AWS
In order to build a node from source, run it and connect it to the Cardano mainnet, you need a Linux system with at least 4GB RAM and 24GB harddrive space. The RAM is mostly needed for building the node; for running it, 1GB would be sufficient. The harddrive space is necessary if you want to connect to and download the Cardano blockchain on mainnet. If you just want to set up a local testnet or connect to an external testnet, less space is needed.
If you do not have access to a computer running Linux, you can use Amazon Web Services (AWS) to create a cloud-based virtual machine running Linux for free. To do so, please follow the steps below:
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Go to Amazon Web Services (AWS) and create a (free) account if you do not have one already.
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Go to the AWS Management Console.
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Go to the EC2 Dashboard.
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If you already have a running instance, go to step 9.
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We first make sure to get enough harddrive space (at least 24GB). Click on Volumes.
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Under Actions, select Modify Volume.
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In the Modify Volume diaglog, select a size of 24 and click Modify, then confirm in the next dialog.
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Go back to the EC2 Dashboard.
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Go to Launch Instance.
- As Amazon Machine Image, choose Amazon Linux 2 (HVM), SSD Volume Type, 64-bit (x86).
- As Instance Type, choose t2.medium, then click Review and Launch and finally Launch on the next screen.
- Create a key pair (or use an existing one).
- Connect to your instance.
- You can use the EC2 Instance Connect connection method.
- Type
echo hello(and Enter) to try whether the connection works. This should print "hello" to the console.
Congratulations! You have now access to a machine running Linux.