Bitcoin Forum

With the release of bitcoin core 0.14, do I upgrade bitcoin core or migrate to Bitcoin Unlimited?

Should I decided to migrate to Bitcoin Unlimited, what are the recommended steps or risks associated in performing this operation?

You don't need to do anything if you don't want to. Your coins are totally safe in whatever version of Core that you're currently running.

Edit - And migrating to BU is pointless atm, consensus is a million miles away.

its the case of reading the code and seeing what things have changed and what you agree on.

for instance if you dont agree on either side dont upgrade to either new version.
if however you realise things like
core v0.13.2 minimum fee relay was 0.00001000 ($0.012)
but now
core v0.14.0 minimum fee relay is 0.00005000 ($0.06)

and you disagree with being part of the nodes that will only relay transactions with higher fee's than before.. then stick with what you have or go for a version that doesnt have such fee war inducing new rules

User node count could be used as another indication of user consensus, but I don't see where Bitcoin Unlimited is listed as a wallet at bitcoin.org, so it might not be the most reliable indicator.

I am assuming that the blockchain/wallet directory structure is the same, is this correct?
Is the official website https://www.bitcoinunlimited.info ?

I probably know how to go about it, but some might want step by step instructions. And of course I want to make sure I am not missing something.

I could downgrade to core 0.12.x and play with -maxmempool, -mempoolexpiry and -minrelaytxfee parameters.

Trying to hide the number of unconfirmed transactions by not relaying them is not my idea of a solution.

You'll have to look at both Core and Unlimited and decide for yourself which provides the features you prefer.

At the protocol lvel, they are currently compatible with each other, so it doesn't matter much which you run.  If protocol changes activate and you change your mind, it isn't difficult to switch.

1st question has already been answered, do as you wish.

2nd question... Recommended steps are the same as Bitcoin: compile from source or at least verify binaries before running. There are no risks associated as long as you agree with whatever consensus rules your clients "defends".

I can't pick and choose individual features so would have to decide on overall features. Think I might have read core 0.14 saves mempool data between restarts which is probably a very good idea.

Could I install both, and either fire one version up or the other over the same blockchain/wallet directory structure though? Or could that very well change before any consensus is achieved?

Im in the same boat, Im still running an old version of core. Id be happy to go with segwit but i feel already that the 1mb blocks as well as segwit is too little. If it was even brought up to 2mb plus segwit id probably upgrade straight away.

first of all
1. get the privkeys/seed and copy them. i dont mean just copy and paste the wallet.dat i mean ensure you have it copied down in other formats too and also copy the wallet.dat to a couple different locations/media devices (incase one or more gets corrupt)

2. then update

https://coin.dance/nodes

That lists XT, Classic, Unlimited and Core node counts.


8  )

I maintain a bitcoin-core RPM that links against LibreSSL on CentOS 7.

I'm sorely tempted to rebuild 14 with a 2 MB block and undo the fee increase, just so people who use my build won't be hurt by what core developers are doing, and so clients will work when blocks > 1 MB come out.

I'm also tempted to just not build 0.14.x at all and only offer BU.

Recent days contribution of about 10% of the bitcoin network bitcoin unlimited have gained strength. Based on this small migration towards bitcoin unlimited might be felt a little.

Why don't you wait for an agreement to be reached as to the future direction of Bitcoin before you make a move? If I were you I wouldn't rush to BU yet but will still run my Bitcoin core until a decision is made.

But by running BU, you can follow consensus regardless of the outcome of the block size limit debate.  With Core, you'll be forked from the main chain if we get bigger blocks.  

Furthermore, the more nodes today that are ready and willing to accept larger blocks, the easier it will be for the miners to start producing them (https://medium.com/@peter_r/what-were-doing-with-bitcoin-unlimited-simply-6f71072f9b94#.m33f17r91).

Trying to find an idiots guide to safely migrating from bitcoin core to bitcoin unlimited. I like the fact that my private keys are encrypted, so I need to be extremely careful with them if I have to dump them in native format to migrate.

What operating system?

As far as I know, Core and Unlimited are fully compatible at the moment.

You upgrade from Core to Unlimited the same way as you would upgrade from an old version of Core to a new version.

Step 1. Create a backup of your wallet just in case anything unexpected happens.
Step 2. Shut down your current version.
Step 3. Install the new software in the proper directory for your operating system.
Step 4. Start the new software up.

Done.

It should be as easy as Danny describes, but it would be great to have a better write up that includes screenshots.  If you're using Windows or Mac (not Linux) and if you're interested in earning a bounty while you migrate, take screen shots and document the process that you went through, and then write a brief "idiots guide to safely migrating from Bitcoin Core to Bitcoin Unlimited" and post as a new thread here or on Medium, and I can send you $100 - $150 from our outreach fund (actual amount will depend on the quality of the finished product and be at my discretion).  

I use both windows and linux. My nodes aren't pruned, and I'm not on 0.14 (which introduces compact blocks). Could any of these represent issues for those who have?

I may take you up on that.

Pruning was introduced in Core 0.11 and BU branched at a later point, and so BU supports pruning too.  Updating from Core to BU should be the same as updating to a newer version of Core for both pruned and unpruned nodes, but I've never actually verified this myself (I updated from a unpruned version of Classic to Bitcoin Unlimited on my Mac following the process that Danny described and had no problem).  I don't see why being on 0.14 would matter, but again I haven't verified that myself.  

If you want more info about the code-level details of BU, the best people to talk to are sickpig, thezerg, freetrader and Peter Tschipper (bitsenbytes), who can all be pinged at bitco.in or on Reddit.

That would be very helpful.  We need simple and easy to understand guides to make people more comfortable migrating from Core to BU on all the various platforms. 

I have it on my desktop unzipped and not installed.
Just waiting to see what happens next to the core and this saturated long times for confirmations.
Once it is done with I will might end up installing it and using it after all having it on my desktop for soo long since last December.

Thanks all for the info. I think I'll try upgrading my linux mining node first using compiled code. My 2 GH/s U2+ asic hasn't got lucky yet, so no risk there to see what it looks like!

After running BU on an Ubuntu dev & test system for several months, I upgraded my production OS X node/wallet (the one that I trust with the bulk of my BTC) from Core 0.11.1 to BU 0.12.1. BU just happily used the bitcoin.conf & database dirs (and all other 'work' files) that Core had already been using. No pain. Only issue was in opening inbound connections - which ended up being a Tor config issue.

Migrated linux nodes from core 0.13.2 to unlimited 1.0.1.0. No issues whatsoever.

Looks like a fork of the code from the core 0.12.x series, just before the segwit technical debt bloat was added.

Some nice little BU configuration options, can set send/receive bandwidth limits if you don't want to max out your internet connection.

Nice little TPS counter in the mempool statistics too, can't remember that being there in core.  8)

Windows binary updated from precompiled installer without issue too. The migration procedure is just like updating bitcoin core at the moment.

Nice little earner on offer from Peter R.

What Franky pointed out staying on an older version of core that keeps Free Transaction Relay and Priority Transactions also known as Coinage would be a valid reason to not upgrade at this point in time.

The calculation priority = sum(input_value_in_base_units * input_age)/size_in_bytes
Will be removed from this edition forward
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Transaction_fees#Priority_transactions
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Free_transaction_relay_policy

From 0.14.0 Release notes
Support for “priority” (coin age) transaction sorting for mining is considered deprecated in Core and will be removed in the next major version
https://bitcoin.org/en/release/v0.14.0

In my own opinion the best choice would be to upgrade your bitcoin core than to shift to bitcoin unlimited. Bitcoin unlimited has so many flaws and the consensus on using Bitcoin Unlimited did not come to be realized as yet. And so not until there is a clear consensus I suggest that you should just upgrade your core. But I dont have to really place my opinion on you and in the end its up to you as to what will be your decision.

Decision made and I have switched to Bitcoin Unlimited. I can always switch back.

What are these flaws you talk about? People just seem to say it has flaws without any technical explanation behind it.

If you want to migrate to alt better choose Litecoin, Unlimitedcoin reportedly has too many flaws because it's controlled by some rascals like Roger ver and it's just a toy for chinese miners

Please read above comment:


My current thoughts are (which I am entitled to change my mind about):

1. Bigger block sizes. More users. Bitcoin (BTC).
2. Status quo. Users restricted to big bag holders who can pay huge fees. Exclusive Bitcoin (EBC).
3. Those who believe in the Segwit/LN off-chain scaling services. Bitcoin Derivative Coin (BDC).

1. Seems closer to the original vision to my current understanding, which is why I call it bitcoin and give the others alt coin names.