Synchronization

[BitKid]

I wonder this sync thing does ever end? It has used nearly 16 GB of internet traffic and the progress bar is less than 20%!!! 32 weeks behind and every week takes longer time. The last 4 weeks from 37 to 33 took nearly 4 GB of download! and since it has been getting larger week by week so i guess another 1 TB of data is needed for remaining 32 weeks, right?!

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[jnagyjr]

each block is bigger than the last so yeah, each block will take longer to validate. Once it's done it's done, though, unless you nuke the local copy. Then you'll start all over again. It took me, give or take, about 48 hours to first sync the blockchain.

[pedrog]

This will help if you're doing a fresh install:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=145386.0

[DannyHamilton]

each block is bigger than the last

This is not necessarily true.  Some blocks are bigger, others are smaller.

so yeah, each block will take longer to validate.

Some take longer, some take shorter.  But overall, there is a lot more transactions to validate in the most recent 3 months than there were in the first 3 months of bitcoin's existence

Once it's done it's done, though, unless you nuke the local copy.

Actually, every time you shut down, you'll need to re-synchronize to catch back up with any new blocks that have been created since you shut down.  The longer you have it shut down, the longer the synchronization will take when you start it back up again.

Then you'll start all over again. It took me, give or take, about 48 hours to first sync the blockchain.

Your time may very depending on the speed of your internet connection, the speed of your computer, the amount of RAM you have, the speed of disk access.

I wonder this sync thing does ever end?

It should eventually catch up, but it will continue downloading new blocks forever as they are created, and you'll have to sync any blocks that you miss if you shut down.

It has used nearly 16 GB of internet traffic and the progress bar is less than 20%!!!

I'm surprised at the amount of internet usage.  The blockchain when fully synchronized should be less than 15 GB on your hard drive right now.

[BitKid]

thanks for the replies. i've closed the program on 32 weeks for now. the size of block folder (%appdata%\Bitcoin\blocks) is 5.32 GB, but i'm sure it has used more than 15 GB of internet traffic. where has the rest of it gone?! please don't tell me to check my firewall or other app usage, i know it for certain! is there something like "wasted" in Bittorent?

[Kluge]

thanks for the replies. i've closed the program on 32 weeks for now. the size of block folder (%appdata%\Bitcoin\blocks) is 5.32 GB, but i'm sure it has used more than 15 GB of internet traffic. where has the rest of it gone?! please don't tell me to check my firewall or other app usage, i know it for certain! is there something like "wasted" in Bittorent?

It's possible you're acting as a "seed," passing on the blocks you've received to others. There's no way to limit how much bandwidth is used to share blocks in the client. If on Windows (unsure of compatibility on other OSes), you might want to consider an application like NetLimiter, which'd allow you both to limit UDP activity in Bitcoin and monitor how much bandwidth the client's consuming (it provides graphs for data collected over time, too -- practically essential for anyone on a capped connection to determine where the bandwidth hogs really are). For reference, the Bitcoin client shouldn't need more than a 1kb/s upload allotment to download the blockchain. Netlimiter's useful in quite a few other applications, too (I've been looking for a FOSS alternative for doze, though, if anyone knows of any).

If it really is downloading that much for so little good information, there's probably a problem with a peer sending you loads of bad data, or a RAM/HDD/connectivity problem on your side. It'd be interesting (and maybe useful) to learn more - but for your sake, you might want to consider using a lite client like Electrum.

[BitKid]

you might want to consider an application like NetLimiter, which'd allow you both to limit UDP activity in Bitcoin and monitor how much bandwidth the client's consuming

is it ok to block bitcoin on UDP port and just leave the TCP accessible?

[sasuke234]

yes it takes forever, just let it run overnight.

[will1982]

You can use a "light" wallet such as electrum

[jnagyjr]

You can use a "light" wallet such as electrum

Running a full wallet is more secure, though you might wind up deleting your own coins (forever) if you don't do proper backups.

[shuttleclock]

And why does downloading the whole blockchain on full wallet make it more secure than just using light wallet?

[Kluge]

you might want to consider an application like NetLimiter, which'd allow you both to limit UDP activity in Bitcoin and monitor how much bandwidth the client's consuming

is it ok to block bitcoin on UDP port and just leave the TCP accessible?

No, and that's why you'd want something which can limit bandwidth consumption on an application level like NetLimiter. BTC still has to fully communicate, you just don't want uploading blocks taking up all possible upload bandwidth of your connection.

[jnagyjr]

And why does downloading the whole blockchain on full wallet make it more secure than just using light wallet?

Your own hardware has verified all the blocks, plus all your addresses (and your coins) stay local to you. Using a light wallet, you are still essentially using an online wallet and have to trust others to not steal your BTC (not saying it'll happen, but I'm sure it has).

[orymh]

And why does downloading the whole blockchain on full wallet make it more secure than just using light wallet?

Your own hardware has verified all the blocks, plus all your addresses (and your coins) stay local to you. Using a light wallet, you are still essentially using an online wallet and have to trust others to not steal your BTC (not saying it'll happen, but I'm sure it has).

This isn't quite right. Your Bitcoins never really "stay local" - they're attached to addresses on the blockchain, and those addresses are everywhere a copy of the blockchain is.

What matters is your private keys. As long as your private keys are kept safe, your Bitcoins are safe, so you want a Bitcoin client that stores your private keys locally. MultiBit and Electrum both do this.

An online wallet that stores your private keys online (as most Bitcoin exchanges do) is higher risk, because somebody else theoretically could access your private keys without your knowledge.

[everwanna]

This will help if you're doing a fresh install:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=145386.0

thanks very much!

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=145386.msg1542846#msg1542846
this post in the thread is the best 

[nahtnam]

Why download the entire blockchain when you can just use a online wallet... Well I do use a online wallet but just for fun I have the full blockchain downloaded...