Hypereldger Fabric: Bootstrap Orderer without genesis block - hyperledger-fabric

Question

I need to spin up orderer without genesis block as I don't have information about the consortium at the time of orderer bootstrap.
Is there a way to do this?
According to orderer.yaml file, we can set ORDERER_GENERAL_GENESISMETHOD=none to bootstrap orderer without genesis block. I tried that, but it doesn't work. Throws this error:
orderer.example.com | 2020-05-30 16:46:03.446 UTC [orderer.common.server] initializeServerConfig -> INFO 003 Starting orderer with TLS enabled
orderer.example.com | 2020-05-30 16:46:04.246 UTC [fsblkstorage] NewProvider -> INFO 004 Creating new file ledger directory at /var/hyperledger/production/orderer/chains
orderer.example.com | panic: unable to bootstrap orderer. Error reading genesis block file: open /etc/hyperledger/fabric/genesisblock: no such file or directory
orderer.example.com |
orderer.example.com | goroutine 1 [running]:
orderer.example.com | github.com/hyperledger/fabric/orderer/common/bootstrap/file.(*fileBootstrapper).GenesisBlock(0xc00038e400, 0xc00038e400)
orderer.example.com | /go/src/github.com/hyperledger/fabric/orderer/common/bootstrap/file/bootstrap.go:39 +0x1c0
orderer.example.com | github.com/hyperledger/fabric/orderer/common/server.extractBootstrapBlock(0xc0001c2d80, 0xc0001249c0)
orderer.example.com | /go/src/github.com/hyperledger/fabric/orderer/common/server/main.go:595 +0x139
orderer.example.com | github.com/hyperledger/fabric/orderer/common/server.Main()
orderer.example.com | /go/src/github.com/hyperledger/fabric/orderer/common/server/main.go:128 +0x129a
orderer.example.com | main.main()
orderer.example.com | /go/src/github.com/hyperledger/fabric/cmd/orderer/main.go:15 +0x20
I tried generating a genesis block without consortium information. But it gave me a warning while generating the genesis block. WARN 007 Genesis block does not contain a consortiums group definition. This block cannot be used for orderer bootstrap
2020-05-30 21:26:01.892 IST [common.tools.configtxgen] main -> INFO 001 Loading configuration
2020-05-30 21:26:01.897 IST [common.tools.configtxgen.localconfig] completeInitialization -> INFO 002 Orderer.Addresses unset, setting to [127.0.0.1:7050]
2020-05-30 21:26:01.897 IST [common.tools.configtxgen.localconfig] completeInitialization -> INFO 003 orderer type: etcdraft
2020-05-30 21:26:01.897 IST [common.tools.configtxgen.localconfig] completeInitialization -> INFO 004 Orderer.EtcdRaft.Options unset, setting to tick_interval:"500ms" election_tick:10 heartbeat_tick:1 max_inflight_blocks:5 snapshot_interval_size:16777216
2020-05-30 21:26:01.897 IST [common.tools.configtxgen.localconfig] Load -> INFO 005 Loaded configuration: /home/nitish/work/hyperledger/research-network/configtx.yaml
2020-05-30 21:26:01.898 IST [common.tools.configtxgen] doOutputBlock -> INFO 006 Generating genesis block
2020-05-30 21:26:01.898 IST [common.tools.configtxgen] doOutputBlock -> WARN 007 Genesis block does not contain a consortiums group definition. This block cannot be used for orderer bootstrap.
2020-05-30 21:26:01.898 IST [common.tools.configtxgen] doOutputBlock -> INFO 008 Writing genesis block
Sample config for genesis block generation:
---
################################################################################
#
# Section: Organizations
#
# - This section defines the different organizational identities which will
# be referenced later in the configuration.
#
################################################################################
Organizations:
# SampleOrg defines an MSP using the sampleconfig. It should never be used
# in production but may be used as a template for other definitions
- &OrdererOrg
# DefaultOrg defines the organization which is used in the sampleconfig
# of the fabric.git development environment
Name: OrdererOrg
# ID to load the MSP definition as
ID: OrdererMSP
# MSPDir is the filesystem path which contains the MSP configuration
MSPDir: ./ordererorganization/msp
# Policies defines the set of policies at this level of the config tree
# For organization policies, their canonical path is usually
# /Channel/<Application|Orderer>/<OrgName>/<PolicyName>
Policies:
Readers:
Type: Signature
Rule: "OR('OrdererMSP.member')"
Writers:
Type: Signature
Rule: "OR('OrdererMSP.member')"
Admins:
Type: Signature
Rule: "OR('OrdererMSP.admin')"
OrdererEndpoints:
- orderer.example.com:7050
################################################################################
#
# SECTION: Capabilities
#
# - This section defines the capabilities of fabric network. This is a new
# concept as of v1.1.0 and should not be utilized in mixed networks with
# v1.0.x peers and orderers. Capabilities define features which must be
# present in a fabric binary for that binary to safely participate in the
# fabric network. For instance, if a new MSP type is added, newer binaries
# might recognize and validate the signatures from this type, while older
# binaries without this support would be unable to validate those
# transactions. This could lead to different versions of the fabric binaries
# having different world states. Instead, defining a capability for a channel
# informs those binaries without this capability that they must cease
# processing transactions until they have been upgraded. For v1.0.x if any
# capabilities are defined (including a map with all capabilities turned off)
# then the v1.0.x peer will deliberately crash.
#
################################################################################
Capabilities:
# Channel capabilities apply to both the orderers and the peers and must be
# supported by both.
# Set the value of the capability to true to require it.
Channel: &ChannelCapabilities
# V2_0 capability ensures that orderers and peers behave according
# to v2.0 channel capabilities. Orderers and peers from
# prior releases would behave in an incompatible way, and are therefore
# not able to participate in channels at v2.0 capability.
# Prior to enabling V2.0 channel capabilities, ensure that all
# orderers and peers on a channel are at v2.0.0 or later.
V2_0: true
# Orderer capabilities apply only to the orderers, and may be safely
# used with prior release peers.
# Set the value of the capability to true to require it.
Orderer: &OrdererCapabilities
# V2_0 orderer capability ensures that orderers behave according
# to v2.0 orderer capabilities. Orderers from
# prior releases would behave in an incompatible way, and are therefore
# not able to participate in channels at v2.0 orderer capability.
# Prior to enabling V2.0 orderer capabilities, ensure that all
# orderers on channel are at v2.0.0 or later.
V2_0: true
# Application capabilities apply only to the peer network, and may be safely
# used with prior release orderers.
# Set the value of the capability to true to require it.
Application: &ApplicationCapabilities
# V2_0 application capability ensures that peers behave according
# to v2.0 application capabilities. Peers from
# prior releases would behave in an incompatible way, and are therefore
# not able to participate in channels at v2.0 application capability.
# Prior to enabling V2.0 application capabilities, ensure that all
# peers on channel are at v2.0.0 or later.
V2_0: true
################################################################################
#
# SECTION: Application
#
# - This section defines the values to encode into a config transaction or
# genesis block for application related parameters
#
################################################################################
Application: &ApplicationDefaults
# Organizations is the list of orgs which are defined as participants on
# the application side of the network
Organizations:
# Policies defines the set of policies at this level of the config tree
# For Application policies, their canonical path is
# /Channel/Application/<PolicyName>
Policies:
Readers:
Type: ImplicitMeta
Rule: "ANY Readers"
Writers:
Type: ImplicitMeta
Rule: "ANY Writers"
Admins:
Type: ImplicitMeta
Rule: "MAJORITY Admins"
LifecycleEndorsement:
Type: ImplicitMeta
Rule: "MAJORITY Endorsement"
Endorsement:
Type: ImplicitMeta
Rule: "MAJORITY Endorsement"
Capabilities:
<<: *ApplicationCapabilities
################################################################################
#
# SECTION: Orderer
#
# - This section defines the values to encode into a config transaction or
# genesis block for orderer related parameters
#
################################################################################
Orderer: &OrdererDefaults
# Orderer Type: The orderer implementation to start
OrdererType: etcdraft
EtcdRaft:
Consenters:
- Host: orderer.example.com
Port: 7050
ClientTLSCert: ./ordererorganization/orderers/orderer.example.com/tls/server.crt
ServerTLSCert: ./ordererorganization/orderers/orderer.example.com/tls/server.crt
# Batch Timeout: The amount of time to wait before creating a batch
BatchTimeout: 2s
# Batch Size: Controls the number of messages batched into a block
BatchSize:
# Max Message Count: The maximum number of messages to permit in a batch
MaxMessageCount: 10
# Absolute Max Bytes: The absolute maximum number of bytes allowed for
# the serialized messages in a batch.
AbsoluteMaxBytes: 99 MB
# Preferred Max Bytes: The preferred maximum number of bytes allowed for
# the serialized messages in a batch. A message larger than the preferred
# max bytes will result in a batch larger than preferred max bytes.
PreferredMaxBytes: 512 KB
# Organizations is the list of orgs which are defined as participants on
# the orderer side of the network
Organizations:
# Policies defines the set of policies at this level of the config tree
# For Orderer policies, their canonical path is
# /Channel/Orderer/<PolicyName>
Policies:
Readers:
Type: ImplicitMeta
Rule: "ANY Readers"
Writers:
Type: ImplicitMeta
Rule: "ANY Writers"
Admins:
Type: ImplicitMeta
Rule: "MAJORITY Admins"
# BlockValidation specifies what signatures must be included in the block
# from the orderer for the peer to validate it.
BlockValidation:
Type: ImplicitMeta
Rule: "ANY Writers"
################################################################################
#
# CHANNEL
#
# This section defines the values to encode into a config transaction or
# genesis block for channel related parameters.
#
################################################################################
Channel: &ChannelDefaults
# Policies defines the set of policies at this level of the config tree
# For Channel policies, their canonical path is
# /Channel/<PolicyName>
Policies:
# Who may invoke the 'Deliver' API
Readers:
Type: ImplicitMeta
Rule: "ANY Readers"
# Who may invoke the 'Broadcast' API
Writers:
Type: ImplicitMeta
Rule: "ANY Writers"
# By default, who may modify elements at this config level
Admins:
Type: ImplicitMeta
Rule: "MAJORITY Admins"
# Capabilities describes the channel level capabilities, see the
# dedicated Capabilities section elsewhere in this file for a full
# description
Capabilities:
<<: *ChannelCapabilities
################################################################################
#
# Profile
#
# - Different configuration profiles may be encoded here to be specified
# as parameters to the configtxgen tool
#
################################################################################
Profiles:
TwoOrgsOrdererGenesis:
<<: *ChannelDefaults
Orderer:
<<: *OrdererDefaults
Organizations:
- *OrdererOrg
Capabilities:
<<: *OrdererCapabilities
I know that there is someway to achieve this as I have seen some HLF Blockchain service providers spins up sample ordering service and later add a consortium to it. I couldn't find any references though. I would really appreciate any help w.r.t this. I am stuck in a deadlock.

Answer 1

Consortium definition is required for bootstraping an orderer service. You may try defining a consortium with an empty organization list. The organization list of the consortium can be operated dynamicly.
Sample profile:
SampleSingleMSPSolo:
<<: *ChannelDefaults
Orderer:
<<: *OrdererDefaults
Organizations:
- *OrdererOrg
Consortiums:
SampleConsortium:
Organizations: