# UltraNet v7.1 Validator Onboarding Guide: The Sovereign Network

**Creator and copyright holder:** Vladan Jotov  
**Document license:** ISC License — see [`LICENSE`](./LICENSE)

## 1. Overview
Welcome to the frontier of institutional blockchain infrastructure. **UltraNet v7.1 "Sovereign"** is a high-performance, quantum-secure, sharded L1 network designed for century-long data integrity. As a validator, you provide the compute power for the Bullshark/Mysticeti DAG and the Arkworks-driven ZK-SNARK verifier.

## 2. Infrastructure Requirements
The UltraNet kernel is optimized for parallel hardware. To maintain the **sub-millisecond finality (27.79µs/vertex)** target, your infrastructure must meet or exceed these specifications:

### 2.1 Hardware
- **Processor**: 8+ Physical Cores @ 3.5GHz+ (AVX-512 support recommended for ZK acceleration).
- **Memory**: 32 GB DDR4/DDR5 (Required to manage 16 concurrent State MPT Shards).
- **Storage**: 1 TB NVMe SSD (Minimum 100k IOPS). 
- **Connectivity**: 1 Gbps Low-latency Fiber (Static IP required).

### 2.2 Operating Environment
- **OS**: Linux (Ubuntu 22.04 LTS / Debian 12 / RHEL 9).
- **Kernel**: 5.15+ (Required for optimal `tokio` asynchronous I/O performance).

## 3. Deployment Sequence

### 3.1 Environment Hardening
Ensure your build environment has the necessary cryptographic primitives:
```bash
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y build-essential clang cmake libssl-dev pkg-config
```

### 3.2 Protocol Compilation
We recommend compiling from source to enable hardware-specific optimizations:
```bash
git clone https://github.com/your-repo/UltraNet_Linux.git
cd UltraNet_Linux
# Enable 'lto' for maximum production performance and use the committed lockfile.
cargo build --release --locked
```

### 3.3 Firewall & Networking
Create `/etc/ultranet/ultranet.env` from [`deploy/ultranet.env.example`](./deploy/ultranet.env.example) before starting the node:

```bash
ULTRANET_API_BIND=127.0.0.1:8081
ULTRANET_CORS_ORIGINS=https://dashboard.example.com
ULTRANET_DB_PATH=/var/lib/ultranet
```

The API bind and CORS policy are environment-configurable. CORS accepts only explicit `http://` or `https://` origins and rejects wildcards. For a public VPS, keep the API on loopback and terminate TLS in a reverse proxy.

Expose the following protocol ports:
| Port | Protocol | Usage |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **9000** | TCP/UDP | **Mainnet P2P Swarm** (Gossip, Block Sync, DAG) |
| **8081** | TCP | **Local-only API; do not expose directly** |

## 4. Operation & Management

### 4.1 Launching the Node
For a local smoke test, run the release binary with the configured environment:
```bash
cargo build --release --locked --bin UltraNet
ULTRANET_API_BIND=127.0.0.1:8081 \
ULTRANET_CORS_ORIGINS=https://dashboard.example.com \
ULTRANET_DB_PATH=/var/lib/ultranet \
./target/release/UltraNet
```
For a VPS, use the hardened `systemd` service described below instead of a shell background process.

### 4.3 Ensuring 24/7 Uptime (systemd)
Use the production service file, which runs under a dedicated `ultranet` user, reads `/etc/ultranet/ultranet.env`, and keeps the API on loopback:

```bash
sudo install -o root -g root -m 0644 deploy/ultranet.service /etc/systemd/system/ultranet.service
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now ultranet
sudo systemctl status ultranet
journalctl -u ultranet -f
```

The root-level `ultranet.service.template` is kept in sync for existing workflows. See [`deploy/README.md`](./deploy/README.md) for binary installation, persistent storage, firewall, and reverse-proxy instructions.

### 4.4 Validator Registration
During the **Bootstrap Phase (v7.1)**, the validator set is managed by the 2-of-3 Sovereign Multi-Sig.
1. **Identity Extraction**: Locate your `QuantumKeyPair` public key in the initial logs.
2. **On-boarding Request**: Submit your public key to the governance portal.
3. **Weight Assignment**: Once approved, your weight will be added to the BLS aggregation set in `src/lib.rs`.

## 5. Performance Monitoring
Access the **UltraNet Pro Dashboard** at `http://<your-node-ip>:8081/dashboard`.

**Critical Indicators:**
- **DAG Vertex Latency**: Should remain < 100ms.
- **ZK Verification Time**: Target < 600ms per proof.
- **State Roots**: Must perfectly match the sharded MPT roots published in the dashboard.

## 6. Rewards & Slashing
- **Rewards**: Distributed automatically every epoch based on successful BLS signature aggregation and vertex anchoring.
- **Slashing**: Validators failing to verify correct ZK proofs or exhibiting state-root non-determinism will be automatically jailed after 3 consecutive failures.

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*UltraNet: Securing the next century of autonomous finance.*