problems running headless bitcoind

[OldSpurty]

Hello, and thanks in advance for any help

I am currently trying to get a headless bitcoin server running on ubuntu server 12.04. Running into a few problems, and wondering a couple things about how the headless client works. I used the method here to get a copy of the block chain faster: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=117982.0

Since I want to use a disk different from the boot device for storage and to not generate coins, I have been using this command:
     
     user@computer:~$ bitcoind -daemon -datadir=/mnt/storageraid/.bitcoin/ -gen=0 -rescan

which results in -

     user@computer:~$ bitcoin server starting

Is this how I should enter the command, and is this what the program should look like running? how do I know if the client has an up-to-date block chain?

I also have been receiving errors when I try to do things like bitcoind getinfo:

     user@computer:~$ bitcoind getinfo
     error: incorrect rpcuser or rpcpassword (authorization failed)
     user@computer:~$

I have put the following into my .bitcoin/bitcoin.conf file:

     rpcuser=dude
     rpcpassword=guest

am I supposed to include those when I enter the command?

Thanks for any help

[scintill]

I think your problem is the -datadir.  You tell your server to look in one datadir, then the "client" (bitcoind rpc command) uses a different default (as far as I can see from your examples.)  Make sure your desired username/password are in /mnt/storageraid/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf , and add -datadir=/mnt/storageraid/.bitcoin/ to the "bitcoind getinfo" command.

You can see informational messages in /mnt/storageraid/.bitcoin/debug.log which should help you diagnose how the syncing is going, etc.

[OldSpurty]

That does the trick alright.... I'm not sure why I thought I wouldn't need to specify the altered directory for get info... feel a little dumb.

Thank you very much for your very helpful, and incredibly fast response.

[Abdussamad]

Create an alias so you don't have to type the whole thing every time you want to getinfo.

[OldSpurty]

The reason I want to move the block chain data is to save the limited space of my SSD boot device, and just keep the block chain data on the bulk storage volume. It seems like it would be best to have the program run out of the home directory, and use an alias to relocate only the block chain data.

If I am going to do this, what file(s) should I move? If possible, I would like to have it set up such that the up-to-date block chain could be copied from only /mnt/storageraid, and not access the home directory at all.

Thanks again for everyone's help, it is very much appreciated

[Abdussamad]

The reason I want to move the block chain data is to save the limited space of my SSD boot device, and just keep the block chain data on the bulk storage volume. It seems like it would be best to have the program run out of the home directory, and use an alias to relocate only the block chain data.

If I am going to do this, what file(s) should I move? If possible, I would like to have it set up such that the up-to-date block chain could be copied from only /mnt/storageraid, and not access the home directory at all.

Thanks again for everyone's help, it is very much appreciated

An alias can't relocate anything. By alias I mean bash alias. A short name for a longer command. For example:

alias btcdstart="/home/bitcoin/bitcoind start"

Google bash alias and you'll understand what I mean.

[OldSpurty]

I was mistaken about what we were talking about. Let me see if I have it right now:

An alias would let me make whatever command I want equivalent to bitcoind -datadir=/mnt/storageraid/.bitcoin/ getinfo

What I thought you were talking about, and what I meant in my last post is a link, not an alias.

I am hoping to run bitcoind in the home directory (the default), and replace block data like blk00001.dat with a link to /mnt/storageraid/.bitcoinstuff/blk00001.dat

I am not sure if this will work as I am expecting, and I also do not know what all files I would need to relocate and link to achieve this.

Thanks again, and sorry about the confusion

[Abdussamad]

The simplest way to do what you are trying to accomplish would be to replace the entire ~/.bitcoin directory with a symlink to a directory in /mnt/whatever:

so first shutdown bitcoind:

bitcoind stop

then move .bitcoin over:

mv ~/.bitcoin /mnt/whatever

Then symlink to the new location

ln -s -d /mnt/whatever ~/.bitcoin