How to Create a Hyperledger Fabric Network (Step-by-Step Guide)

Setting up a Hyperledger Fabric network traditionally requires extensive knowledge of cryptographic materials, channel configurations, and complex YAML files. With ChainLaunch Pro, you can deploy a fully configured Fabric network with organizations, peers, orderers, and channels in just a few minutes using our intuitive wizard.

What You'll Deploy

By the end of this guide, you'll have:

• A complete Fabric network with the "mychannel" channel
• 1 organization (Org1MSP) with all necessary certificates
• 1 peer node for transaction endorsement
• 3 orderer nodes using etcdraft consensus for high availability
• Production-ready configuration with proper policies and capabilities

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

• Operating System: macOS or Linux (Windows is not supported)
• Network Access: Internet connection to download ChainLaunch
• System Requirements: At least 4GB RAM, 10GB free disk space

Install ChainLaunch Pro

To install ChainLaunch Pro with advanced features:

export GITHUB_TOKEN="<your_github_token>"
curl -fsSL https://chainlaunch.dev/install-pro.sh | bash

Or install the free version:

curl -fsSL https://chainlaunch.dev/install.sh | bash

Start the Server

Once installed, start ChainLaunch with:

export CHAINLAUNCH_USER=admin
export CHAINLAUNCH_PASSWORD=admin123
chainlaunch serve --data=./chainlaunch-data --db=./chainlaunch.db --port=3100

This will start the dashboard at http://localhost:3100.

Step 1: Access the Dashboard

Navigate to your ChainLaunch instance. The dashboard displays options to create Fabric or Besu networks.

Click on the Hyperledger Fabric card or the "Create Fabric Network" button to start the network creation wizard.

Step 2: Start the Fabric Network Setup Wizard

The wizard guides you through 5 steps:

1. Create Organizations
2. Configure Nodes
3. Create Nodes
4. Create Network
5. Complete

In Step 1, you need to add at least one organization. Click "Create New Organization" to add your first organization.

Step 3: Create Your Organization

A dialog appears to configure your organization:

Fill in the organization details:

• MSP ID: Org1MSP - The unique identifier for your organization
• Description: A brief description of your organization
• Key Provider: Use the default database provider for development
• Certificate Validity: Default settings are suitable for most use cases

Click "Create Organization" to generate all the necessary cryptographic materials including:

• Root CA certificate
• Admin certificates
• TLS certificates

Step 4: Organization Created

Your organization is now created and ready to use.

The organization card shows:

• MSP ID: Org1MSP
• Status: Existing (indicates certificates are generated)
• Description: Your organization description

Click "Next" to proceed to node configuration.

Step 5: Configure Nodes

In Step 2, configure the number of peer and orderer nodes for each organization.

Key configuration options:

• Consensus Type: etcdraft (requires minimum 3 orderers) or BFT (requires minimum 4 orderers)
• Orderer Nodes: Number of ordering nodes per organization (default: 3 for fault tolerance)
• Peer Nodes: Number of peers per organization (default: 1)

The summary shows:

• Total orderers: 3
• Total peers: 1
• Total nodes to create: 4

Click "Next" to review the nodes.

Step 6: Review & Create Nodes

Step 3 displays all nodes that will be created:

The wizard will create:

• peer0-org1msp: Peer node for Org1MSP
• orderer0-org1msp: First orderer node
• orderer1-org1msp: Second orderer node
• orderer2-org1msp: Third orderer node

Click "Next" to create the nodes and proceed to network configuration.

Step 7: Configure the Network Channel

Step 4 is where you configure the channel and network settings.

Channel Information

• Channel Name: mychannel - The name of your Fabric channel
• Description: Optional description for the channel
• Local Organizations: Select which organizations participate in the channel

The Consenters section shows all orderer nodes that will participate in consensus.

Capabilities Configuration

Configure channel capabilities:

• Channel Capabilities: V2_0, V3_0
• Application Capabilities: V2_0, V2_5
• Orderer Capabilities: V2_0

Consensus & Batch Configuration

Configure consensus and batch processing:

Batch Configuration:

• Max Message Count: 500 - Maximum transactions per block
• Absolute Max Bytes: 103809024 - Maximum block size
• Preferred Max Bytes: 524288 - Preferred block size
• Batch Timeout: 2s - Time before creating a new block

etcdraft Options:

• Tick Interval: 500ms - Time between Raft ticks
• Election Tick: 10 - Ticks before leader election timeout
• Heartbeat Tick: 1 - Ticks between heartbeats
• Max Inflight Blocks: 5 - Maximum blocks in flight

Step 8: Create the Network

Scroll down and click "Create Network" to deploy your Fabric network.

ChainLaunch will:

1. Generate the genesis block
2. Start all orderer nodes
3. Start all peer nodes
4. Create the channel
5. Join peers to the channel

Step 9: Network Created Successfully

Once complete, you'll see the success screen:

Your network is ready with:

• Channel: mychannel
• Created Organizations: Org1MSP
• Created Nodes: peer0-org1msp, orderer0-org1msp, orderer1-org1msp, orderer2-org1msp

Click "View Network Details" to explore your network.

Step 10: Explore Your Network

The network details page provides comprehensive information about your Fabric network:

Key information displayed:

• Network Status: genesis_block_created
• Consensus: etcdraft
• All nodes: Running status

Available tabs for network management:

• Details: Network overview and node status
• Anchor Peers: Configure anchor peers for cross-organization communication
• Consenters: Manage ordering service consenters
• Chaincode: Deploy and manage smart contracts
• Channel Update: Modify channel configuration
• Explorer: Browse blocks and transactions
• Revocation: Manage certificate revocations
• Proposals: Handle channel update proposals
• Metrics: Monitor network performance
• Network Map: Visualize network topology

What's Next?

Now that your Fabric network is running, you can:

Deploy Chaincode

Navigate to the Chaincode tab to deploy your first smart contract:

1. Package your chaincode
2. Install on peers
3. Approve for your organization
4. Commit the chaincode definition

Configure Anchor Peers

Set up anchor peers for cross-organization discovery by clicking "Configure Anchor Peers" in the alert banner.

Add More Organizations

Use the wizard to add additional organizations and expand your consortium.

Monitor Your Network

Navigate to the Metrics tab to view:

• Block production rate
• Transaction throughput
• Node health status

Why ChainLaunch Pro?

ChainLaunch Pro simplifies Fabric network deployment:

• Automated Certificate Management: All cryptographic materials generated automatically
• Intuitive Wizard: Step-by-step guidance through complex configurations
• Production-Ready Defaults: Sensible defaults for consensus, batching, and policies
• High Availability: Multi-orderer setup with etcdraft consensus out of the box
• Comprehensive Management: Full lifecycle management through an intuitive UI

Conclusion

What traditionally required extensive Fabric knowledge and manual configuration now takes just minutes with ChainLaunch Pro. The wizard handles all the complexity:

• Organization and MSP setup
• Certificate generation and management
• Genesis block creation
• Node deployment and configuration
• Channel creation and peer joining

Ready to deploy your own Fabric network? Get started with ChainLaunch Pro today.

Need help? Check out our documentation or reach out to our support team.