Multiple nodes for same baker

Node
1

What are the consequences of having multiple nodes running with the same baker keys? That would be an ideal solution to have a backup node.

2

This is a very bad idea since you are essentially acting as a malicious baker. Your two nodes will produce competing blocks, and will generally vote differently in finalization. They might be banned by peers, etc. Do not do this.

1 Like
3

Ok thatā€™s clear. Iā€™m trying a setup that minimizes node downtime, so essentially always having a node with baker keys online.

Whatā€™s the determining factor that says that a node is acting as a baker? If GetNodeInfo on Concordium-client reports that consensus is running and active?

Ie:
Baker running: True
Consensus running: True
Consensus type: ā€œActiveā€
Baker committee member: NodeInfoResponseā€™ACTIVE_IN_COMMITTEE

4

The determining factor is whether the node has been started with baker keys.

One simple way that would avoid significant downtime is that you have a node running as passive, i.e., without baker credentials. Then you do

  • stop the ā€œactiveā€ node
  • restart the ā€˜passiveā€™ node with baker credentials.

This would mean a minute or two of downtime, which is probably acceptable.