A functional Ubuntu 16.04 server launched using a trusted hosting provider. For more information, see our tutorials on [setting up a validator node on AWS](https://github.com/poanetwork/wiki/wiki/Validator-Node-on-AWS) or [setting up on non-AWS](https://github.com/poanetwork/wiki/wiki/Validator-Node-Non-AWS).
* Record the IP address (required for file setup).
* Setup ssh access to your node via public+private keys (using passwords is less secure).
* When creating the node, set a meaningful `hostname` that can identify you (e.g. `validator-0x...`).
## Initialization
1. Clone this repository and go to the `deployment` folder
| syslog_server_port: `"<protocol>://<ip>:<port>"` | Optional port specification for bridge logs. This value will be provided by an administrator if required. |
2. Note the <bridge_name> and add it to the hosts.yml configuration. For example, if a bridge file is named sokol-kovan.yml, you would change the <bridge_name> value in hosts.yml to sokol-kovan.
## Administrator Configurations
1. The `group_vars/<bridge_name>.yml` file contains the public bridge parameters. This file is prepared by administrators for each bridge. The validator only needs to add the required bridge name in the hosts.yml file to tell Ansible which file to use.
`group_vars/example.yml` shows an example configuration for the POA/Sokol - POA/Sokol bridge. Parameter values should match values from the .env file for the Oracle. See [Configuration parameters](../../oracle/README.md#configuration-parameters) for details.
2. You can also add the following parameters in the `group_vars` to change the default behavior of the playbooks: