How to set up a Presearch node? Which VPS to use?

Presearch is a very popular project in the crypto sphere. It is a search engine, but instead of taking advantage of you, they are paying you to use their engine. That is why so many people are already using Presearch, and why more and more people also discover it and try it every single day. But, now you can also set up your own Presearch node and support the project, and also, get paid for doing so through the rewards given to node operators. But, how can it be done?

First of all, if you haven’t registered for Presearch yet, visit the Presearch website and register an account immediately.

• Presearch website

You need an account to register a node, so it is crucial to have one. And if you like the project, then you will for sure want to be rewarded yourself as you search the web using this engine. The payments are given in PRE tokens which can be sold at exchanges such as Kucoin. There you can trade your PRE tokens and get USDT or Bitcoin instead.

But, if you want to run a node, you better be aware of the fact that you need at least 2000 PRE tokens (currently worth $150). Are you ready? I will now show you how to run a Presearch node in a few steps!

THESE INSTRUCTIONS ARE STILL VALID AND WORKING
The article was written a while ago, but it is still working and these instructions are working very well if you want to create a Presearch node right now!

Tell Presearch that you would like to setup a node

After you have created your Presearch account, visit https://nodes.presearch.org/dashboard and tell the Presearch team that you would like to setup a node. They normally respond within 24 hours with a registration code that you will need in order to setup your node.

Setup your Presearch node on a cheap VPS

The first step is to set up your node on a cheap VPS. In that way, you don’t have to run a computer from home continuously, and it will have a constant Internet connection, good speeds, and you don’t have to compromise the security of your home network in order to run a node.

I can currently recommend the following two VPS providers for this purpose:

• VPSServer.com
• Contabo

Contabo is cheaper in general for the better VPS packages, but to run a Presearch node, the tiniest package is currently enough, meaning that the $5 per month VPS from VPSServer.com is currently enough. The cheapest VPS package from Contabo is priced at $7 per month, but that has a bigger and way faster hard drive, meaning that it might be worth those extra $7 per month!

I am also running several Ethereum nodes, and for that purpose, Contabo is by far the cheapest and the best solution out there!

Create an account at one of the mentioned VPS providers, and set up your first VPS package. When that is done, download Putty to your computer (a program that you will use to contact the VPS).

The VPS is ready and Putty is installed!

There are three types of information you will need to connect to your VPS server. You will need the IP address, the username (which is root), and the password. These will be given to you by VPSserver/Contabo. Use these data to connect to the VPS.

It is smart to change your user from root to something else (for a higher level of security), but it isn’t something you really HAVE TO do.

Now it is time to run the following commands on your VPS server.

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl gnupg-agent software-properties-common

curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo apt-key add -

sudo apt-key fingerprint 0EBFCD88

sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable"

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io

These commands will make sure that your system is up to date, and they will install Docker (the software needed to run the node). Copy one line at a time and paste it into the Putty window and run the command! You might be asked along the way if you want to install the different programs, and when such questions come, simply type Y (yes) and the installation will continue.

You have now installed Docker, and you are now ready to set up the actual Presearch node.

Quick command to set up your Presearch node

Thanks to the Presearch community, there is now one command that you can copy and run on your VPS, and the node will be up and running quickly. Just copy the command below and make sure to add your registration code instead of where it is written registration code in the code.

docker stop presearch-node ; docker rm presearch-node ; docker stop presearch-auto-updater ; docker rm presearch-auto-updater ; docker run -d --name presearch-auto-updater --restart=unless-stopped -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock containrrr/watchtower --cleanup --interval 300 presearch-node ; docker pull presearch/node ; docker run -dt --name presearch-node --restart=unless-stopped -v presearch-node-storage:/app/node -e REGISTRATION_CODE=YOUR_REGISTRATION_CODE_HERE presearch/node ; docker logs -f presearch-node

That is it. If you copy and paste the command above and add your registration code, you should be ready and have a node up and running within a few minutes. Isn’t that neat? If you have trouble and it doesn’t work, then you can still take a look at the instructions below and try to follow those instead!

If you want to check that your node is working and listening for search requests, type the following command:

sudo docker logs -f presearch-node

You can run several nodes as well, but you will then need a different VPS for the different nodes. You can use the same registration code for several nodes!

Do not forget that you will need to stake a minimum of 1000 PRE tokens per node.

That is it. Your Presearch node is now up and running and if you visit https://nodes.presearch.org/dashboard you should now see a list of your node(s). You can also find more useful information about running a Presearch node at https://nodes.presearch.org/instructions.

Good luck on running your node!