Simplify SPO rollups in Vietnam

[IMPACT]

• Running stake pools on major cloud platforms offers convenience in installation, configuration, operation, and low cost so most of the stake pools are running on 3 major cloud providers (DigitalOcean 20.2%,Amazon 15.4%,Google 13.0%. Source:)) and are located mainly in US and Germany (Detail data click here). These lead to the limited dispersion of stake pools and the security of the network is in danger.
• The stake pool's installation and operation are only for technical people because the documentation is not simple enough. This limits the diversity of people involved in SPO.
• There are rare stake pools that are using clean energy due to the lack of a simple and holistic solution. We need a reasonable package solution for this solution.

We aim to solve the above problems by focusing on:

• Create and optimize simple instructions, video, and setup, operating scripts in Vietnamese so that more non-tech users are able to rollups and operate their own stake-pool on their diverse infrastructures. These materials will be generated based on cloud active pool, VPS, VMs on-premise. The reason is that the majority of new stake pool owners are choosing this model.

• Provides pre-configured solar-powered stake pools to the market. These are appliance boxes that are pre-installed with BP, Replays, solar panels, batteries.. the user only needs to load the wallet address and perform minimal steps to get a stake pool ready.

This is the essential guide for rollup. Because of its simplicity, brevity, conciseness, and provenity, it will help many non-tech people create and operate their own pools. Scaling up the number of SPOs is one of the key components of the Cardano blockchain platform. Therefore, we believe that the proposal is a perfect fit for this challenge.

This is a guide in Vietnamese, so it will promote the growth of the number of SPOs in Vietnam, making the Cardano network more geographically neutral.

Cardano is known as the 3rd generation "green" blockchain platform. The successful operation of stake pools on Raspberry Pi with clean energy is clear proof that Cardano is the future blockchain platform.

We may face a few challenges at:

1. Deploying a Bare-metal stake pool on Raspberry PI is difficult for a clone implementation. We will optimize the script to perform these tasks
2. Call the community/Cardano Foundation to stake into the pool to get first block minted: we foreseen that IOG/CF totally support for green/low energy consumption solution, we believed that our project will be supported when we have convincing data about our solar-powered stake pools
3. Difficult to convince SPOs to roll up and operate their pools on the Raspberry Pi platform due to fear of not being able to mint the block. We reserve a budget to encourage pool owners to roll up pools on new platforms (Raspberry Pi) along with risk provisions for missed 1 to 2 blocks.

[FEASIBILITY]

After 2 months:

• Create simple instructions, videos, and setup, operating scripts in Vietnamese.
• Disaster recovery action plans (Backup and recovery procedures).
• Deploy 01 pool system on the cloud as an example, record steps as documents and videos.
• Hire a non-tech person to validate documents and videos by creating a new pool. The goal is to find areas for improvement in the process, document, and videos.
• Update document, video based on the findings from a non-tech person.
• Release these videos, Instructions to our website (cardano2vn.io), and the 5 most common social network groups on Facebook and telegram.
• Calculate energy consumption for Raspberry Pi –Stake pool kit (1BP, 2 Relay, and 4 ports switch).
• Design power storage solution for Raspberry Pi –Stake pool kit.

After 4 months:

• Build a power accumulator and voltage stabilizer to ensure enough capacity for the kit to work in bad weather.
• Run a stake pool with 2 relays and 1 BP on Raspberry PI using solar energy.
• Send report to Cardano foundation and ask for delegation.
• The first block is minted on the solar Energy stake pool kit.

After 6 months

• Minimize installation steps, keep startup wizard simple for non-tech operators.
• Physical Packaging of the stake pool kit.
• Re-sizing hardware configuration. Provide optimized build of materials and specifications
• Calling, looking for someone who wants to become an SPO, convincing and supporting them to deploy on the Raspberry PI Pool kit platform-> Accompany the new SPO to find areas of improvement in the process, documentation.
• Update process and document with findings in the above step.
• Evaluate usage performance, ROI.

After 8 months

• Support at least 5 VietNam SPOs to roll up their pool on clouds, virtual machines on their premise.
• Support at least 3 VietNam SPOs to take part in Raspberry PI Pool kit platform program
• Ready for mass production.

Budget breakdown:

02 Raspberry PI Pool kit Hardware (One for production and another for testing purposes)

02 System raspberry PI pool:

• 06 Raspberry Pi (16GB) (2 Relay and 1 BP)= $900
• 06 SSD for Pi =$600

02 Backup energy :

• 02 Durable solar panel is ~$800
• 02 Batteries ~ $300
• 02 Power stabilizer ~ $200

(1) Sub-total for Raspberry PI Pool kit Hardware=$2,800

Internet connection and fixed IPs :

• 3 IPs*6month ~ $250
• backup connection~ $100 we would be using a secondary internet provider.

(2)sub-total for Internet connection: $350

(3) Hiring VMs on Cloud : 03 VMs (2vCPUs, 16GB RAM, 50 GB SSD) in 3 months ~3x$150=$450

Labor cost (base on estimated labor hour)

• Setup stake pool on Cloud: 16 hours
• Simplify documents and process to create and monitor pool: 32 hours
• Non-tech person validates documents and processes: 40 hours
• Update, adjust document and process based on finding from non-tech person, create video and upload: 40 hours
• Design Raspberry Pi –Stake pool kit: 24 hours

• Setup stake pool on raspberry PI using solar energy: 60 hours
• Report to Cardano foundation and ask for delegation: 16 hours

• Create documents, instruction: 32 hours
• Re-sizing hardware, Optimize build of material: 16 hours
• Convincing and supporting new SPO to deploy pool on Raspberry Pi –Stake pool kit: 40 hours.
• Update document, process to create Raspberry Pi –Stake pool kit. Create videos for instructions: 60 hours
• Sharing how to create a solar energized stake pool: 16 hours
• Return on investment Calculation: 16 hours
• Create and Public Report of Investment: 21 hours

• Support 5 SPO to deploy pool on clouds: (5 sessions, each last for 2 hours): 50 hours
• Support 3 SPO to deploy pool on Raspberry Pi –Stake pool kit: (5 sessions, each last for 2 hours): 30 hours

(4)Total labor hour: 509 hours, with hour rate of $60/hour, Labor cost for the project is $30,540

Total cost= (1)+(2)+(3)+(4)= $2,800+$350+$450+ $30,540=$34,140

Team:

Tien Nguyen Anh @tienna,

• Founder of the VILAI stake pool, computer science experts, working in the Cardano/Crypto space since 201
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tienna
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/tiennganh
• Telegram: t.me/tiennguyenanh

Hieu Nguyen Van @nvhieu

• Founder of HADA stake pool, member of Plutus Pioneer Program, Lead Technical Support at many successful startups.
• Telegram: t.me/nvhieu1978
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nguyen-van-hieu-b4410121b

[AUDITABILITY]

After 2 months:

• Simple proven instructions, videos, and setup, operating scripts in Vietnamese releases
• Disaster recovery action document (Backup and recovery procedures) releases
• Deploy 01 pool system on the cloud
• A Design power storage solution for Raspberry Pi –Stake pool kit.

After 4 months:

• Build a power accumulator and voltage stabilizer to ensure enough capacity for the kit to work in bad weather.
• Run a stake pool with 2 relays and 1 BP on Raspberry PI using solar energy.

After 6 months

• Installation document
• Physical Packaging of the stake pool kit release
• 5 VietNam SPOs to roll up their pool on clouds,
• 3 VietNam SPOs to take part in Raspberry PI Pool kit platform

These factors are considered as "definition of done" for our proposal:

• Promote a decentralized and diverse distribution of stake pools (dispersion of stake pools around the globe on cloud, on bare-metal, on VM or event on solar-powered stake pools)
• A pool owner can rollups and operate their pool by themself (self-hosted infrastructures)
• The number of stake pools using green energy will increase

This original proposal was submitted in fund7. It met the criteria for approval, unfortunately, the budget exceeded the remaining treasury funds. click here for detailed CA ratting in F7