Remote bitcoind?

[HeroC]

I was wondering if there is a possible way to have Armory on my computer and Bitcoin-QT/bitcoind on a Raspberry Pi or another computer? I am trying to accomplish the same goal as this post, but didn't want to necro it. Thanks!

[Ente]

For anyone who asks this question:

No.

Communication with Qt is done through the RPC server, however (don't quote me on this) I think it is hardcoded to localhost. Assuming you get accross this hurdle (or that I'm wrong), you still need to give Armory the raw block chain files path. Through a network share, I assume.

Close!  Armory actually doesn't use the RPC connection, it connects as a regular peer through localhost.  Some people have problems with this because they assume it's RPC, and setup their bitcoin.conf to only accept connections from certain IPs, thinking that Armory will sidestep it through RPC. 

However, it only uses that connection for new blocks and transactions.  It still relies on the BTC_HOME_DIR/blocks/blk*.dat files to read the past blockchain history.  Now that Armory is maintaining its own database, I can transition off of using the blk*.dat files and only use the peer connection.  But there may be some hurdles there:

(1) Bitcoin-Qt/bitcoind cutting me off because I'm demanding too many resources and it blacklists me
(2) Please dear god do not connect Armory to an untrusted node!.  You will die a fiery death.  Armory does absolutely no blockchain validation: it is designed to use that connection as its secure gateway.   

I want to eventually allow remote connections, but then also make it painfully obvious that there is a serious risk involved.  You might even want to use some kind of SSL to make sure you remote connection is not intercepted.  None of this matters though when it's forced to use localhost...

With the current blockchain size, I would like such a secure option to be implemented.
My desktop uses a 120 GB SSD, 80 GB are used by Bitcoin-core and Armory. And I have a 24/7 node running elsewhere anyway. So I'd love to cut my local storage needs.
I will either soon upgrade my SSD solely for Armory, or donate to someone to implement this feature, or quit Armory (just kidding here).
Which is funny, as I upgraded my ram solely for Armory before the patch :-)

Ente

[HeroC]

Thanks for the Reply! I would also love for that feature to be implemented, and I will definitely not connect to a host other than my own. Too bad it isn't ready yet... Do you know if there is a GitHub ticket for it?  I don't want to make one if there already is.

[goatpig]

Litenode will probably be implemented before blocks over P2P. Among other things, it will give you the ability to run a server on a machine somewhere in your NAT, and use litenode clients on every other machines.

[HeroC]

Glad to see something is in the work for it! I imagine I will be able to run a Litenode server on the Pi, and client on the desktop? Is there an estimated release version or date for it? Thanks!

[Ente]

Litenode will probably be implemented before blocks over P2P. Among other things, it will give you the ability to run a server on a machine somewhere in your NAT, and use litenode clients on every other machines.

Oh, nice!
Would the UI of such a litenode be the same I am used to now? With multiple wallets and the like?
And, wait, I'll only need bitcoin-core and Armory-server on the other machine? Yay, 80GB off my client!

Aah, so many great things coming! New wallet format, litemode, hurry up and get more developers for this! :-D

Ente

[goatpig]

I imagine I will be able to run a Litenode server on the Pi, and client on the desktop?

Technically you could manage to run a fullnode Armory on a RPi with 0.94 system req, but I wouldn't recommend it, and it's not a priority. At least meet me halfway and make it a Pi2 =P

Would the UI of such a litenode be the same I am used to now? With multiple wallets and the like?
And, wait, I'll only need bitcoin-core and Armory-server on the other machine? Yay, 80GB off my client!

One server, N clients. The UI won't change one bit, this is at 99% an internal change.

Is there an estimated release version or date for it?

No target version yet. Most likely the change will get its own dedicated release, and it's possible the new wallets will be done first, and that feature is getting a dedicate release too. It's first come first served at this point. There isn't much to talk about yet. So far the design phase is done and I'll be implementing this myself.