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What are the best recommended hardware devices to use that are offline / cold to generate the stake pool cold-keys and key rotation?

  • Laptop with WIFI switched off?
  • Raspberry pi zero with wifi disabled? not connected to power when offline?
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    Why not use your Ledger hardware wallet for the stake pool cold key? It is not possible to import your existing keys to it, you can use it only if you start a new stake pool and create a new cold key.
    – George - APEX Stake Pool
    Commented Sep 8, 2022 at 9:35
  • I didn’t even think of using a ledger, that’s an interesting idea. Do you use that?
    – TheStophe
    Commented Sep 10, 2022 at 15:40
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    No, because I started my stake pool before that feature became available, and importing existing cold keys is not possible. But I would probably do it now, if I started a new stake pool.
    – George - APEX Stake Pool
    Commented Sep 11, 2022 at 5:55
  • Thank you George. Would you happen to have a tutorial about how to do this? Or link? Thx!
    – TheStophe
    Commented Sep 12, 2022 at 22:01
  • You can find instructions here: github.com/vacuumlabs/cardano-hw-cli/blob/develop/docs/…
    – George - APEX Stake Pool
    Commented Sep 13, 2022 at 4:45

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I use an older Intel NUC that has no network capabilities. If you use a device with WiFi or Bluetooth capabilities, I strongly suggest that you disable the WiFi card and Bluetooth in the system BIOS before installing your OS.

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Either of those options are fine. You want your cold environment to stay cold. The hardware requirements are minimal for generating keys and signing transactions. Of the machines you listed above, I'd go with whichever machine you are most likely to keep offline and cold. Disabling WiFi and Bluetooth in the system BIOS, as well as a fresh OS install before key generation would be best. Also, remember to follow offline workflows for system, node, and software updates.

I use an old laptop and keep it tucked away until I need it.

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  • bonus points for physically removing the wifi card from your hardware
    – zhekson
    Commented Sep 7, 2022 at 22:13
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Another solution is to use a bootable USB with TailsOS installed in it. This operating system is created to block surveillance and enanche privacy and it permits to you to block any connection at boot and have a persisten encrypted storage.

If you are interested, I created a guide on how to implement this solution.

I can give you support in case of need.

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