P2Pool Question

[AmDD]

Quick simple question here...

The idea of P2Pool is that each miner is his own 'pool' correct? I know that may not be the correct terms, but each miner runs its own p2pool software and bitcoin client, right?

Other miners can then also connect to this p2pool you setup and mine like any other pool, correct? Or am I way off base here?

[1714952591]

1714952591

[1714952591]

1714952591

[1714952591]

1714952591

[forrestv]

That's correct. Most people don't have others connecting to their P2Pool instance, though - they just run it for their own miners.

[twmz]

P2Pool is sort of a single pool made up of many distributed servers (vs a traditional pool that has only a few centralized servers).  Miners have to connect to one of the many distributed p2pool servers.  It might be their own, or it might be someone else's.  Each node is not really its own 'pool' though in the sense that rewards are shared by everyone across all nodes when a block is found (and not just shared between the people mining at the particular node at which the block was found).

A longer explaination:  http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/3626/what-is-the-p2pool/3627#3627

[AmDD]

That helps, thanks guys! Im going to dig deeper into this...

[spartacusrex]

Hi,

Like the look of p2pool.. 

I understand that p2pool is DOS resistant and HOP proof but can some one explain how it manages to mitigate the 51% attack ?

Is it because the sharechain it uses is so much faster that you would need 90% (or more..) of the hashrate to overrun that chain ?

So basically IF everyone was using p2pool we would only be vulnerable to a 90% attack ?

?

[sagiko]

I also wonder what are the main benefits of connecting to others p2pool server instead of just using your local servers?

[maqifrnswa]

Hi,

Like the look of p2pool..  

I understand that p2pool is DOS resistant and HOP proof but can some one explain how it manages to mitigate the 51% attack ?

Is it because the sharechain it uses is so much faster that you would need 90% (or more..) of the hashrate to overrun that chain ?

So basically IF everyone was using p2pool we would only be vulnerable to a 90% attack ?

?

p2pool is kind of immune to the 51% attack problem because p2pool doesn't decide what goes in a block (what work to serve), individual users do. Since centralized pools choose what work gets sent to miners, a nefarious pool operator can pull off a 51% attack. p2pool is "dumb" and blindly assigns work based on whatever bitcoind serves it, so there is no centralized way of p2pool coordinating a 51% attack.