4. DevOps / SRE / Automation (GitOps)

DRAFT - This document is currently in draft form and subject to change.

Purpose

This section defines the standards for how blockchain projects should support DevOps, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), and GitOps workflows. The goal is to ensure blockchain software can be deployed, configured, and maintained automatically and consistently, with minimal manual steps.

Automation and observability are fundamental to operational resilience. Node operators should be able to deploy and upgrade networks through reproducible, automated workflows. While each operator may choose the automation tools that best fit their infrastructure, this document provides guidance to ensure installation and upgrade processes remain fully automatable.

Disclaimer: While providing example automation scripts or templates is encouraged, blockchain projects should not require operators to use proprietary or project-specific tooling. Many infrastructure teams have their own established DevOps and GitOps workflows, and projects should ensure their software can be easily integrated into those existing automation pipelines without dependency on custom scripts.

4.1 Automation Principles

Blockchain software should be designed with the following principles in mind:

• Idempotency: Re-running deployment scripts should produce the same state.
• Declarative Configuration: Use configuration files or manifests (e.g., YAML, JSON) instead of interactive prompts.
• Scriptability: Every step of deployment and upgrade should be automatable with CLI tools or APIs.
• Transparency: Configuration and runtime parameters must be clearly documented and version-controlled.
• Error Resilience: Processes should fail gracefully and log clear error messages.

4.2 Common DevOps & SRE Tooling

Projects should recognize and document compatibility with common automation and infrastructure tools. While not every blockchain must support these tools natively, it should avoid design choices that make automation impossible.

Projects should document which of these tools have official or community-supported integrations.

4.3 Deployment Automation

Blockchain projects should provide automation-friendly deployment artifacts and documentation.

Minimum Requirements:

• All deployment configurations should be version-controlled (e.g., in Git).
• All setup and configuration steps must be executable without manual interaction.
• Use configuration files that support templating and can be modified programmatically without manual edits.
• Support environment variables, CLI flags, or configuration files for all runtime parameters.
• Avoid hard-coded values that prevent reuse or parameterization.
• Expose all required ports, storage paths, and network settings clearly.
• Design deployment steps to be independent and idempotent — each action should be repeatable and not depend on the success or output of prior steps.
• Use consistent naming conventions and URL structures across all environments. For example, release or download paths should follow a predictable pattern where environment identifiers (e.g., mainnet, testnet, devnet) can be substituted without changing the overall structure or base URL.
• Do not require the use of custom scripts, wrappers, or proprietary automation. Deployment processes should be transparent and self-contained, allowing node operators to integrate them directly into their own automation workflows without needing to reverse-engineer or adapt project-specific tooling.

Nice To Have:

• Provide deployment examples using Ansible playbooks, Terraform modules, or Helm charts.
• Include CI/CD pipeline templates or examples demonstrating automated installation and upgrade workflows.

Example:

If a blockchain requires config.toml or genesis.json, the project should document:

• The full list of configurable parameters.
• Default values and valid ranges.
• How to override parameters in automated pipelines.

4.4 Secrets & Security Management

Sensitive credentials and keys must be handled securely across deployments.

Standards:

• Support integration with Kubernetes Secrets, HashiCorp Vault, or AWS/GCP Secret Managers.
• Provide documentation for key rotation and backup.
• Enable environment-variable injection for secret references.
• Validate permissions to ensure nodes only access necessary secrets.

4.5 Backup & Disaster Recovery Automation

Blockchain projects should provide reference procedures for automated backup, restoration, and snapshots.

Guidelines:

• Document which data directories are critical (e.g., data/, config/, priv_validator_state.json).
• Provide method for quick node sync
• Provide optional scripts or cron examples for:
  • Regular backups to remote storage (e.g., S3, GCS, rsync).
  • Automated restoration with version validation.

4.6 Infrastructure Documentation

Each blockchain project must provide a dedicated operations guide for infrastructure teams, including:

• Example topologies (single-node, HA validator, RPC cluster).
• Step-by-step deployment automation examples.
• Disaster recovery playbooks.
• Monitoring and alerting setup guides.
• Links to container images, charts, or IaC templates.

Summary: Automation is fundamental for running reliable blockchain networks. Projects should ensure every aspect of deployment — from provisioning to upgrades — can be executed in an automated, repeatable, and observable manner using standard DevOps and GitOps tools.