Bitcoin Forum

Hello everyone)

As it is extremely important that there were as many FULL genuine Bitcoin Core nodes as ever possible, I have uploaded (into Google drives) the whole Bitcoin Core blockchain database (0.15.0.1 version format packed into 12x10Gb 7-zip multivolume archive) as of October, 24th, 2017.

The 1-9 parts of the archive are here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1hDozqK5OhbYy1BNTFsRHE5S0U

The 10th part is here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwp9hqEINfq7emI0TE9HSWUzT3c

And the 11-12th parts are here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B04jj__m9bS6djlfc1F4RjM2RlE

I have tested the archive, so you may download safely.

To extract the Bitcoin Core blockchain database from the archive you should use any archive manager that supports 7z archives, the genuine 7z archive manager may be downloaded from here:
http://www.7-zip.org

After downloading all 12 parts launch the 7-zip manager, extract everything anywhere into your hard drive (where you are going to keep the blockchain, there must be at least 200Gb free space there).

Then launch Bitcoin Core 0.15.0.1 application, on request for the database folder point to the extracted folder.
The Core will (pretty fast) check integrity of the database, then it will start syncing the blockchain to its current state (it will start downloading and verifying blocks since October, 24th).

If you had already have your real Bitcoin  wallet before, just add into the root of the extracted folder your own 'wallet.dat' file.

Downloading the all ready database makes sense for people with a pretty 'thick' download bandwidth internet. They will get the all synced full Bitcoin Core node much faster, I think.
But users with pretty weak,  "thin" download internet bandwidth might gain almost no advantages, they might be better just start the Bitcoin Core 0.15 full node and let it sync itself as usual.


If you have any questions you are welcome to ask them

That's a really good idea to save to Google Drive.
But!
I tried to ascertain the direct link for the file - and there is non!
The direct link is a must-have, because it enables using multi-part download.
Example:
```
$ axel -n 50 -a <direct_link>
```
This will execute 50 parallel download stream which is the only sane approach
to download huge files.

I'm not quite sure about multi thread parallel downloading from Google Drives, maybe they do not provide the option, maybe they do. Personally, I use a Firefox download Extension that allows reliable downloads. When I tried it, the downloading was on the max available speed all time

I have just once again tried downloading, and I do confirm that Google drive does not allow parallel multi threaded downloading. But! The multi threaded parallel downloading is not actually needed here.
My Firefox extension "Turbo Download Manager" was reliably downloading at the very maximal speed all the time! And that extension has never failed downloading for me (I have never got broken downloads with it

> I'm not quite sure about multi thread parallel downloading from Google Drives,
> maybe they do not provide the option, maybe they do. Personally, I use a Firefox
> download Extension that allows reliable downloads. When I tried it, the
> downloading was on the max available speed all time.

There is a reason for the direct link.
The direct link may be easily emailed to anyone.
Multi-stream download utilities may be used (for example, `axel`).
The download procedure may be implemented with simple script (using
Python, Go or bash).
With direct link people do not need to use GUI at all - which is the
case with server-based approach.
You decide.
But if you want to make this backup really useful for many peoples,
think of storing the files on the server with direct links.

OK, no problem at all, of course! If Google drive can provide those direct links, I will create them!
Just wait a little bit

I Googled a little, found many sites (including Google itself) that claimed to produce direct download links.
It seemed to work with small files only.

On my 10Gb files those direct links did still lead to a web page that asked for confirmation to download the files despite Google could not check it for viruses.

I do not have enough free time to deal with all that stuff now, if someone knows how to get direct download links for  Large files in Google Drive, then let us know here, please. Later I would create such links for all 12 parts of the archive

With your Google ID, you also get Google Sites space. I haven't done it, but why not a sftp server?  Just a thought, I think you get 15gb.  check it out!

Part 11 seems to be missing from the 3rd link.

Wait for a moment, I'll  check it and fix immediately

The problem is due to my experiments with opening direct links

I'm comparing all properties, everything, part 11 is all the same as part 12,but for an unknown reason it is not shown inside the folder.  I am trying to find solution, wait a little bit more

Try downloading right now, seems part 11 is available again from now on

OK, it seems like all parts are available now for a total of 131.62GB. Google seems to be throttling download to below 100 megabits per second, so I get the ETA of over 3 hours. I'll post again when its done, but otherwise it looks good: JDownloader recognized all 9+1+2 parts, correctly recognized their sizes and availability.

Maybe not as fast as that "axel" mentioned by the other poster, but otherwise seems flawless.

Edit: OK, I forgot about this download. It finished properly, uncompresses properly without password, there wasn't any strange files in it and the Bitcoin client started off this directory properly and resumed syncing without problem.

Also a reminder: decompression utilities restore the files in a fairly fragmented state. Defragment the uncompressed directory to improve overall performance.

I'm a convinced anti-globlist, and I believe that the dominance and control exercised by Google, Amazon, Ebay, Microsoft and their associates and sunsidiaries are counter to the interests of most surfers. Bitcoin was started to escape this, and the use of Google to distribute any Bitcoin related products seems to be extremely unwise.

Dear friend, one should never fall into such inadequate extremes.
Google Drive is an excellent inexpensive service, and if we take a little help from it, then it'll be extremely beneficial for everyone! So don't worry about that

I'm not sure why you use the word "inadequate" - We know what Google is doing, and the way they are demonetising videos and distorting search results. Why would anyone trust them with something that poses a threat to their future ambitions.  I agree that Google offers many useful free services, and I use them for such things as listing domain names for sale, and traffic analysis. Using them for something that is at the heart of my savings - no way.

Friend, what kind of threat can you see here?
I assure you, Google Drive would never replace my files, or do other similar meanness)
So, download safely (if you haven't started your full Bitcoin Core node yet) and don't worry about anything you mentioned

Just playing devil's advocate here..

That's great that you've "tested the archive"... But how can we "test" you? A "member" with 70 odd posts... ???

What guarantee do we have that this Blockchain is "legit"... Other than you word?

IMO, by downloading this and using it, you are potentially weakening your node, not strengthening the network.

Install Core, let it sync "naturally".

First of all, I created a special thread on security risks :
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2323576

Secondly, I wrote a great number of posts in  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2303869 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2303869) explaining :
how long I had to be waiting (weeks) till my Bitcoin Core 0.14.2 fully synced itself at last. And the bottleneck was NOT in any way related to my PC or internet bandwidth.

I know that in 0.15 version the great Core developers team did implement some changes and improvements to accelerate the process. But I think it'll still take weeks, not hours or days.

(I should admit yet,  that in June when I was syncing my node, I couldn't be syncing 24/7.  If  (as now) I could, then the process could have actually been finished much faster)

And due to the dangerous, absolutely unnecessary after the Segwit activation, 2Mb (2x) threat to the greatest values in my own life - the True Bitcoin (most of my savings in Bitcoin) and its great Developers Team, I just wanted to help some smart and responsible people to start their own Bitcoin Core full nodes as soon as possible!

As for trust, it would be a million times safer of course if the complete archive could still be downloaded from the developer's site. I understand that the Developers team just couldn't have imagined such an 2x 'emergency situation', so for that and some other reasons they stopped offering such full blockchain downloads.
But for this November I'd suggest they themselves offered full archives similar to mine. But of course I am too much a newbie to give advices here

As far as I understand, you can just install Bitcoin Core and -rescan the database:
Assuming you download a legit Bitcoin Core, it will verify all blocks on your disk and you can be absolutely sure you have a legit blockchain.

That being said, I wouldn't use this myself, I'm totally fine letting Bitcoin Core download it's own blocks.

As a test, I recently downloaded a full blockchain (pruned to a RAM drive) in less than 24 hours, on a several years old PC with an average internet connection. Given the fact that I can do this, your bottleneck must be related to your PC or internet connection.

"PRUNED TO a RAM drive" - that's the key to your success,as I understand it.

Try to download the full 160Gb (not pruned) blockchain from the start, then tell us how much time it has taken you

Of course that's the key, but my point is still valid: it all depends on your PC.
Downloading to an SSD is much faster than downloading to a hdd.

That being said, my test also showed downloading a pruned chain on ramdrive did less blocks per minute than downloading blocks to my full chain on hdd. It took 70 seconds for 11 hours of blocks, that's about 1 block per second (see my test (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2291857.msg23303583#msg23303583)).
I don't really want to spend the time to do a full test, but from this small test, I extrapolate I can download a full blockchain to my hdd in 2-3 days.

I have no experience on Windows though, especially a system low on RAM can take much longer.

All of the time all of my own main components (CPU, RAM, download bandwidth) were busy at 2-5% (peak loads 10-12%). My ONLY possible bottleneck could have been the hdd which was a pretty fast 7200 rpm, but still a usual hard drive (not SSD).
But! Trying to figure out why the download was so slow at a moment I copied all Bitcoin Core 0.14.2 (already downloaded) data directories into a fast USB 3.0 128 Gb flash drive.  The syncing process did become a little bit faster, but not significantly!
So, I am still sure the bottleneck can be anywhere but never inside my PC or my internet channel.

I assume it was insufficient number of other WIDE UPLOAD bandwidth, accepting incoming connections full Bitcoin Core nodes.

There was someone else earlier (see my test-link) having the same problem on Windows, and he eventually moved his pruned blockchain to a RAM-drive. That solved his problem.
If you haven't checked the number of read/write-actions to your hdd, you can't rule it out from being the bottleneck.

I'm no export on Windows, but as far as I know most flash drives don't use write cache (to be safe when you suddenly unplug it).

That's not what I experienced. A very simple way to test it: when you start your download, and blocks are still small, there's much less checking per block. At that point I download at the maximum speed my internet connection can deliver. It only slows down later, when blocks require more checking.

Yes, I've been using windows (10, x64) Bitcoin Core version.
But I have always intentionally enabled write cash for removable drives

First, you didn't understand about how a signature of the file directory is the only verification.

Now, again, you stand on a position of perceived threats, and assure people as to that they should TRUST google.

But you make these assertions with respect to Bitcoin, which is defined as a peer to peer method of exchanging money WITHOUT TRUST.

I'm seeing a little conflict there.

Opinion?

I suggest a little flexibility of mind and common sense.

The main idea is to fully realize the great importance of a greater number (the more the better) of Bitcoin Core full nodes in the network.

And to start as many full nodes as possible, as quickly as possible, and to exclude the trust factor, you may simply instruct your Bitcoin Core wallet application to just re-index the downloaded database. Yes, it is a pretty long process too, but it is still very much faster than downloading the full blockchain (as I've known windows systems seem to be more conserned about this)

I like the initiative of making Bitcoin Core nodes set up faster, but unfortunately, I don't think it's safe to download the Bitcoin blockchain from anywhere in the world but through the client itself as it validates it.

If you download it from a 3rd party, you risk that the blockchain has been somehow modified. The only way to know they are the exact same files as the ones being delivered by the client itself is through a checksum of sorts, but you would need to trust someone else to do that too.

Maybe im too paranoid, but I would rather go through the annoying process of downloading it myself on the Bitcoin Core client even if it's slower.

You are certainly right on the whole.

Maybe that post might be a solution? See here:

Maybe there's a shitload of viruses slowing your system down as they inject themselves into everything that's outward bound?

:)

I have been in IT technologies for years (database programming, system administration, etc.), so I assure you my computers, smartphones, etc all are absolutely free from any viruses or malware of any sort

It's a good idea to keep a copy of the Bitcoin blockchain on a cloud drive and it will definitely be faster to download the whole chain rather than synchronising it from nodes.

I am a bitcoin noob, however, I am not a best practice data retention noob :)  so the first thing I did after getting my bitcoin core install fully synced today? I compressed it and backed it up.

The whole 160gb compressed down to 116gb in 25 dvd sized file library. It took like 4 hours to compress.

You never know when you might need to recover due to unforeseen events / failure.

As far as storing it on google, I wouldn't personally use them.

I would also note there is a test function (t in 7z) that will confirm the integrity of an archive, but this does not confirm the integrity of the contents inside have not been tampered with before compression, only that the archive itself is intact.

7z t archive.name

Mathematical proofs of the integrity of data are required.

Please stop with the "Trust me" game.

Nobody is fooled by it.

Caveat, I'll never be fluent in crypto anything to hold my own, but...

The initiative shown by the OP in making the blockchain available like this (trusting Google or not) is admirable, sometimes you just have to do something.

Reading thru most of the comments, especially those that mention "trust / trustless" always kind of makes me grin, the mathematics behind the blockchain is the only thing that is trustless about cryptocurrency, the rest is very much based on trust.  Maybe that's just me being picky over semantics, meh.

Okay, so this phraseology....pulled from a standard known download location for Core....

You can also use Bitcoin Core as a very secure Bitcoin wallet.
Latest stable version: 0.15.0 (September 2017) [BitTorrent]
You MUST verify the integrity of this software before running it.

Should be changed to...

You can also use Bitcoin Core as a very secure Bitcoin wallet.
Latest stable version: 0.15.0 (September 2017) [BitTorrent]
Don't worry about the integrity of the software, trust us.

My archive consists of the blockchain database data only.

The Bitcoin Core 0.15.0.1 wallet application should be downloaded exclusively(!)  from the official site:

https://bitcoin.org/en/download

Anybody who knows anything about security would never say "trust me".
You must have heard this phrase before:
https://image.spreadshirtmedia.com/image-server/v1/products/1001808960/views/1,width=800,height=800,appearanceId=351,version=1485256808/bitcoin-in-crypto-we-trust-white-t-shirt-mens-t-shirt.jpg

That Bitcoin (and many other potential blockchain applications) are trustless protocols is a key concept.

Here I simply apply this principle to the issue of downloading a database.

And THEN the signature checked, to validate the downloaded copy, before installation.

Tell me please, exactly what should I do (brief yet step-by-step guide) to provide you with the signatures for the database I uploaded to the Google drives?

Why not read Satoshi's paper first, kind of get a feel for it all.

I'll do of course some later, yet I think people may use my database to quickly get their own fully synced full node (in case of too slow the genuine syncing, which is certainly the  preferred method

An excellant explanation of GPG file and package signatures is here.

https://www.torproject.org/docs/verifying-signatures.html.en