How to check if a node's p2p endpoint is working properly?

Question

Is there a way to verify that an endpoint is properly set up to receive p2p connections using ping, curl or some other tool?

The reason I ask this is because I'd like to set up a proxy to use a custom domain name for the p2p endpoint of my node, but at the moment it does not work with my configuration and I'd like to know whether the endpoint is properly set up.

Answer 1

You can optionally expose RPC methods with your node and then call those using curl.

An example of this which is provided in the link below:

curl -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"id":1, "jsonrpc":"2.0", "method": "rpc_methods"}' http://localhost:9933/

Details about the RPC system are below. Ensure at the very least that you run your node with the --rpc-external command and take into account the commands you're calling as they might be unsafe, requiring an extra word in your command --unsafe-rpc-external.

• https://docs.substrate.io/v3/runtime/custom-rpcs/#:~:text=Remote%20Procedure%20Calls%2C%20or%20RPCs,comes%20with%20several%20default%20RPCs%20.

Then if you are forwarding your data through the proxy correctly, you should receive a response. Namely, you should forward data to the right port on your Substrate node (the port where RPC commands are received).

Answer 2

By settting >=2 local nodes and make some calls to ensure p2p is working or refer to https://docs.substrate.io/tutorials/get-started/simulate-network/