Bitcoin Core version 0.12.0 released

[BitcoinFX]

Automatically use Tor hidden services
-------------------------------------

Starting with Tor version 0.2.7.1 it is possible, through Tor's control socket
API, to create and destroy 'ephemeral' hidden services programmatically.
Bitcoin Core has been updated to make use of this.

I understand that this brings no benefit to those of us who are already using tor, correct? "Using tor" like in:

...

This feature could be of more use in the future, especially if individual nodes will run 'dual stack' i.e. on clearnet and through Tor.

I've started a thread on that basis here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1374919.0

- How-to Guide: Set-up Tor on Linux (Ubuntu) and connect Bitcoin
 

[Denker]

Awesome!
Downloaded and running it now.
Runs quick and pretty smooth.
Great work by the devs.Thanks for that!

[BitcoinFX]

All great improvements and new features, but it lacks the one we need the most, moar transactions!

As a general rule, if/when one starts to run out of space, one probably does require some more space!   
 

[gmaxwell]

They removed the --with-libressl build option.

This option was removed because the only purpose it served was to override _disabling_ building with libressl, now that OpenSSL's exact behavior is no longer normative to the Bitcoin consensus. Libressl builds are no longer disabled by default.



commit 59783884766d00866e190ba5ae761916e932df10
Author: Wladimir J. van der Laan <laanwj@gmail.com>
Date:   Mon Sep 28 16:06:38 2015 +0200

    build: remove libressl check
   
    Now that BIP66 passed, OpenSSL is no longer directly part of the
    consensus. What matters is that DER signatures are correctly parsed, and
    secp256k1 crypto is implemented correctly (as well as the other
    functions we use from OpenSSL, such as random number generation)
   
    This means that effectively, using LibreSSL is not a larger risk than
    using another version of OpenSSL.
   
    Remove the specific check for LibreSSL.
   
    Includes the still-relevant part of #6729: make sure CHECK_HEADER is
    called using the right CXXFLAGS, not CFLAGS (as AC_LANG is c++).

[Icon]

So got a question from a wallet user, should i:

a.) run in prune mode all the time  (leave qt running all the time)

b.) run qt only when i need to access my wallet

All i want is fast access to my 5 year old wallet with 100 transactions in it, included my 2 mined blocks from 2011.

Currently running a full node with port blocked on a poor netbook and  a usb hd, takes ~ 1 hour to re sync to access my wallet.

What is the minimum download data i will need if i shut down the qt and load it 6 months later to access my wallet running in prune mode?

Thanks

Icon

[achow101]

So got a question from a wallet user, should i:

a.) run in prune mode all the time  (leave qt running all the time)

b.) run qt only when i need to access my wallet

All i want is fast access to my 5 year old wallet with 100 transactions in it, included my 2 mined blocks from 2011.

Currently running a full node with port blocked on a poor netbook and  a usb hd, takes ~ 1 hour to re sync to access my wallet.

What is the minimum download data i will need if i shut down the qt and load it 6 months later to access my wallet running in prune mode?

Thanks

Icon

Pruning does not effect the amount of data downloaded, so pruning would not help you at all, you would still need to fully sync by downloading all of the blocks. It is just that you won't be storing all of those blocks.

[Icon]

With 0.12 it is possible to use wallet functionality in pruned mode.
This can reduce the disk usage from currently around 60 GB to
around 2 GB.

Just to clarify whats the difference between downloading and storing?

Seems to me  i will only need to "download" 2 gb of data in order to access wallet.

Icon

[achow101]

With 0.12 it is possible to use wallet functionality in pruned mode.
This can reduce the disk usage from currently around 60 GB to
around 2 GB.

Just to clarify whats the difference between downloading and storing?

Seems to me  i will only need to "download" 2 gb of data in order to access wallet.

Icon

Downloading is the amount of data that passes through your network. Storing is actually writing that data to the disk to be permanent.

Think of it this way. You are downloading all 60 Gb of the blockchain and then 58 Gb of it is deleted. This is essentially what happens, except it happens on the fly so that you don't need 60 Gb of space, it deletes old blocks as new blocks come in so that at any time, the most storage space actually used is 2 Gb.

[nichu]

really interesting and cool to know abt the new version. will test that later for sure

[1Referee]

I have installed the 0.12.0 version and finally I am healed from the ultra slow block syncing that I was suffering from in the previous updates. That's a great step forwards to me.

[Icon]

Ya testing it on desktop computer as i type this, i did notice, its doing a week of a work under 10 seconds so ya its like downloading 60 gb of data and only storing the last 2 gb so that answers my question, best to keep the qt running 24/7.

Thanks for the help

Icon

[Mikestang]

Wallet: Pruning
---------------

With 0.12 it is possible to use wallet functionality in pruned mode.
This can reduce the disk usage from currently around 60 GB to
around 2 GB.

However, rescans as well as the RPCs `importwallet`, `importaddress`,
`importprivkey` are disabled.

To enable block pruning set `prune=<N>` on the command line or in
`bitcoin.conf`, where `N` is the number of MiB to allot for
raw block & undo data.

A value of 0 disables pruning. The minimal value above 0 is 550. Your
wallet is as secure with high values as it is with low ones. Higher
values merely ensure that your node will not shut down upon blockchain
reorganizations of more than 2 days - which are unlikely to happen in
practice. In future releases, a higher value may also help the network
as a whole: stored blocks could be served to other nodes.

For further information about pruning, you may also consult the [release
notes of v0.11.0](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/v0.11.0/doc/release-notes.md#block-file-pruning).

I think this might be the most anticipated change among general users of core (some of these changes are too technical for my, and I'm a fairly tech-savy person).  I'll probably try a pruned wallet on one node just to see how it feels vs. my full node.

[Icon]

well got a question (again) and a comment, first the question, can i run 2 qt nodes on the same pc at the same time (ie 1 pruned 1 full node) in different locations of course, want to keep a "full" node just in case, also love the prune version, it picks up right were it left off at. But was afraid the 2 data streams might get confused, windows register error or something running 2 of the same qt at once, any thoughts?

Thanks Core Team

Icon


Ah got a problem, just tried loading a wallet.dat file of my hot wallet and reloading in prune mode, got an error says cant access wallet.dat goes past its 2 gb limit and i need to reindex, thought that was the whole point of the .12 update and wallet users being able to access our wallets..  Am i doing something wrong?

[achow101]

well got a question (again) and a comment, first the question, can i run 2 qt nodes on the same pc at the same time (ie 1 pruned 1 full node) in different locations of course, want to keep a "full" node just in case, also love the prune version, it picks up right were it left off at. But was afraid the 2 data streams might get confused, windows register error or something running 2 of the same qt at once, any thoughts?

Thanks Core Team

Icon

It is possible, just that you need to use a separate data directories and if you want to have incoming connections to both, one of them will need to listen on a port different from 8333 in order to accept incoming connections.

Ah got a problem, just tried loading a wallet.dat file of my hot wallet and reloading in prune mode, got an error says cant access wallet.dat goes past its 2 gb limit and i need to reindex, thought that was the whole point of the .12 update and wallet users being able to access our wallets..  Am i doing something wrong?

The problem with pruning is that if you load a wallet whose latest sync height is older than the oldest block you have, you will need to re-download the entire blockchain in order to be able to rescan it and make sure that any transactions that occurred in the blocks between your wallet's latest block and your oldest pruned block. However, the idea is that you won't be loading new wallets into a pruned node and since it will pick up pruning and syncing from where it left off, this should never become a problem.

Your solution, since you have a full node as well, is to just load the wallet into the full node, let it sync, then close it and load it into the pruned node.

[Icon]

Are you talking about loading my hot wallet.dat file into the full node sync it. Then prune it , leaving the wallet.dat file in the data folder all the time?
If so don't want to do that my cold wallet is older and has stored btc in it, that i want "offline".

So is there anyway to use an cold wallet/offline in prune mode seeing it wont be loaded for long periods of time?

Thanks

Icon

[achow101]

Are you talking about loading my hot wallet.dat file into the full node sync it. Then prune it , leaving the wallet.dat file in the data folder all the time?

No, you should load your hot wallet into the full node to sync it. Then move it from your full node to your pruned node and start your pruned node. It should work then.

If so don't want to do that my cold wallet is older and has stored btc in it, that i want "offline".

So is there anyway to use an cold wallet/offline in prune mode seeing it wont be loaded for long periods of time?

Thanks

Icon

So long as when you have your cold wallet and pruned node go offline that they are both synced to the same height. Once you bring them back online, then they will automatically sync. However, if you just have your cold wallet offline and your pruned node online, then your pruned node will need to redownload and rescan in order to be able to spend from your cold wallet.

[Icon]

Think i got it, guess i should had know better Thanks for all the help.

Icon

[LouisVuitton]

Upgraded earlier, everything seems to be ok.

[Jet Cash]

I've had no problems with loading 0.12.0, and it does seem to be a bit faster. I'm still limited to 8 peers, but the interesting thing is - I've got 2 on 0.12.0, 2 running classic, and 4 running old Satoshi software. I hope this means that we will go forward with core.

[bitpop]

I understand that this brings no benefit to those of us who are already using tor, correct? "Using tor" like in:

Code:

onion=127.0.0.1:443
externalip=bk5ejfe56xakvtkk.onion
listen=1

I want to continue doing it manually. Will these settings give me back control?

Also any word on PPA?