Autonomys - Windows CLI Guide
Introduction
This guide covers how to get everything set up to farm on the Autonomys network using the CLI in Windows 11. This is the most simple way to get Autonomys running. The guide will cover how to run a Node and Farmer. For more complex setups, the guide covers optionally how to run a Cluster.
If you have questions feel free to join the Autonomys discord or join my discord and I will help out the best I can:
Resources
Official Autonomys Docs GPU Plotting Requirements
Forward Ports
You must forward the ports that the Autonomys Node will use. This will significantly speed up piece cache syncing and plotting. To learn more about forwarding ports, check out this guide:
Prepare Farmer Drives
In order to Farm on Autonomys, you must dedicate SSD space which will have data plotted to it and then farmed for rewards. The more space you dedicate the more rewards you will earn once that space is plotted. Plotting can be pretty quick, with modern RTX 3000 and 4000 cards capable of plotting many Terabytes per day. There are two methods outlined to prepare the disks:
Launch a Node
Now that the disks are prepped its time to launch your Node. There are two parts to Farming on the Autonomys network: Node & Farmer. The Node connects to the Blockchain and the Farmer connects to the Node. They work together to participate in the Autonomys network. Once launched, the Node will need to sync with the blockchain, and remain synced.
Launch a Farmer
Now that the Node is running, it is time to launch the Farmer so you can begin plotting and farming your drives. This guide is specifically for non-cluster setups. What this means is that the Farmer is responsible for creating the piece cache, plotting, and farming.
Cluster
The below steps are required to run a Cluster instead of a Farmer.
NATS as a Service
Before starting your Cluster you need to have NATS running. This can be run as a service using the following guide
Launch Cluster
Now that the NATS is running, it is time to launch the cluster so you can begin plotting and farming your drives. This guide is specifically for cluster setups. What this means is that the Farmer is split into 4 components: Controller, Cache, Plotter, Farmer.
Optional Steps
Install Grafana
Grafana allows metrics exposed via Prometheus to be used to generate robust dashboards that help you keep track of various metrics related to your Node, Farmer, System, and GPU. This step is optional but HIGHLY recommended. Grafana and Prometheus are both free. First, Grafana will need to be installed. After that, Prometheus will need to be installed. Then for each type of metrics you want to create a dashboard for, those metrics will need to be exposed to Prometheus. This and the following guides will walk you through it.
Prometheus
Install Prometheus
The Node, Farmer, and each Cluster component publishes metrics that can be consumed by Prometheus. To access these metrics Prometheus can be run as a service on your PC. Install Prometheus as a service
Setup Monitoring
Now the Autonomys jobs need to be added to the Prometheus config.
Windows Exporter
Windows Exporter is a monitoring tool designed to collect and expose metrics from Windows systems for Prometheus. It is similar to Node Exporter (which is used for Linux systems) but is tailored to gather metrics specific to Windows. This exporter is an open-source tool that collects system-level data from Windows, such as CPU usage, memory usage, disk I/O, and network statistics, as well as more detailed Windows-specific metrics like performance counters and service statuses.