fix(telemetry): stop nodes reporting to telemetry.polkadot.io when opted out

Author: nol4lej

README.md

@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ version and approximate location.
 unless told otherwise; the node appears within a few seconds under the name in
 `VALIDATOR_NAME` / `RPC_NAME`.
 
-To opt out, set the variable to empty in the node's `.env` and restart:
+To opt out, set the variable to empty in the node's `.env`:
 
 ```sh
 TELEMETRY_URL=
@@ -117,6 +117,29 @@ To report somewhere else instead, put the whole flag in it:
 TELEMETRY_URL=--telemetry-url "wss://telemetry.example/submit/ 0"
 ```
 
+Either way, **the change needs `up --force-recreate`, not `restart`**:
+
+```sh
+docker compose up -d --force-recreate orbinum-rpc-node
+```
+
+`restart` restarts the process inside the container that already exists, and a
+container's command is fixed when it is created — so the node comes back with
+the arguments it had before, and an edited `.env` appears to do nothing.
+`docker compose config` is no help here either: it prints what *would* be
+applied, not what the running container holds. To see the arguments a live node
+actually has:
+
+```sh
+docker inspect orbinum-rpc-node --format '{{join .Config.Cmd " "}}'
+```
+
+The symptom is confusing, which is why it is worth knowing: the chainspec's
+`telemetryEndpoints` still lists `telemetry.polkadot.io`, and `--telemetry-url`
+is what overrides it. A container created without that flag therefore reports
+to Polkadot's telemetry — so it looks like a node ignoring the setting, rather
+than one that never received it.
+
 Three things about that value are load-bearing:
 
 - **The quotes stay.** The node parses `"<url> <level>"` as a single argument;
@@ -132,6 +155,13 @@ Note this reports a node's name, version, block height, peer count and
 approximate location. An operator who does not want that published opts out
 with the empty value above.
 
+`testnet-spec.json` carries an empty `telemetryEndpoints`, so clearing
+`TELEMETRY_URL` really does silence a node. It used to list Parity's endpoint —
+inherited from the spec this chain was generated from — which meant opting out
+quietly redirected the same data to `telemetry.polkadot.io` instead of stopping
+it. The field is metadata read by the client, not part of the genesis state, so
+emptying it left the chain's genesis hash untouched.
+
 ## Node image
 
 `common/Dockerfile` builds `orbinum-node`. The compose files default to

mainnet/rpc/docker-compose.yml

@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@ services:
     dns:
       - 8.8.8.8
       - 1.1.1.1
-    # TELEMETRY_URL reports to telemetry.orbinum.network by default. It uses
+    # TELEMETRY_URL reports to telemetry.orbinum.io by default (the dashboard
+    # that reads it is telemetry.orbinum.network). It uses
     # `${VAR-default}`, NOT `${VAR:-default}`: only the hyphen-alone form
     # treats an EMPTY TELEMETRY_URL as "opt out" rather than falling back to
     # the default. A comment cannot go inside the `command: >` block below —

mainnet/validator/docker-compose.yml

@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@ services:
     dns:
       - 8.8.8.8
       - 1.1.1.1
-    # TELEMETRY_URL reports to telemetry.orbinum.network by default. It uses
+    # TELEMETRY_URL reports to telemetry.orbinum.io by default (the dashboard
+    # that reads it is telemetry.orbinum.network). It uses
     # `${VAR-default}`, NOT `${VAR:-default}`: only the hyphen-alone form
     # treats an EMPTY TELEMETRY_URL as "opt out" rather than falling back to
     # the default. A comment cannot go inside the `command: >` block below —

testnet/chainspec/testnet-spec.json

@@ -6,12 +6,7 @@
     "/dns/p2p-1.testnet.orbinum.io/tcp/30333/p2p/12D3KooWBzqb1AFLQJd4NooU7q6dSsYBFL85A8RPsJDLesfxHvbW",
     "/dns/p2p-2.testnet.orbinum.io/tcp/30333/p2p/12D3KooWKiLEh2Z8XZYGejL5ZMR6rwEdZHPTpVDW3nsXfSW8paLt"
   ],
-  "telemetryEndpoints": [
-    [
-      "/dns4/telemetry.polkadot.io/tcp/443/x-parity-wss/%2Fsubmit%2F",
-      0
-    ]
-  ],
+  "telemetryEndpoints": [],
   "protocolId": "orbinum",
   "properties": {
     "isEthereum": true,

testnet/indexer-rpc/docker-compose.yml

@@ -26,7 +26,8 @@ services:
     dns:
       - 8.8.8.8
       - 1.1.1.1
-    # TELEMETRY_URL reports to telemetry.orbinum.network by default. It uses
+    # TELEMETRY_URL reports to telemetry.orbinum.io by default (the dashboard
+    # that reads it is telemetry.orbinum.network). It uses
     # `${VAR-default}`, NOT `${VAR:-default}`: only the hyphen-alone form
     # treats an EMPTY TELEMETRY_URL as "opt out" rather than falling back to
     # the default. A comment cannot go inside the `command: >` block below —

testnet/rpc/docker-compose.yml

@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@ services:
     dns:
       - 8.8.8.8
       - 1.1.1.1
-    # TELEMETRY_URL reports to telemetry.orbinum.network by default. It uses
+    # TELEMETRY_URL reports to telemetry.orbinum.io by default (the dashboard
+    # that reads it is telemetry.orbinum.network). It uses
     # `${VAR-default}`, NOT `${VAR:-default}`: only the hyphen-alone form
     # treats an EMPTY TELEMETRY_URL as "opt out" rather than falling back to
     # the default. A comment cannot go inside the `command: >` block below —

testnet/validator/docker-compose.yml

@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@ services:
     dns:
       - 8.8.8.8
       - 1.1.1.1
-    # TELEMETRY_URL reports to telemetry.orbinum.network by default. It uses
+    # TELEMETRY_URL reports to telemetry.orbinum.io by default (the dashboard
+    # that reads it is telemetry.orbinum.network). It uses
     # `${VAR-default}`, NOT `${VAR:-default}`: only the hyphen-alone form
     # treats an EMPTY TELEMETRY_URL as "opt out" rather than falling back to
     # the default. A comment cannot go inside the `command: >` block below —