Whole Bitcoin Core 0.15 blockchain database on Google Drive

[LoyceV]

"PRUNED TO a RAM drive" - that's the key to your success,as I understand it.

Try to download the full 160Gb (not pruned) blockchain from the start, then tell us how much time it has taken you

Of course that's the key, but my point is still valid: it all depends on your PC.
Downloading to an SSD is much faster than downloading to a hdd.

That being said, my test also showed downloading a pruned chain on ramdrive did less blocks per minute than downloading blocks to my full chain on hdd. It took 70 seconds for 11 hours of blocks, that's about 1 block per second (see my test).
I don't really want to spend the time to do a full test, but from this small test, I extrapolate I can download a full blockchain to my hdd in 2-3 days.

I have no experience on Windows though, especially a system low on RAM can take much longer.

[1713481395]

1713481395

[1713481395]

1713481395

[Bestcoin-fan]

"PRUNED TO a RAM drive" - that's the key to your success,as I understand it.

Try to download the full 160Gb (not pruned) blockchain from the start, then tell us how much time it has taken you

Of course that's the key, but my point is still valid: it all depends on your PC.
Downloading to an SSD is much faster than downloading to a hdd.

That being said, my test also showed downloading a pruned chain on ramdrive did less blocks per minute than downloading blocks to my full chain on hdd. It took 70 seconds for 11 hours of blocks, that's about 1 block per second (see my test).
I don't really want to spend the time to do a full test, but from this small test, I extrapolate I can download a full blockchain to my hdd in 2-3 days.

I have no experience on Windows though, especially a system low on RAM can take much longer.

All of the time all of my own main components (CPU, RAM, download bandwidth) were busy at 2-5% (peak loads 10-12%). My ONLY possible bottleneck could have been the hdd which was a pretty fast 7200 rpm, but still a usual hard drive (not SSD).
But! Trying to figure out why the download was so slow at a moment I copied all Bitcoin Core 0.14.2 (already downloaded) data directories into a fast USB 3.0 128 Gb flash drive.  The syncing process did become a little bit faster, but not significantly!
So, I am still sure the bottleneck can be anywhere but never inside my PC or my internet channel.

I assume it was insufficient number of other WIDE UPLOAD bandwidth, accepting incoming connections full Bitcoin Core nodes.

[LoyceV]

All of the time all of my own main components (CPU, RAM, download bandwidth) were busy at 2-5% (peak loads 10-12%). My ONLY possible bottleneck could have been the hdd which was a pretty fast 7200 rpm, but still a usual hard drive (not SSD).
But! Trying to figure out why the download was so slow at a moment I copied all Bitcoin Core 0.14.2 (already downloaded) data directories into a fast USB 3.0 128 Gb flash drive.  The syncing process did become a little bit faster, but not significantly!
So, I am still sure the bottleneck can be anywhere but never inside my PC or my internet channel.

There was someone else earlier (see my test-link) having the same problem on Windows, and he eventually moved his pruned blockchain to a RAM-drive. That solved his problem.
If you haven't checked the number of read/write-actions to your hdd, you can't rule it out from being the bottleneck.

I'm no export on Windows, but as far as I know most flash drives don't use write cache (to be safe when you suddenly unplug it).

I assume it was insufficient number of other WIDE UPLOAD bandwidth, accepting incoming connections full Bitcoin Core nodes.

That's not what I experienced. A very simple way to test it: when you start your download, and blocks are still small, there's much less checking per block. At that point I download at the maximum speed my internet connection can deliver. It only slows down later, when blocks require more checking.

[Bestcoin-fan]

Yes, I've been using windows (10, x64) Bitcoin Core version.
But I have always intentionally enabled write cash for removable drives

[Spendulus]

Why would anyone trust them with something that poses a threat to their future ambitions.

Friend, what kind of threat can you see here?
I assure you, Google Drive would never replace my files, or do other similar meanness)
So, download safely (if you haven't started your full Bitcoin Core node yet) and don't worry about anything you mentioned

First, you didn't understand about how a signature of the file directory is the only verification.

Now, again, you stand on a position of perceived threats, and assure people as to that they should TRUST google.

But you make these assertions with respect to Bitcoin, which is defined as a peer to peer method of exchanging money WITHOUT TRUST.

I'm seeing a little conflict there.

Opinion?

[Bestcoin-fan]

But you make these assertions with respect to Bitcoin, which is defined as a peer to peer method of exchanging money WITHOUT TRUST.

I'm seeing a little conflict there.

Opinion?

I suggest a little flexibility of mind and common sense.

The main idea is to fully realize the great importance of a greater number (the more the better) of Bitcoin Core full nodes in the network.

And to start as many full nodes as possible, as quickly as possible, and to exclude the trust factor, you may simply instruct your Bitcoin Core wallet application to just re-index the downloaded database. Yes, it is a pretty long process too, but it is still very much faster than downloading the full blockchain (as I've known windows systems seem to be more conserned about this)

[cellard]

I like the initiative of making Bitcoin Core nodes set up faster, but unfortunately, I don't think it's safe to download the Bitcoin blockchain from anywhere in the world but through the client itself as it validates it.

If you download it from a 3rd party, you risk that the blockchain has been somehow modified. The only way to know they are the exact same files as the ones being delivered by the client itself is through a checksum of sorts, but you would need to trust someone else to do that too.

Maybe im too paranoid, but I would rather go through the annoying process of downloading it myself on the Bitcoin Core client even if it's slower.

[Bestcoin-fan]

I like the initiative of making Bitcoin Core nodes set up faster, but unfortunately, I don't think it's safe to download the Bitcoin blockchain from anywhere in the world but through the client itself as it validates it.

If you download it from a 3rd party, you risk that the blockchain has been somehow modified. The only way to know they are the exact same files as the ones being delivered by the client itself is through a checksum of sorts, but you would need to trust someone else to do that too.

Maybe im too paranoid, but I would rather go through the annoying process of downloading it myself on the Bitcoin Core client even if it's slower.

You are certainly right on the whole.

Maybe that post might be a solution? See here:

I have tested the archive, so you may download safely.

Just playing devil's advocate here..

That's great that you've "tested the archive"... But how can we "test" you? A "member" with 70 odd posts...

What guarantee do we have that this Blockchain is "legit"... Other than you word?

As far as I understand, you can just install Bitcoin Core and -rescan the database:

Code:

bitcoin -rescan # or any Windows equivalent

Assuming you download a legit Bitcoin Core, it will verify all blocks on your disk and you can be absolutely sure you have a legit blockchain.

That being said, I wouldn't use this myself, I'm totally fine letting Bitcoin Core download it's own blocks.

Secondly, I wrote a great number of posts in  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2303869 explaining :
how long I had to be waiting (weeks) till my Bitcoin Core 0.14.2 fully synced itself at last. And the bottleneck was NOT in any way related to my PC or internet bandwidth.

As a test, I recently downloaded a full blockchain (pruned to a RAM drive) in less than 24 hours, on a several years old PC with an average internet connection. Given the fact that I can do this, your bottleneck must be related to your PC or internet connection.

[Spendulus]

.....
Secondly, I wrote a great number of posts in  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2303869 explaining :
how long I had to be waiting (weeks) till my Bitcoin Core 0.14.2 fully synced itself at last. And the bottleneck was NOT in any way related to my PC or internet bandwidth.

Maybe there's a shitload of viruses slowing your system down as they inject themselves into everything that's outward bound?

[Bestcoin-fan]

Maybe there's a shitload of viruses slowing your system down as they inject themselves into everything that's outward bound?

I have been in IT technologies for years (database programming, system administration, etc.), so I assure you my computers, smartphones, etc all are absolutely free from any viruses or malware of any sort

[onurgozupek]

It's a good idea to keep a copy of the Bitcoin blockchain on a cloud drive and it will definitely be faster to download the whole chain rather than synchronising it from nodes.

[ZipReg]

I am a bitcoin noob, however, I am not a best practice data retention noob   so the first thing I did after getting my bitcoin core install fully synced today? I compressed it and backed it up.

The whole 160gb compressed down to 116gb in 25 dvd sized file library. It took like 4 hours to compress.

You never know when you might need to recover due to unforeseen events / failure.

As far as storing it on google, I wouldn't personally use them.

I would also note there is a test function (t in 7z) that will confirm the integrity of an archive, but this does not confirm the integrity of the contents inside have not been tampered with before compression, only that the archive itself is intact.

7z t archive.name

[Spendulus]

Maybe there's a shitload of viruses slowing your system down as they inject themselves into everything that's outward bound?

I have been in IT technologies for years (database programming, system administration, etc.), so I assure you my computers, smartphones, etc all are absolutely free from any viruses or malware of any sort

Mathematical proofs of the integrity of data are required.

Please stop with the "Trust me" game.

Nobody is fooled by it.

[Erelas]

Caveat, I'll never be fluent in crypto anything to hold my own, but...

The initiative shown by the OP in making the blockchain available like this (trusting Google or not) is admirable, sometimes you just have to do something.

Reading thru most of the comments, especially those that mention "trust / trustless" always kind of makes me grin, the mathematics behind the blockchain is the only thing that is trustless about cryptocurrency, the rest is very much based on trust.  Maybe that's just me being picky over semantics, meh.

[Spendulus]

Caveat, I'll never be fluent in crypto anything to hold my own, but...

The initiative shown by the OP in making the blockchain available like this (trusting Google or not) is admirable, sometimes you just have to do something.

Reading thru most of the comments, especially those that mention "trust / trustless" always kind of makes me grin, the mathematics behind the blockchain is the only thing that is trustless about cryptocurrency, the rest is very much based on trust.  Maybe that's just me being picky over semantics, meh.

Okay, so this phraseology....pulled from a standard known download location for Core....

You can also use Bitcoin Core as a very secure Bitcoin wallet.
Latest stable version: 0.15.0 (September 2017) [BitTorrent]
You MUST verify the integrity of this software before running it.

Should be changed to...

You can also use Bitcoin Core as a very secure Bitcoin wallet.
Latest stable version: 0.15.0 (September 2017) [BitTorrent]
Don't worry about the integrity of the software, trust us.

[Bestcoin-fan]

My archive consists of the blockchain database data only.

The Bitcoin Core 0.15.0.1 wallet application should be downloaded exclusively(!)  from the official site:

https://bitcoin.org/en/download

[LoyceV]

You can also use Bitcoin Core as a very secure Bitcoin wallet.
Latest stable version: 0.15.0 (September 2017) [BitTorrent]
You MUST verify the integrity of this software before running it.

Should be changed to...

You can also use Bitcoin Core as a very secure Bitcoin wallet.
Latest stable version: 0.15.0 (September 2017) [BitTorrent]
Don't worry about the integrity of the software, trust us.

Anybody who knows anything about security would never say "trust me".
You must have heard this phrase before:

[Spendulus]

You can also use Bitcoin Core as a very secure Bitcoin wallet.
Latest stable version: 0.15.0 (September 2017) [BitTorrent]
You MUST verify the integrity of this software before running it.

Should be changed to...

You can also use Bitcoin Core as a very secure Bitcoin wallet.
Latest stable version: 0.15.0 (September 2017) [BitTorrent]
Don't worry about the integrity of the software, trust us.

Anybody who knows anything about security would never say "trust me".
You must have heard this phrase before:

That Bitcoin (and many other potential blockchain applications) are trustless protocols is a key concept.

Here I simply apply this principle to the issue of downloading a database.

[Spendulus]

My archive consists of the blockchain database data only.

The Bitcoin Core 0.15.0.1 wallet application should be downloaded exclusively(!)  from the official site:

https://bitcoin.org/en/download

And THEN the signature checked, to validate the downloaded copy, before installation.

[Bestcoin-fan]

My archive consists of the blockchain database data only.

The Bitcoin Core 0.15.0.1 wallet application should be downloaded exclusively(!)  from the official site:

https://bitcoin.org/en/download

And THEN the signature checked, to validate the downloaded copy, before installation.

Tell me please, exactly what should I do (brief yet step-by-step guide) to provide you with the signatures for the database I uploaded to the Google drives?