, consideration was given to the security of the site. While the area is generally very safe, improving the security by upgrading the fence provided protection from both people and animals. It's not uncommon for elephants in the area to break through weak fences and damage properties!

## Setup The equipment was moved from Nairobi by car to its new location, a drive of around 4 hours.

Driving from Nairobi to the new location

A dedicated room was available for the equipment which also housed the batteries and solar converter.

One of the staking machines required a reinstallation of Linux, so it was a perfect opportunity to give a demonstration for the family showing them what's running on the machines.

Experiencing local cultures through food was a highlight of the setup experience.

The actual setup of the machines was pretty quick, taking only a few hours to connect all the devices, check everything was working as expected, and install the operating systems.

The two laptops are used to provide access to the staking machines, local monitoring and are also used by the family and community school for learning and lesson planning.

### Starlink This is the router component of the Starlink setup. By default, the Starlink base station is WiFi only, but [an adapter](https://www.starlinkhardware.com/starlink-ethernet-adapter-setup-and-review/) can be purchased to allow an Ethernet cable to be used as well. This was then integrated with a simple network adaptor to allow all the machines to use a wired Ethernet connection for more stable operations. ### Homenode (full node) A full node [Homenode machine](https://homenode.org/?page_id=157). * 32GB RAM * 2TB NVMe SSD This machine uses passive heatsync cooling which means it can get very hot. It's been running in Kenya for over 6 months already with an Ethereum mainnet and Goerli chain using Dappnode software and it's operated flawlessly. ### Homenode (mini-node) This mini-node created by [Homenode](https://homenode.org/) is an experimental machine that is low cost \~$200 and can be used to run Dappnode software. It doesn't have a large SSD so can't run a full chain on its own, but is being trialed as a DVT node connected to the other full nodes also in Kenya. While there are concerns raised about the reliance on the full node reducing the redundancy, it allows for a wider range of use cases such as multiple homes running the DVT validation all over a single Starlink connection that has limited bandwidth. Testing this machine has only just begun, but it's looking very promising! * 4GB RAM * 64GB SSD ### Dappnode This is a top-spec[ Dappnode machine](https://dappnode.com/en-gb/collections/all/products/home-i564-4n) provided by [Dappnode](https://twitter.com/DAppNode). Running Dappnode software was super intuitive and easy to show the local community how to get started with Ethereum validators. This model contains a fan so the heat concerns are minimal. * 64GB RAM * 4TB NVMe SSD ## Challenges ### Physical One of the main physical challenges with this project was transport and access to the site. While many of the main roads in Kenya are paved, access to the smaller villages, particularly during the rainy season can be difficult. Once everything was set up, remote access to the machines meant that direct access to the site wasn't needed every day, which was helpful as a number of days the road became impassable.

The temperature is also a concern as during the hottest periods the temperature in the room with the computer equipment could get to 35C or higher. Mitigations are planned such as passive vent cooling towers through the roof as well as fans. As a last resort a small electrical air conditioning unit can be purchased but this hopefully can be avoided. ### Technical Starlink only uses IPV6. This is a problem as Ethereum P2P networks use IPV4. What does that mean in practice? There's no way to open ports directly to the machines, which means that they can't be fully participating nodes right now. Can the node still follow the chain? Yes, but only by listening to other machines that do have open ports. This also makes it slower to find peers as it's the equivalent of running a normal node with all incoming external ports closed. Can the node still perform validator duties? Yes, but it can only broadcast to the network to nodes that do have open ports. Direct access to the machines was a concern, but using [ZeroTier VPN](https://www.zerotier.com/pricing/) made access possible over any connection remotely. DVT validators may find the increased latency of Starlink and the lack of IPV4 support a particular challenge due to the lower latency requirements of DVT consensus. This is the main concern about this configuration and something that will be closely monitored over the coming months. ## What's running on the machines? With the equipment set up, here's what's running on the machines: ### Ethereum full node Full nodes are important to the Ethereum network. Even without [open ports](#technical), storing the whole chain and submitting transactions locally are important to the decentralization of Ethereum. A full mainnet node uses a significant amount of bandwidth (\~1TB per month) which means that only one full node is being run over the single Starlink connection. ### Etherfi Operation Solo Staker [Ether.fi](#etherfi-operation-solo-staker) Operation Solo Staker enables anyone to run nodes, further decentralizing the Ethereum network. The current rewards are \~$30 per month which is a non-trivial amount for the Kenyan stakers involved in this initiative. These DVT validators are running [Obol](https://obol.tech) clusters. ### SSV Operator For testing DVT over Starlink an [SSV](https://ssv.network/) operator has been created on Holesky. This is being actively monitored to test performance. ### Future Lido Simple DVT Trial Participant 🤞 While not currently participating in the Lido [Simple DVT](https://blog.lido.fi/leveraging-distributed-validator-technology/) trials the hope is that the nodes will be performant enough to be able to actively participate in future trials. Testing and monitoring over the coming weeks and months will be used as evidence to show performance. ## Local Community Setting up the equipment and running the Ethereum validators are only part of the initiative. A significant emphasis has been placed on supporting and educating the local community about crypto, Ethereum, and staking.

Kilimanjaro viewed from the hotel window

Related to the Phase 2 initiative, with the improved fencing around the property, a chicken coop and garden were set up to provide food for the family.

The internet and power setup for the validator nodes can also be used by the local school and community. The laptops and internet are being used for lesson planning and management spreadsheets for the administrators. The staking rewards being earned through [Ether.fi](https://www.ether.fi/solo-staker) Operation Solo Staker are being used to pay for free school lunches for over 80 children.

A local school supported by DVStakers and DVT

So what does Phase 3 look like? There's certainly a lot of opportunity to grow the Kenyan staking community and improve local infrastructure. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas for what DVStakers could do next please join the [Discord](https://discord.gg/VbVwqgSdFD) to discuss 🙂

## Supporter Thanks 🙏 This initiative was made possible by support from [Lido](https://twitter.com/LidoFinance), [Dappnode](https://twitter.com/DAppNode), [Homenode](https://twitter.com/Homenodeorg), [Ether.fi](https://twitter.com/ether_fi), the [EF](https://twitter.com/ethereum), [Obol](https://twitter.com/ObolNetwork), [SSV](https://twitter.com/ssv_network), and many others. It wouldn't have been possible without all of this help so it is hugely appreciated! [Eridian](https://twitter.com/EridianAlpha) coordinated this project as the DVStakers member on the ground supporting the setup.

# DVT Operators ### SSV - Kenya Holesky {% embed url="" %}

# FAQ Answering all your DVT questions like "What is DVT?" and more! ### What is DVT? Distributed Validator Technology. In a traditional solo staking setup, if a single validator node goes offline due to technical issues or maintenance, it immediately stops performing its validator duties (attestations, block proposals, etc.). This can lead to missed rewards and penalties for the staker. However, with Distributed Validator Technology (DVT), a group of stakers work together as a single unit. If one of the stakers within the group experiences node downtime, the remaining stakers in the group continue to perform the validator duties collectively. This ensures that the staking process remains uninterrupted, maintaining network stability and allowing the group to continue earning rewards while minimizing the risks associated with individual node failures. Distributed validator technology (DVT) allows a solo staker with one machine to spread one validator out to multiple machines worldwide. Groups can collectively pool financial and computational resources to run validators. This distributed validation design has many advantages over solo stakers and professional node operators. * Security: By distributing the validation process among multiple nodes, it is much more difficult for a single entity to gain control of the network and manipulate it maliciously. * Decentralization: Distributing the validation process helps avoid central points of control, which is one of the leading value propositions of blockchain technology. * Fault Tolerance: A distributed network of validators can provide better failure resilience. If one node goes offline, the validator keeps working. * Regulatory resistance: If one geographical area stops operating, the validator will keep operating * Transparency and Trust: No single entity has complete control over validating transactions. * Client Diversity: Each machine can run [different clients](https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/nodes-and-clients/) A less discussed aspect is the 32ETH Bond can be dramatically changed thanks to DVT. * Solo stakers are single entities validating the network; in almost all cases, they must deposit 32ETH. * Staking Pools allow users to deposit any amount of ETH and use node operators to validate the network. Most node operators do not have to put in their collateral. Staking pools do not use solo stakers because of security issues (one holder has the key) and potential performance issues if the node goes offline. Some use cases: * DVT clusters could form and collectively deposit the 32ETH. * Four DVT users could form Rocketpool mini node by depositing 2ETH each. * DVT cluster could join larger staking pools by pairing with existing node operators to increase the decentralized nature of the pool. ### What is the purpose of DVStakers? To level the playing field of the Ethereum staking ecosystem. ### **Are you sponsored or paid by anyone?** Yes. DVStakers received a grant from the [Ethereum Foundation](https://ethereum.org/) in 2023. This money was used to fund content creation as well as the Kenya node project. More details about the EF grant will be shared when the Q3 2023 Allocation Update blog post is published. [Lido](https://lido.fi) awarded DVStakers a grant of $25,000 USD to support the work we do and the content we create. The details of that grant can be seen [here](https://research.lido.fi/t/dvstakers-grant-proposal/5346). 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