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VOR Running an Oracle ​

The VOR Oracle software monitors the VORCoordinator smart contract for emitted events, and acts on those events to generate random numbers and the required proof, before sending the data back to VORCoordinator.

Running a VOR Provider Oracle is quick and easy, and this guide will run you through getting set up as a VOR Provider.

The software is comprised of two applications:

  1. oracle - the server application
  2. oraclecli - the CLI tool for oracle server administration

Prerequisites ​

This guide uses Linux as the platform for running a VOR Oracle. The software has been tested on Ubuntu and CentOS distros. It assumes your system has some basic applications installed such as git, curl, nano and make etc.

Depending on your database backend of choice, you will also need either SQLite or PostgreSQL installing on your host.

Note: SQLite recommended mainly for dev/testing

Download pre-build binaries ​

The latest pre-built (linux) release can be downloaded from https://github.com/unification-com/xfund-vor/releases

A SHA256 checksum.txt is supplied with the archive. Download it to the same location as the archive, and check:

bash
$ sha256sum --check checksum.txt 
vor-oracle_linux_v0.1.1.tar.gz: OK

Compile from source ​

WARNING

You will require Golang to compile from source - the latest version can be installed by following the official instructions.

Clone the repo:

bash
git clone -b [latest-release-tag] https://github.com/unification-com/xfund-vor

E.g.

bash
git clone -b v0.1.0 https://github.com/unification-com/xfund-vor

TIP

The [latest-release-tag] can be found at https://github.com/unification-com/xfund-vor/releases

Then compile the binaries using the make install target:

bash
cd xfund-vor
make install

This will install the oracle and oraclecli binaries in your $GOPATH/bin

Alternatively, run the build target:

bash
cd xfund-vor/oracle
make build

which will compile the binaries to xfund-vor/oracle/build and xfund-vor/oracle-cli/build

Configuration ​

The oracle requires a config.json file, which will contain all the information it needs to run. By default it will look for config.json in the same directory as the oracle binary, but the location can be set at runtime with the -c flag.

Create your config.json:

bash
mkdir $HOME/vor
nano $HOME/vor/config.json
json
{
  "contract_address": "0x00.....",
  "blockhash_store_address": "0x123...",
  "eth_http_host": "http://127.0.0.1:8545",
  "eth_ws_host": "http://127.0.0.1:8545",
  "network_id": 696969,
  "serve": {
    "host": "0.0.0.0",
    "port": 8446
  },
  "first_block": 1,
  "keystorage": {
    "file": "/home/username/vor/keystore.json",
    "account": "oracle"
  },
  "gas_limit": 1000000,
  "max_gas_price": 100,
  "wait_confirmations": 10,
  "database": {
    "dialect": "sqlite",
    "storage": "/home/username/vor/oracle.db"
  }
}

The config options are as follows:

  • contract_address - the address of the VORCoordinator smart contract. See contracts.
  • blockhash_store_address - the address of the BlockHashStore smart contract. See contracts.
  • eth_http_host - HTTP(S) host for your Eth provider. E.g. Infura
  • eth_ws_host - WS(S) host for your Eth provider. E.g. Infura
  • network_id - Eth network ID, e.g. 1 = mainnet, 4 = Rinkeby etc.
  • serve.host - host to serve the oracle on. This is used by the oracle-cli tool, and should not be publicly exposed. Default 0.0.0.0
  • serve.port - port to serve the oracle on. This is used by the oracle-cli tool, and should not be publicly exposed. Default 8445
  • first_block - default first block to scan the contract from. Should be a value near to the block your oracle will do it's first run from. Only used when the oracle first connects. Default 1
  • keystorage.file - path to the keystore which will contain your encrypted private key and other runtime info. It will be created on the oracle's first run if one does not exist. Default ./keystore.json
  • keystore.account - account name used to identify the private key. Set on first run.
  • gas_limit - gas units limit for fulfilling a request. Default 500000
  • max_gas_price - max gas price in gwei you are willing to pay to fulfil a request. Gas price is estimated with each fulfillment Tx, but will be capped at this value. Default 150
  • wait_confirmations - number of block confirmations to wait before fulfilling a request. Default 10
  • database.dialect - postgres or sqlite. Default sqlite
  • database.storage - (sqlite only) - path to the DB file. It will be created on the oracle's first run if one does not exist. Default ./oracle.db
  • database.host - (postgres only) - DB host IP/name
  • database.port - (postgres only) - DB Port
  • database.user - (postgres only) - DB username
  • database.password - (postgres only) - DB password
  • database.database - (postgres only) - DB name

First run ​

The first time oracle is run, it will prompt for some input to further configure the environment.

Start the oracle, assuming config.json has been saved to $HOME/vor/config.json:

bash
/path/to/oracle start -c $HOME/vor/config.json

You will be asked for:

  1. Username - this will be used as the account name in keystore.json, and should be entered as the value for keystore.account in config.json
  2. Fee - your initial xFUND fee, for example 100000000 will be 0.1 xFUND
  3. Add existing key/Create a new key - you can either import an existing Eth private key, or have the oracle create a new one for you.

TIP

If you elect to have the oracle generate a new private key for you, you will need to manually register your key with VORCOOrdinator.

You need to ensure the wallet address has sufficient Eth to send the registerProvingKey transaction to VORCOOrdinator. If you opted for importing an existing key, this process is automatically run for you, and your key will be registered on the oracle's first run.

Once complete, you should see something along the lines of:

bash
# some info about your config and key...

Your daemon api key:   rkf.....

Use this key to login via cli/HTTP (command: oracle-cli settings)
KEEP THIS KEYS SAFE!

TIP

It is important to key the daemon api key safe, as this is used to start the oracle, and access its api via the oraclecli. The oracle also uses it to encrypt/decrypt your keystore.

It is also advisable to backup the keystore.json file.

Finally, it will ask you to enter the api key previously output in order to start running the oracle.

The oracle can be stopped with , or the safer api method:

bash
/path/to/oraclecli stop

which will signal the oracle to stop via its API.

TIP

oraclecli has its own configuration file, which will be covered later in this guide.

Running the Oracle ​

Once configured, the oracle can be run using:

bash
/path/to/oracle start -c $HOME/vor/config.json

It will prompt for the api key which was output for oyu during the first run.

Optionally, the key can be passed to the oracle using the -k flag. It can be passed as either the key itself in plaintext (not recommended outside of testing), or as a filepath to a file containing the password.

bash
/path/to/oracle start -c $HOME/vor/config.json -k /path/to/password/file

which is useful if running the oracle as a service using systemd.

Flags ​

-v: Output oracle version info and exit:

bash
oracle -v

-k: Pass the keystore decryption key as a filepath or plaintext key:

bash
oracle start -k /path/to/password/file
oracle start -k fg1acljv8int8g5hutc3cr2kk24lpg2s

-c: Pass the filepath to config.json:

bash
oracle start -c /home/user/vor/config.json

Running the oracle as a service ​

It is recommended to run the oracle as a background service, for example using systemd:

bash
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/vor_oracle.service
[Unit]
Description=VOR Provider Oracle

[Service]
User=USERNAME
Group=USERNAME
WorkingDirectory=/home/USERNAME
ExecStart=/home/USERNAME/go/bin/oracle start -c /path/to/config.json -k /path/to/decrypt/pass

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target
bash
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start vor_oracle

oraclecli ​

The oraclecli acts as a client to run administrative tasks on the oracle daemon. It allows an oracle operator to change their fees, withdraw earned fees from VORCoordinator, stop the oracle, and query your fees and withdrawable xFUND.

help ​

Outputs a list of commands

bash
oraclecli help

settings ​

The settings command allows you to set the configuration options for the CLI. Configuration is stored in $HOME/.oracle-cli_settings.json.

bash
oraclecli settings

You can configure the host & port the CLI will use to communicate with a running oracle and should equate to the values used in your oracle's config.json

You can also set the api key which the CLI will need to authenticate when communicating with the oracle. This is the same as you use to start the oracle

about ​

Outputs data about your oracle, such as your keyHash, wallet address, IP/PORT etc.

bash
oraclecli about

changefee ​

Allows you to change the base fee for fulfilling requests. The base fee is used for all consumers for whom you have not set a granular fee.

Fee should be amount * 10^9, for example, if you want a fee of 0.2 xFUND, enter 200000000.

bash
oraclecli changefee

changegranularfee ​

Allows you to change the fee for fulfilling requests at a granular level for a particular consumer contract address. This allows you to set fees dependent on the Tx cost for fulfilling requests, and thus higher fees for more expensive consumer contracts.

Fee should be amount * 10^9, for example, if you want a fee of 0.2 xFUND, enter 200000000.

You will additionally be prompted for the contract address you are applying the granular fee to.

bash
oraclecli changegranularfee

queryfees ​

Query the fees you have currently set. Optionally pass a consumer contract address to query fees at a granular level. If you have not set a granular fee for the input contract address, or do not input a contract address, the base fee will be returned.

bash
oraclecli queryfees
oraclecli queryfees 0xD833215cBcc3f914bD1C9ece3EE7BF8B14f841bb

queryrequests ​

Query all randomness requests in the database, that match optional filters. Returns a JSON object.

Status filters: The --status | -s flag accepts the following:

-1 = no filter, return all results (default)
0  = unknown status
1  = request initialised
2  = fulfill tx sent
3  = failed to fulfil
4  = fulfillment succeeded

Examples:

bash
oraclecli queryrequests --page=2 --limit=20
oraclecli queryrequests --status=3
oraclecli queryrequests --order=asc

querywithdrawable ​

Query the amount of fees you have accumulated, and are currently held by the VORCoordinator. You can withdraw these at any time.

bash
oraclecli querywithdrawable

register ​

Register a new proving key with VORCoordinator. You will need to run this, for example if you change key, or have generated a new key on the oracle's first run.

bash
oraclecli register

stop ​

Stops the oracle daemon.

bash
oraclecli stop

withdraw ​

Withdraw any accumulated tokens held by the VORCoordinator to the selected recipient address. The recipient can be your Oracle's wallet address, or any other beneficiary you choose.

Withdrawal amount should be amount * 10^9, for example, if you wish to withdraw 2 xFUND, enter 2000000000. The amount must not exceed the value output by the querywithdrawable command.

bash
oraclecli withdraw

version ​

Output oraclecli's version information

bash
oraclecli version

analytics ​

Run some basic analytics to return gas, gas price, costs and fee statistics. Pass the number of successful requests you want to analyse, for example 100 to analyse the last 100 successful fulfillments.

bash
oraclecli analytics 100
oraclecli analytics 1000

analytics sim ​

Pass simulation values for gas price and fees using the --if-gas and --if-fees flags respectively. These will be applied to the analytics results in place of the real values to see what costs/fees would be like with these simulated values.

use the [num_to_analyse] arg to limit the number of requests to analyse.

The --consumer flag can be used to filter a single consumer contract, which can help set granular fees for individual consumers.

Example:

bash
oraclecli analytics sim 1000 -g 150 -f 0.05
oraclecli analytics sim 200 --if-gas=150 --if-fees=0.1
oraclecli analytics sim 200 --if-gas=100 --if-fees=0.05 --consumer=0x232AbC...

analytics consumers ​

Run some analytics to return gas, gas price, costs and fee statistics for all contracts served. Results are grouped by each consumer contract.

Optional [consumer_address] can be passed to filter by that address

Example:

bash
oraclecli analytics consumers
oraclecli analytics consumers 0x1234AbcD...