A scaled up spam experiment : #SpamTheBlockchain As A Service

[Nicolas Dorier]

not me, I'm late at doing the site. Ended up learning TypeScript (because I wanted to try on the project) instead of doing the work. :/

[amaclin]

not me, I'm late at doing the site. Ended up learning TypeScript (because I wanted to try on the project) instead of doing the work. :/

I am also too lazy to program useless things 
Just for the intention of those people who say that the number of txs grows.

[fbueller]

I thought I saw something about this on the mailing list earlier, there seems to be a company carrying it out on mainnet. At least they have the funds for it

[JorgeStolfi]

I thought I saw something about this on the mailing list earlier, there seems to be a company carrying it out on mainnet. At least they have the funds for it

https://np.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/3agk61/ultimate_bitcoin_stress_test_monday_june_22nd/

[JorgeStolfi]

There is a suspicion that the Coinwallet.eu "stress test" is actually a scam:

I believe we have our first scammer organizing a Bitcoin stress test
http://np.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/3ahl43/i_believe_we_have_our_first_scammer_organizing_a/

[JorgeStolfi]

Some results of the test gleaned from this plot:

  Estimated network capacity:  85 kB/min

  Typical input tx rate before test: 30--50 kB/min

  Typical queue size before test: 300--600 kB

  Peak input tx rate during test: 126 kB/min (~3x normal, ~50% over capacity)

  Peak queue sizes during peak test: 12 MB (14:00), 14 MB (21:30)

  Sustained input tx rate for several hours after peak: 70-100 kB/min

The test definitely showed that even a small player can create a large backlog with modest expense.

It showed that when the input transaction rate is close to the network capacity, even a small increase in that rate can create a huge backlog.   Between 18:00 and 21:30, when the input rate increased from ~75 kB/min to ~112 kB/min (a 50% increase), the queue grew from ~3 MB to ~14 MB (a 370% increase).

The previous stress test (on a late friday night) used only free transactions, so the fee-paying transactions were delayed only slightly. This one used fee-paying transactions: it will be interesting to see how it affected the ordinary fee-paying transactions.  I hope that someone will do a detailed analysis.

[bitcoinfees]

Thanks Jorge for the mini-analysis.  I'm the developer of that site.

The plot you linked is a dynamic one; so here is the static plot of that time interval:

https://i.imgur.com/dVzx0BL.png

And the same graph, but scaled for viewing of the tx byterate:

https://i.imgur.com/MEfBHg7.png

Some things to note (I should have added this on the site, ideally):

1. The tx byterate estimation is done using a exponential moving average, with a halflife of 1 hour.

2. The capacity byterate is given by

blockrate * expected max block size

where expectation is taken over the mining pools; estimates for pool max block size policies can be found here.

[NewLiberty]

Queueing, but no catastrophe so far...

[tspacepilot]

Queueing, but no catastrophe so far...

Most of the craziness went down yesterday.  I got caught in it and a standard transaction (with a standard fee) took 8 hours to confirm.  I read that these guys are planning on doing this again next Monday.  I, for one, will be avoiding sending transactions this next time and will enjoy it on the sidelines, with popcorn, where I should have been last time.

[Rampion]

Yesterday I made a few transactions with Bitcoin Core, with a moderate transaction fee ("estimated to begin confirmation within 12 blocks"). No drama whatsoever, all transactions confirmed within the next block.

I guess the network is more resilient than many think.

[tspacepilot]

Yesterday I made a few transactions with Bitcoin Core, with a moderate transaction fee ("estimated to begin confirmation within 12 blocks"). No drama whatsoever, all transactions confirmed within the next block.

I guess the network is more resilient than many think.

Did you happen to look at the size of the mempool at the moment you sent?  I'm pretty sure, based on the time in which you wrote "yesterday" that you actually missed the stress test by about 24 hours.  Nevertheless, even if you had been sending at the height of the congestion, obviously with a stochastic process your mileage may vary.  My experience, and yours, are merely anecdotal.  The big picture is what matters.

[Nicolas Dorier]

bitcoinfees, very useful, do you think to provide querying historical data ?
Can you provide a query format where we can select a particular the timespan ?

Once I get out from my procrastination zone, I want to make my spam site and just link to yours to provide the graphs.

[bitnanigans]

Why isn't the spam being tested on the testnet?

[Somekindabitcoin]

I'm guessing they want to try a real life situation. Basically trying to show the weakness you may face when buying or selling things.

In this case, they're screwing everyone up with their experimentation.