🚨Alerting & Reporting Setup Guide

Monitor Your Validator Node and Receive Email Alerts

Introduction

This guide walks you through configuring basic alerting and reporting for your Validator node using the nodectl utility. It enables email notifications if your node drops from the cluster (excluding local network outages).

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Contents
Important Limitations
Prerequisites
Configure Alerting
Test Configuration
Troubleshooting

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⚠️ Important Limitations

The nodectl utility's alerting feature depends on your node being reachable. If the VPS goes offline or loses internet access, alerts cannot be transmitted and will not be delivered.

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🖇️ Prerequisites

• nodectl must be installed and running on your node.

• A Gmail account with:

  • 2-Step Verification enabled

  • A dedicated App Password (email token) created for nodectl

This guide will walk you through these steps.

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🏵️ Configure Alerting

1

Create or Use a Gmail Account

You can use an existing Gmail account or create a new one.

2

Enable Gmail 2-Step Verification

If not already enabled, activate 2-Step Verification via your Google Account:

• Go to: Manage your Google Account

• Click the Security tab

• Follow prompts to enable 2-Step Verification

3

Generate an App Password

• In your Google Account > Security > 2-Step Verification section

• Scroll to App passwords

• Click the right-arrow (>) to open

• Under Select app, choose Other (Custom name)

• Enter a name (e.g., constellation_alerts)

• Click Create

• Copy the generated app password (token) and store it securely

⚠️ This password will only be shown once.

If lost, delete and recreate it.

4

Determine Your Timezone

Your VPS uses UTC, but you can configure alerting in your local timezone.

Use this reference list to look up your exact timezone string (e.g., America/New_York, Europe/Zurich).

Record your timezone string for later.

Do not use shortcuts like EST or CET.

5

Connect to Your Node

How to SSH into your Node

ssh -i /path/to/ssh/private/key nodeadmin@<vps_ip_address>

6

Launch the Configurator

sudo nodectl configure -e -cb -d

7

Enter Alerting Setup

N) Setup Alerting

You’ll be prompted for the following details:

Prompt	Description
gmail account	The Gmail address used to send alerts
token	The App Password (token) you generated
send method	Use multi (recommended) or single
recipient emails	Comma-separated list of emails ([email protected],[email protected])
time zone	Your exact timezone string (e.g., America/Los_Angeles)
begin alerting hour	Start time for alerts in UTC (e.g., 0 for always)
end alerting hour	End time for alerts in UTC (e.g., 0 for always)
send report hour	Hour (UTC) to receive daily report (e.g., 13 for 1 PM UTC)

8

Exit Configurator

Q)uit

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🧪 Test Configuration

1

Test an Alert

sudo nodectl auto_restart alert_test

2

Handle Spam

Check your inbox. If it ends up in spam, mark it as "not spam."

If you are sending alerts to a mobile provider email, ( sending an email to your mobile phone number in order to obtain text (SMS/MMS) message alerts ). It is important to make sure your carrier allows the message through to your phone. Some carriers may silently block messages they flag as suspicious. This may require contacting your mobile provider support with a request to allow the emails, and remove any flags as non-nefarious.

3

Test a Daily Report

sudo nodectl auto_restart send_report

You should receive a formatted status report via email.

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🛠️ Troubleshooting

If you don’t receive emails:

• Confirm your App Password was entered correctly

• Ensure your Gmail account is not blocking outbound activity

• Double-check that your time zone string matches the official naming convention

• Use a secondary email address to confirm if messages are being blocked by your provider

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Once configured, your Validator node will monitor its cluster participation status and email you alert messages and daily status reports; helping you stay informed, even when you’re away.