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UPDATE: 31/01/2022 - added UDP port to docker run and compose to be compliant with the recent implementation of QUIC check (UDP port communication)

Crypto talk is everywhere around us. If you are not open to mine for some BTC or ETH using oversized GPUs but do have some spare HDD space, maybe this article is for you.

For those of us that have NAS devices running 24/7 and have a few TB of space to spare here and there, why not put that space (and some bandwidth) up for use? Enter STORJ.io.

Storj DCS is a decentralized storage platform that will pay you for your services in crypto. In this article let's see how you can make big bucks (just kidding!) while sleeping and let your NAS do all the hard work.

From start to finish you will have to follow some steps to get it all going, but nothing too complicated. Also, make sure to double-check their documentation that is very well written and precise.

STEP01 - Setup your wallet

Before you go into this venture you will need a wallet. STOREj will pay you in ETH tokens so make sure to have one ready. MEW will do just fine but others are supported.

STEP02 - Register your NAS as a node

This is the main step, and you start with the following process:

  1. Get your auth token
  2. Generate node identity
  3. Configure port forwarding (and DDNS unless you have a static public IP)
  4. Set up the node via Docker

Get your auth token

Run the following set of commands:

curl -L https://github.com/storj/storj/releases/latest/download/identity_linux_amd64.zip -o identity_linux_amd64.zip
unzip -o identity_linux_amd64.zip
chmod +x identity
sudo mv identity /volume1/storej/identity

Generate node identity

Move into the identity subfolder from the previous step and run the following

./identity create storagenode

Now you need to authorize your identity with your STORJ token

./identity authorize storagenode <your STORJ token >

Configure port forward and DDNS (if needed)

Make sure your location has port 28967 open on your router so your NAS/node can communicate with the rest of the collective. Use DDNS address as a variable as a compose ADDRESS value or your static public IP

The final step will depend on what platform you want to run the node. In this case, we will use Docker compose file to create the node.

STEP03 - Create STORJ node via Docker

The following is a docker-compose file that will generate the node for you:

version: "3.5"

services:
  storej:
    image: storjlabs/storagenode:latest
    network_mode: "bridge"
    container_name: storej
    ports:
      - "28967:28967"
      - "28967:28967/udp"
      - "127.0.0.1:14002:14002"
    volumes:
      - type: bind
        source: /volume1/storej/app/identity
        target: /app/identity
      - type: bind
        source: /volume1/storej/app/config
        target: /app/config
    environment:
      - WALLET="1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
      - EMAIL="youremailaddress"
      - ADDRESS="yourDDNSaddress:28967"
      - STORAGE="2TB"
    restart: always
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NOTE: Keep in mind that there are two volumes that are needed and make sure that the app/config one has the following folder structure created before you start the container

/storage/blobs
/storage/temp
/storage/garbage
/storage/trash

So whatever local NAS location you have selected for the app/config location, be sure that the root of that folder has the previous folder structure ready.

Log into your STORJ UI

Now that you have your node up and running you can log into your container using the 14002 port and your NAS IP address to get to the STORJ node UI.

STORJ node up and runinng!

Now just sit back and let the encrypted decentralized data fill up your storage.