Last year I got an Avado machine by accident, while requesting funding for a mainnet validator.
The project was messy, I never got the keys to join the ether.fi distributed validators cluster in mainnet, and I never got any rewards. After paying the monthly fee for some months, I complained and they stopped charging me.
I will open the machine, see what’s in there and see if I can repurpose it to run something interesting. I will share my journey here.
last tested on march 12th, 2025.
Download the latest Debian stable, bookworm 12.9.0. The reduced network installer for amd64:
$ wget --continue https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current/amd64/iso-cd/debian-12.9.0-amd64-netinst.iso
Verify the integrity of the file:
$ wget https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current/amd64/iso-cd/SHA256SUMS
$ sha256sum --check SHA256SUMS --ignore-missing
Verify the signature:
$ gpg --recv-key --keyserver keyring.debian.org DF9B9C49EAA9298432589D76DA87E80D6294BE9B
$ gpg --verify SHA256SUMS.sign SHA256SUMS
Copy the image to a USB memory:
$ sudo dd if=debian-12.9.0-amd64-netinst.iso of=<device> bs=16M status=progress oflag=sync
Now connect the USB memory to the Avado machine, connect it to an HDMI monitor and a USB keyboard, and boot.
Press the ESC key while booting to go to the BIOS configuration, and in the Boot menu select the USB memory as the first boot device. Save and exit.
Install Debian…
Reboot.
Connect to the switch.
Install software for administration:
$ sudo apt install emacs-nox byobu gnupg curl net-tools dmidecode ncdu
Enable ssh public key authentication:
$ mkdir --mode 700 ~/.ssh
Add my user public key to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys.
$ chmod 600 .ssh/authorized_keys
Disable ssh password autentication:
Edit the file /etc/ssh/sshd_config, uncommenting and setting:
PasswordAuthentication no
$ sudo systemctl reload sshd
Sources:
tl;dr:
Processor Intel i5 @ 1.10GHz, x86 64 bits, 32GB of memory, Debian 12
$ lsb_release --all
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Debian
Description: Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)
Release: 12
Codename: bookworm
$ uname --all
Linux tabechaka-01 6.1.0-31-amd64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Debian 6.1.128-1 (2025-02-07) x86_64 GNU/Linux
$ lscpu
Architecture: x86_64
CPU op-mode(s): 32-bit, 64-bit
Address sizes: 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
Byte Order: Little Endian
CPU(s): 8
On-line CPU(s) list: 0-7
Vendor ID: GenuineIntel
Model name: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1035G4 CPU @ 1.10GHz
CPU family: 6
Model: 126
Thread(s) per core: 2
Core(s) per socket: 4
Socket(s): 1
Stepping: 5
CPU(s) scaling MHz: 16%
CPU max MHz: 3700.0000
CPU min MHz: 400.0000
BogoMIPS: 2995.20
Flags: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm
pbe syscall nx pdpe1gb rdtscp lm constant_tsc art arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology nonstop_tsc cpuid ap
erfmperf tsc_known_freq pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 sdbg fma cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 ss
e4_2 x2apic movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm abm 3dnowprefetch cpuid_fault epb invp
cid_single ssbd ibrs ibpb stibp ibrs_enhanced tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid ept_ad fsgsbase tsc_adjust bmi1
avx2 smep bmi2 erms invpcid avx512f avx512dq rdseed adx smap avx512ifma clflushopt intel_pt avx512cd sha_ni avx512bw
avx512vl xsaveopt xsavec xgetbv1 xsaves split_lock_detect dtherm ida arat pln pts hwp hwp_notify hwp_act_window hwp
_epp hwp_pkg_req avx512vbmi umip pku ospke avx512_vbmi2 gfni vaes vpclmulqdq avx512_vnni avx512_bitalg avx512_vpopcn
tdq rdpid fsrm md_clear flush_l1d arch_capabilities
Virtualization features:
Virtualization: VT-x
Caches (sum of all):
L1d: 192 KiB (4 instances)
L1i: 128 KiB (4 instances)
L2: 2 MiB (4 instances)
L3: 6 MiB (1 instance)
NUMA:
NUMA node(s): 1
NUMA node0 CPU(s): 0-7
Vulnerabilities:
Gather data sampling: Vulnerable: No microcode
Itlb multihit: KVM: Mitigation: VMX disabled
L1tf: Not affected
Mds: Not affected
Meltdown: Not affected
Mmio stale data: Vulnerable: Clear CPU buffers attempted, no microcode; SMT vulnerable
Reg file data sampling: Not affected
Retbleed: Mitigation; Enhanced IBRS
Spec rstack overflow: Not affected
Spec store bypass: Mitigation; Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl
Spectre v1: Mitigation; usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
Spectre v2: Mitigation; Enhanced / Automatic IBRS; IBPB conditional; RSB filling; PBRSB-eIBRS SW sequence; BHI SW loop, KVM SW l
oop
Srbds: Vulnerable: No microcode
Tsx async abort: Not affected
$ lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
nvme0n1 259:0 0 1.8T 0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1 0 512M 0 part /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p2 259:2 0 488M 0 part /boot
└─nvme0n1p3 259:3 0 1.8T 0 part
└─nvme0n1p3_crypt 254:0 0 1.8T 0 crypt
├─tabechaka--01--vg-root 254:1 0 1.8T 0 lvm /
└─tabechaka--01--vg-swap_1 254:2 0 976M 0 lvm [SWAP]
$ sudo dmidecode --type memory
# dmidecode 3.4
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 3.2.0 present.
Handle 0x003A, DMI type 16, 23 bytes
Physical Memory Array
Location: System Board Or Motherboard
Use: System Memory
Error Correction Type: None
Maximum Capacity: 32 GB
Error Information Handle: Not Provided
Number Of Devices: 2
Handle 0x003E, DMI type 17, 84 bytes
Memory Device
Array Handle: 0x003A
Error Information Handle: Not Provided
Total Width: 64 bits
Data Width: 64 bits
Size: 32 GB
Form Factor: SODIMM
Set: None
Locator: ChannelA-DIMM0
Bank Locator: BANK 0
Type: DDR4
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: 3200 MT/s
Manufacturer: 859B
Serial Number: E798D70E
Asset Tag: 9876543210
Part Number: CT32G4SFD832A.M16FF
Rank: 2
Configured Memory Speed: 3200 MT/s
Minimum Voltage: 1.2 V
Maximum Voltage: 1.2 V
Configured Voltage: 1.2 V
Memory Technology: DRAM
Memory Operating Mode Capability: Volatile memory
Firmware Version: Not Specified
Module Manufacturer ID: Bank 6, Hex 0x9B
Module Product ID: Unknown
Memory Subsystem Controller Manufacturer ID: Unknown
Memory Subsystem Controller Product ID: Unknown
Non-Volatile Size: None
Volatile Size: 32767 MB
Cache Size: None
Logical Size: None
Handle 0x003F, DMI type 17, 84 bytes
Memory Device
Array Handle: 0x003A
Error Information Handle: Not Provided
Total Width: Unknown
Data Width: Unknown
Size: No Module Installed
Form Factor: Unknown
Set: None
Locator: ChannelB-DIMM0
Bank Locator: BANK 2
Type: Unknown
Type Detail: None
last tested on march 14th, 2025.
Download the latest stable version:
$ wget https://github.com/paradigmxyz/reth/releases/download/v1.3.0/reth-v1.3.0-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz
Verify the signature:
$ gpg --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 50FB7CC55B2E8AFA59FE03B7AA5ED56A7FBF253E
$ wget https://github.com/paradigmxyz/reth/releases/download/v1.3.0/reth-v1.3.0-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz.asc
$ gpg --verify reth-v1.3.0-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz.asc reth-v1.3.0-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz
Uncompress:
$ tar -xvzf reth-v1.3.0-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz
Sync the archive node:
$ ./reth node --http --metrics 127.0.0.1:9001
Download the latest stable version:
$ wget https://github.com/sigp/lighthouse/releases/download/v6.0.1/lighthouse-v6.0.1-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz
Verify the signature:
$ gpg --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 15E66D941F697E28F49381F426416DC3F30674B0
$ wget https://github.com/sigp/lighthouse/releases/download/v6.0.1/lighthouse-v6.0.1-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz.asc
$ gpg --verify https://github.com/sigp/lighthouse/releases/download/v6.0.1/lighthouse-v6.0.1-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz.asc https://github.com/sigp/lighthouse/releases/download/v6.0.1/lighthouse-v6.0.1-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz
Uncompress:
$ tar -xvzf lighthouse-v6.0.1-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz
Run the beacon node:
$ lighthouse bn \
--checkpoint-sync-url https://mainnet.checkpoint.sigp.io \
--execution-endpoint http://localhost:8551 \
--execution-jwt ~/.local/share/reth/mainnet/jwt.hex
--http
--metrics
Download the latest stable version:
$ wget https://github.com/ethpandaops/ethereum-metrics-exporter/releases/download/v0.26.0/ethereum-metrics-exporter_0.26.0_linux_amd64.tar.gz
Uncompress:
$ tar -xvzf ethereum-metrics-exporter_0.26.0_linux_amd64.tar.gz
Run:
$ ./ethereum-metrics-exporter-0.26.0 --metrics-port 9091
Install:
$ sudo apt install prometheus
Edit /etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml to add in the scrape_configs section:
- job_name: reth
metrics_path: "/"
scrape_interval: 5s
static_configs:
- targets: ['localhost:9001']
- job_name: lighthouse
scrape_interval: 5s
static_configs:
- targets: ['localhost:5054']
- job_name: ethereum-metrics-exporter
metrics_path: "/metrics"
scrape_interval: 5s
static_configs:
- targets: ['localhost:9091']
Restart:
$ sudo systemctl restart prometheus
Install:
$ wget -q -O - https://apt.grafana.com/gpg.key | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /etc/apt/keyrings/grafana.gpg > /dev/null
$ echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/grafana.gpg] https://apt.grafana.com stable main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/grafana.list
$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install grafana
Run grafana:
$ sudo systemctl start grafana-server
In the browser, go to http://<ip>:3000. Login with username and password admin.
Set a new password.
Go to Connections > Data Sources and click the Add data source button. Select Prometheus and in the HTTP URL , enter http://localhost:9090. Click the Save & Test button.
Go to Dashboards > New > Import.
Upload:
Sources:
last tested on march 27th, 2025.
I want to repurpose this avado machine as an archive node. It has 1.8TB of storage, which is not enough, and today reth broke saying:
No space left on device (os error 28)
I could order a new NVME disk with 4TB, which costs less than $300, plus shipping and taxes, and wait like 2-4 weeks for it to arrive to my remote bioregion. Or I can try something more interesting…
Here I have two external SSDs of 5TB. I think these disks are too slow for the archive node, so what if I could use the fast internal small disk as a cache for the slow external big disk? That sounds relevant and fugitive and fun.
With df I can confirm that the disk mounted in / is 100% used.
$ df --human
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
udev 16G 0 16G 0% /dev
tmpfs 3.2G 900K 3.2G 1% /run
/dev/mapper/tabechaka--01--vg-root 1.8T 1.7T 0 100% /
tmpfs 16G 80K 16G 1% /dev/shm
tmpfs 5.0M 0 5.0M 0% /run/lock
/dev/nvme0n1p2 471M 93M 354M 21% /boot
/dev/nvme0n1p1 511M 5.9M 506M 2% /boot/efi
tmpfs 3.2G 0 3.2G 0% /run/user/1000
With du I can see the biggest directories:
$ du --human ~
...
1.6T /home/agami/.local/share/reth/mainnet
...
102G /home/agami/.lighthouse/mainnet
...
ncdu shows this information in a nicer way. Sadly I have no space to install it 
$ sudo apt install ncdu
...
E: You don't have enough free space in /var/cache/apt/archives/.
I’ll just make a note to install ncdu in all my nodes before they break.
I don’t want to lose all the progress reth has already done, so I will use one of the external disks as backup. Once connected, it shows up as sda:
$ lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sda 8:0 0 4.5T 0 disk
└─sda1 8:1 0 4.5T 0 part
...
The disk comes with a filesystem for windows, which I don’t like, so I’ll partition it with:
$ sudo fdisk /dev/sda
Type d to delete the partition, then type g to create a new partition table, n to create a new partition and press the enter key a few times to select all the default options, type Y to confirm that I want to remove the old filesystem signature, and type w to write the changes.
Command (m for help): d
Selected partition 1
Partition 1 has been deleted.
Command (m for help): g
Created a new GPT disklabel (GUID: 0B35DA17-A3D4-B44C-8060-05CFFC9943E3).
Command (m for help): n
Partition number (1-128, default 1):
First sector (34-9767475166, default 2048):
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (2048-9767475166, default 9767473151):
Created a new partition 1 of type 'Linux filesystem' and of size 4.5 TiB.
Partition #1 contains a ntfs signature.
Do you want to remove the signature? [Y]es/[N]o: Y
The signature will be removed by a write command.
Command (m for help): w
The partition table has been altered.
Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.
Syncing disks.
Now create the filesystem in the format I like:
$ sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda1
Mount it:
$ sudo mkdir /mnt/backup
$ sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/backup
$ sudo chown -R agami:agami /mnt/backup
And move the reth data directory to the backup:
$ mv ~/.local/share/reth /mnt/backup/
This will take a while.
and back.
Now df shows the relocated storage:
$ df --human
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
...
/dev/mapper/tabechaka--01--vg-root 1.8T 108G 1.6T 7% /
.,..
/dev/sda1 4.6T 1.6T 2.7T 38% /mnt/backup
And I can install ncdu 
$ sudo apt install ncdu
I’ll prepare the second SSD just as the first one. This one shows up as sdb:
$ lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
...
sdb 8:16 0 4.5T 0 disk
└─sdb1 8:17 0 4.5T 0 part
...
Partition it with:
$ sudo fdisk /dev/sdb
And the same, type d, g , n, press the enter key a few times to select all the default options, type Y and w.
Format the disk:
$ sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb1
Here comes the fun part. I had never done this before, so I appreciate suggestions. It was bumpy.
Boot from an Ubuntu live CD.
Decrypt the NVME disk:
sudo cryptsetup open /dev/nvme0n1p3 crypt1
I will resize the / to free 1TB of the fast disk:
$ sudo lvreduce --size -1T --resizefs /dev/tabechaka-01-vg/root
Connect the big disk. Disconnect the one with the backup, just in case.
Create a volume group with the two disks:
$ sudo pvcreate
Sources: