Can you help me get started running a signet Lightning routing node with intended 100 percent uptime?

Question

I'd like to run a signet Lightning routing node with ~100 percent uptime. Until now I've just spun one up and shut it down but if a reliable signet Lightning Network is going to be a thing we need persistent, reliable signet Lightning nodes. So a bunch of questions (and any additional guidance would be welcome).

1. How do I obtain some signet coins?
2. How do I identify signet Lightning nodes that are also aiming for ~100 percent uptime?
3. Are there any publicly advertised signet Lightning nodes with large numbers of channels, large channel capacities that I should connect to first?
4. Are there any Lightning explorers that support signet?
5. How much would it cost (rough estimates per month) to run a signet Lightning node on a cloud provider (Digital Ocean etc) and allow anyone to connect and open channels with my node?

I know some of the answers to these questions will over time become outdated but at least it will be a starting point for someone who wants to do similar.

Answer 1

This is a draft answer. Alternative answers (as always) are welcome. Answers may become outdated over time. The time of writing is May 2023.

For more guidance on getting set up with signet generally (not Lightning specific) see these previous questions (1, 2).

How do I obtain some signet coins?

There are currently two signet faucets I am aware of. There is signetfaucet.com maintained by DG Lab and signet.bublina.eu.org maintained by jsarenik. You can get very small amounts of signet (up to 0.01 sBTC) from these faucets and they have in the past been subject to DoS attacks so if you want more significant amounts you should try to contact individuals privately. As long as I don't get spammed I'd be happy to provide larger amounts of signet Bitcoin if a signet address is supplied.

How do I identify signet Lightning nodes that are also aiming for ~100 percent uptime?

This is also somewhat difficult to do on the mainnet network although as there are routing fees with actual monetary value available there is more of a motivation to stay online. On the mainnet network you can look up particular Lightning nodes on Lightning explorers such as 1ml.com and amboss.space.....

Temporary dump of related links:

https://plebnet.wiki/wiki/Plebnet_Playground

https://ex.signet.bublina.eu.org/

https://mempool.space/signet

https://ln.anyone.eu.org/