Introduction
The Ethereum protocol includes independent environments called networks. A network can be used to develop and test a blockchain solution, or deploy it into production.
To use the Ethereum networks, first we need to understand how they differ. We'll cover the steps to connect and deploy to each network environment. To create a blockchain, we'll learn how to choose whether to make it private or public. We review how to go from a development to test to production network.
The goal of this module is to become familiar with the network options in the Ethereum protocol. You'll explore tools to interact with the network options, and learn how to work with different networks.
Learning objectives
By the end of this module, you'll be able to:
- Identify the public and private networks available in Ethereum.
- Explain the requirements to prepare a solution for the mainnet.
- Know how to use MetaMask with Infura to connect a blockchain solution to networks.
Prerequisites
- Fundamental knowledge about blockchain
- Solidity programming knowledge
- Ethereum smart contract knowledge
- Previous experience with a programming language like C, Python, or JavaScript
- Basic knowledge of programming concepts
- Enough familiarity with command-line tools to create new directories and install programs
- Node.js installed
- Truffle and Ganache CLI installed
- Visual Studio Code installed