Docker deployments

This page contains a repository of example manual node operations using Docker. Before executing any of these commands, ensure the Corda Docker image has been correctly configured.

The node runs in a container. This is similar to executing the JAR directly, except with the need to mount directories into the container that a Corda node would normally have. It is also necessary to set up port-forwarding and environment variables. The same command variables can be used in running the container as when running the JAR. See the Generating a node and Running nodes locally pages.

Running a node connected to a Compatibility Zone in Docker

docker run -ti \
        --memory=2048m \
        --cpus=2 \
        -v /home/user/cordaBase/config:/etc/corda \
        -v /home/user/cordaBase/certificates:/opt/corda/certificates \
        -v /home/user/cordaBase/persistence:/opt/corda/persistence \
        -v /home/user/cordaBase/logs:/opt/corda/logs \
        -v /path/to/cordapps:/opt/corda/cordapps \
        -p 10200:10200 \
        -p 10201:10201 \
        corda/community:4.12-zulu-openjdk8:latest

As the node runs within a container, several mount points are required:

• CorDapps - CorDapps must be mounted at location /opt/corda/cordapps
• Certificates - certificates must be mounted at location /opt/corda/certificates
• Config - the node config must be mounted at location /etc/corda/node.config
• Logging - all log files will be written to location /opt/corda/logs

If using the H2 database:

• Persistence - the folder to hold the H2 database files must be mounted at location /opt/corda/persistence

Running a node connected to a Bootstrapped Network

docker run -ti \
        --memory=2048m \
        --cpus=2 \
        -v /home/user/cordaBase/config:/etc/corda \
        -v /home/user/cordaBase/certificates:/opt/corda/certificates \
        -v /home/user/cordaBase/persistence:/opt/corda/persistence \
        -v /home/user/cordaBase/logs:/opt/corda/logs \
        -v /home/TeamCityOutput/cordapps:/opt/corda/cordapps \
        -v /home/user/sharedFolder/node-infos:/opt/corda/additional-node-infos \
        -v /home/user/sharedFolder/network-parameters:/opt/corda/network-parameters \
        -p 10200:10200 \
        -p 10201:10201 \
        corda/community:4.12-zulu-openjdk8:latest

The mount /home/user/sharedFolder/node-infos:/opt/corda/additional-node-infos is used to hold the nodeInfo of all the nodes within the network. As the node within the container starts up, it will place its own nodeInfo into this directory. This will allow other nodes also using this folder to see this new node.

Generating configs and certificates

It is possible to utilize the image to automatically generate a sensible minimal configuration for joining an existing Corda network.

Joining an existing Compatibility Zone

The first step is to obtain the Zone Trust Root, and place it within a directory. In the below example, the Trust Root is stored at /home/user/docker/certificates/network-root-truststore.jks. It is possible to configure the name of the Trust Root file by setting the TRUST_STORE_NAME environment variable in the container.

docker run -ti --net="host" \
        -e MY_LEGAL_NAME="O=EXAMPLE,L=Berlin,C=DE"     \
        -e MY_PUBLIC_ADDRESS="corda.example-hoster.com"       \
        -e NETWORKMAP_URL="https://map.corda.example.com"    \
        -e DOORMAN_URL="https://doorman.corda.example.com"      \
        -e NETWORK_TRUST_PASSWORD="trustPass"       \
        -e MY_EMAIL_ADDRESS="cordauser@r3.com"      \
        -e SSHPORT="2222"      \
        -e RPC_USER="PartyA"      \
        -v /home/user/docker/config:/etc/corda          \
        -v /home/user/docker/certificates:/opt/corda/certificates \
        corda/community:4.12-zulu-openjdk8:latest config-generator --generic --exit-on-generate

Several environment variables must also be passed to the container to allow it to register:

• MY_LEGAL_NAME - The X500 to use when generating the config. This must be the same as registered with the Zone.
• MY_PUBLIC_ADDRESS - The public address to advertise the node on.
• NETWORKMAP_URL - The address of the Zone’s network map service (this should be provided to you by the Zone).
• DOORMAN_URL - The address of the Zone’s doorman service (this should be provided to you by the Zone).
• NETWORK_TRUST_PASSWORD - The password to the Zone Trust Root (this should be provided to you by the Zone).
• MY_EMAIL_ADDRESS - The email address to use when generating the config. This must be the same as registered with the Zone.
• SSHPORT - The port to use for SSH.
• RPC_USER - The RPC username.

There are some optional variables which allow customisation of the generated config:

• MY_P2P_PORT - The port to advertise the node on (defaults to 10200). If changed, ensure the container is launched with the correct published ports.
• MY_RPC_PORT - The port to open for RPC connections to the node (defaults to 10201). If changed, ensure the container is launched with the correct published ports.

Once the container has finished performing the initial registration, you must initialize the node’s DB as follows:

docker run -ti \
        --memory=2048m \
        --cpus=2 \
        -e CORDA_ARGS="run-migration-scripts --core-schemas --app-schemas --config-file=/etc/corda/node.conf"      \
        -v /home/user/docker/config:/etc/corda \
        -v /home/user/docker/certificates:/opt/corda/certificates \
        -v /home/user/docker/persistence:/opt/corda/persistence \
        -v /home/user/docker/logs:/opt/corda/logs \
        -v /home/user/corda/samples/bank-of-corda-demo/build/nodes/BankOfCorda/cordapps:/opt/corda/cordapps \
        -p 10200:10200 \
        -p 10201:10201 \
        corda/community:4.12-zulu-openjdk8:latest

You can now start the node as normal:

docker run -ti \
        --memory=2048m \
        --cpus=2 \
        -v /home/user/docker/config:/etc/corda \
        -v /home/user/docker/certificates:/opt/corda/certificates \
        -v /home/user/docker/persistence:/opt/corda/persistence \
        -v /home/user/docker/logs:/opt/corda/logs \
        -v /home/user/corda/samples/bank-of-corda-demo/build/nodes/BankOfCorda/cordapps:/opt/corda/cordapps \
        -p 10200:10200 \
        -p 10201:10201 \
        corda/community:4.12-zulu-openjdk8:latest