Guide to Deploy Solar on Akash | Akash Network - Your Guide to Decentralized Cloud

Solar is a blockchain explorer and dashboard built for monitoring, querying, and analyzing data from blockchain networks. Its primary purpose is to provide a user-friendly interface for developers, validators, and other stakeholders to interact with and extract insights from blockchain data. The Solar platform can be deployed on decentralized infrastructure like Akash, ensuring cost-effective, scalable, and censorship-resistant hosting.

This guide outlines how to deploy Solar on Akash using the upstage/solar Docker image and a sample SDL (Service Definition Language) template.

Prerequisites

Akash CLI: Install the Akash CLI on your system by following the official guide.
Akash Wallet: Set up an Akash wallet with sufficient funds to pay for your deployment.
Docker Knowledge: Basic familiarity with Docker images.
Solar Docker Image: The prebuilt Docker image upstage/solar.

Steps to Deploy Solar on Akash

1. Create a Deployment Folder

Start by creating a folder for your deployment files:

mkdir akash-solar && cd akash-solar

2. Write the SDL File

The SDL file defines the specifications of your deployment, such as the container image, ports, and resources. Use the following example for deploying Solar:

`deploy.yaml`

version: "2.0"

services:
  solar:
    image: upstage/solar:latest
    env:
      - NODE_ENV=production
    expose:
      - port: 80
        as: 80
        to:
          - global

profiles:
  compute:
    solar:
      resources:
        cpu:
          units: 0.5
        memory:
          size: 512Mi
        storage:
          size: 1Gi
  placement:
    akash:
      attributes:
        region: us-west
      signedBy:
        anyOf:
          - akash.network
      pricing:
        solar:
          denom: uakt
          amount: 100

deployment:
  solar:
    akash:
      profile: solar
      count: 1

3. Create your Certificate

Akash requires an account to have a valid certificate associated with it to start participating in the deployment process. In this section of the guide, we will create a certificate locally, and then proceed to store this certificate on the Akash blockchain. To do this, ensure you have followed all the steps outlined in this guide up to this point. Additionally, these transactions must be executed from an Akash account in possession of some $AKT tokens.

Once an account has a certificate associated with it, it can begin deploying services on the Akash blockchain. A certificate needs to be created only once per account. After creation, it can be used across any number of deployments for as long as it remains valid.

provider-services tx cert generate client -from $AKASH_KEY_NAME

Publish Cert to the Blockchain

provider-services tx cert publish client -from $AKASH_KEY_NAME


### 4. Deploy the SDL to Akash
#### Create your Deployment
Create your Deployment

- CPU Support

Only x86_64 processors are officially supported for Akash deployments. This may change in the future and when ARM processors are supported it will be announced and documented.

- Akash Deployment

> _**NOTE**_ - if your current terminal session has been used to create prior deployments, issue the command `unset AKASH_DSEQ` to prevent receipt of error message `Deployment Exists`

To deploy on Akash, run:

provider-services tx deployment create deploy.yaml -from $AKASH_KEY_NAME

You should see a response similar to:

```javascript
{
  "height":"140325",
  "txhash":"2AF4A01B9C3DE12CC4094A95E9D0474875DFE24FD088BB443238AC06E36D98EA",
  "codespace":"",
  "code":0,
  "data":"0A130A116372656174652D6465706C6F796D656E74",
  "raw_log":"[{\"events\":[{\"type\":\"akash.v1\",\"attributes\":[{\"key\":\"module\",\"value\":\"deployment\"},{\"key\":\"action\",\"value\":\"deployment-created\"},{\"key\":\"version\",\"value\":\"2b86f778de8cc9df415490efa162c58e7a0c297fbac9cdb8d6c6600eda56f17e\"},{\"key\":\"owner\",\"value\":\"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj\"},{\"key\":\"dseq\",\"value\":\"140324\"},{\"key\":\"module\",\"value\":\"market\"},{\"key\":\"action\",\"value\":\"order-created\"},{\"key\":\"owner\",\"value\":\"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj\"},{\"key\":\"dseq\",\"value\":\"140324\"},{\"key\":\"gseq\",\"value\":\"1\"},{\"key\":\"oseq\",\"value\":\"1\"}]},{\"type\":\"message\",\"attributes\":[{\"key\":\"action\",\"value\":\"create-deployment\"},{\"key\":\"sender\",\"value\":\"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj\"},{\"key\":\"sender\",\"value\":\"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj\"}]},{\"type\":\"transfer\",\"attributes\":[{\"key\":\"recipient\",\"value\":\"akash17xpfvakm2amg962yls6f84z3kell8c5lazw8j8\"},{\"key\":\"sender\",\"value\":\"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj\"},{\"key\":\"amount\",\"value\":\"5000uakt\"},{\"key\":\"recipient\",\"value\":\"akash14pphss726thpwws3yc458hggufynm9x77l4l2u\"},{\"key\":\"sender\",\"value\":\"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj\"},{\"key\":\"amount\",\"value\":\"5000000uakt\"}]}]}]",
  "logs":[
    {
      "msg_index":0,
      "log":"",
      "events":[
        {
          "type":"akash.v1",
          "attributes":[
            {
              "key":"module",
              "value":"deployment"
            },
            {
              "key":"action",
              "value":"deployment-created"
            },
            {
              "key":"version",
              "value":"2b86f778de8cc9df415490efa162c58e7a0c297fbac9cdb8d6c6600eda56f17e"
            },
            {
              "key":"owner",
              "value":"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj"
            },
            {
              "key":"dseq",
              "value":"140324"
            },
            {
              "key":"module",
              "value":"market"
            },
            {
              "key":"action",
              "value":"order-created"
            },
            {
              "key":"owner",
              "value":"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj"
            },
            {
              "key":"dseq",
              "value":"140324"
            },
            {
              "key":"gseq",
              "value":"1"
            },
            {
              "key":"oseq",
              "value":"1"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "type":"message",
          "attributes":[
            {
              "key":"action",
              "value":"create-deployment"
            },
            {
              "key":"sender",
              "value":"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj"
            },
            {
              "key":"sender",
              "value":"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "type":"transfer",
          "attributes":[
            {
              "key":"recipient",
              "value":"akash17xpfvakm2amg962yls6f84z3kell8c5lazw8j8"
            },
            {
              "key":"sender",
              "value":"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj"
            },
            {
              "key":"amount",
              "value":"5000uakt"
            },
            {
              "key":"recipient",
              "value":"akash14pphss726thpwws3yc458hggufynm9x77l4l2u"
            },
            {
              "key":"sender",
              "value":"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj"
            },
            {
              "key":"amount",
              "value":"5000000uakt"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "info":"",
  "gas_wanted":"100000",
  "gas_used":"94653",
  "tx":null,
  "timestamp":""
}

Find your Deployment -

Find the Deployment Sequence (DSEQ) in the deployment you just created. You will need to replace the AKASH_DSEQ with the number from your deployment to configure a shell variable.

export AKASH_DSEQ=CHANGETHIS

Now set the Order Sequence (OSEQ) and Group Sequence (GSEQ). Note that if this is your first time deploying on Akash, OSEQ and GSEQ will be 1.

AKASH_OSEQ=1
AKASH_GSEQ=1

Verify we have the right values populated by running:

echo $AKASH_DSEQ $AKASH_OSEQ $AKASH_GSEQ

View your Bids

After a short time, you should see bids from providers for this deployment with the following command:

provider-services query market bid list -owner=$AKASH_ACCOUNT_ADDRESS -node $AKASH_NODE -dseq $AKASH_DSEQ -state=open

Choose a Provider

Note that there are bids from multiple different providers. In this case, both providers happen to be willing to accept a price of 1 uAKT. This means that the lease can be created using 1 uAKT or 0.000001 AKT per block to execute the container. You should see a response similar to:

bids:
- bid:
    bid_id:
      dseq: "140324"
      gseq: 1
      oseq: 1
      owner: akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj
      provider: akash10cl5rm0cqnpj45knzakpa4cnvn5amzwp4lhcal
    created_at: "140326"
    price:
      amount: "1"
      denom: uakt
    state: open
  escrow_account:
    balance:
      amount: "50000000"
      denom: uakt
    id:
      scope: bid
      xid: akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj/140324/1/1/akash10cl5rm0cqnpj45knzakpa4cnvn5amzwp4lhcal
    owner: akash10cl5rm0cqnpj45knzakpa4cnvn5amzwp4lhcal
    settled_at: "140326"
    state: open
    transferred:
      amount: "0"
      denom: uakt
- bid:
    bid_id:
      dseq: "140324"
      gseq: 1
      oseq: 1
      owner: akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj
      provider: akash1f6gmtjpx4r8qda9nxjwq26fp5mcjyqmaq5m6j7
    created_at: "140326"
    price:
      amount: "1"
      denom: uakt
    state: open
  escrow_account:
    balance:
      amount: "50000000"
      denom: uakt
    id:
      scope: bid
      xid: akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj/140324/1/1/akash1f6gmtjpx4r8qda9nxjwq26fp5mcjyqmaq5m6j7
    owner: akash1f6gmtjpx4r8qda9nxjwq26fp5mcjyqmaq5m6j7
    settled_at: "140326"
    state: open
    transferred:
      amount: "0"
      denom: uakt

For this example, we will choose akash10cl5rm0cqnpj45knzakpa4cnvn5amzwp4lhcal Run this command to set the provider shell variable:

AKASH_PROVIDER=akash10cl5rm0cqnpj45knzakpa4cnvn5amzwp4lhcal

Verify we have the right value populated by running:

echo $AKASH_PROVIDER

Create a Lease

Create a lease for the bid from the chosen provider above by running this command:

provider-services tx market lease create -dseq $AKASH_DSEQ -provider $AKASH_PROVIDER -from $AKASH_KEY_NAME

Confirm the Lease

You can check the status of your lease by running:

provider-services query market lease list -owner $AKASH_ACCOUNT_ADDRESS -node $AKASH_NODE -dseq $AKASH_DSEQ

Note the bids will close automatically after 5 minutes, and you may get the response:

bid not open

If this happens, close your deployment and open a new deployment again. To close your deployment run this command:

provider-services tx deployment close -dseq $AKASH_DSEQ  -owner $AKASH_ACCOUNT_ADDRESS -from $AKASH_KEY_NAME

If your lease was successful you should see a response that ends with:

    state: active

{/* {% hint style=“info” %} /} Please note that once the lease is created, the provider will begin debiting your deployment’s escrow account, even if you have not completed the deployment process by uploading the manifest in the following step. {/ {% endhint %} */}

Send the Manifest

Upload the manifest using the values from above step:

provider-services send-manifest deploy.yaml -dseq $AKASH_DSEQ -provider $AKASH_PROVIDER -from $AKASH_KEY_NAME

Confirm the URL

Now that the manifest is uploaded, your image is deployed. You can retrieve the access details by running the below:

provider-services lease-status -dseq $AKASH_DSEQ -from $AKASH_KEY_NAME -provider $AKASH_PROVIDER

You should see a response similar to:

{
  "services": {
    "web": {
      "name": "web",
      "available": 1,
      "total": 1,
      "uris": [
        "rga3h05jetf9h3p6dbk62m19ck.ingress.ewr1p0.mainnet.akashian.io"
      ],
      "observed_generation": 1,
      "replicas": 1,
      "updated_replicas": 1,
      "ready_replicas": 1,
      "available_replicas": 1
    }
  },
  "forwarded_ports": {}
}

You can access the application by visiting the hostnames mapped to your deployment. Look for a URL/URI and copy it to your web browser.

View your logs

You can view your application logs to debug issues or watch progress like so:

provider-services lease-logs \
  -dseq "$AKASH_DSEQ" \
  -provider "$AKASH_PROVIDER" \
  -from "$AKASH_KEY_NAME"

Update the Deployment
Update the Manifest

Update the deploy.yaml manifest file with the desired change.

NOTE:** Not all attributes of the manifest file are eligible for deployment update. If the hardware specs of the manifest are updated (I.e. CPU count), a re-deployment of the workload is necessary. Other attributes, such as deployment image and funding, are eligible for updates.

Issue Transaction for On Chain Update

provider-services tx deployment update deploy.yaml -dseq $AKASH_DSEQ -from $AKASH_KEY_NAME

Send Updated Manifest to Provider

provider-services send-manifest deploy.yaml -dseq $AKASH_DSEQ -provider $AKASH_PROVIDER -from $AKASH_KEY_NAME

5. Access the Solar Dashboard

Once the deployment is live, Akash will provide an external IP address or hostname. Access the Solar dashboard in your browser at:

http://<deployment-address>

Overview of the SDL File

Services Section: Defines the solar service using the Docker image upstage/solar:latest and exposes port 80 to the global network.
Profiles Section: Configures compute resources, including CPU, memory, and storage. It specifies a pricing model for deployment in Akash tokens (uakt).
Deployment Section: Links the service to the compute profile and sets the number of instances to 1.

Customizing the Deployment

Environment Variables: Update NODE_ENV or add additional environment variables in the env section of the SDL file.
Ports: Modify the port and as fields under expose to match your desired setup.
Resources: Adjust cpu, memory, and storage based on your performance requirements.

By following this guide, you can successfully deploy and host Solar on Akash, leveraging its decentralized infrastructure to power your blockchain explorer.