The Lightning Network FAQ

[DooMAD]

How much volume of transactions did Lightning have for those services last month, compared to its onchain counterpart? Are Lightning transactions increasing, month by month, giving more reason behind the utility of the Lightning Network? Or decreasing, giving reason to debate if the developers are just wasting their time or not?

the volume on lightning is not a public metric

Yeah, we'll never get a truly accurate sense of volume, just because of the levels of privacy inherent in Lightning.  Individual services can publish their own statistics if they choose to (but then we're reliant on the accuracy and honesty of those services).  Capacity is a slightly more accurate metric to report, but we can still only use that to guess the overall amount of activity happening.

[1713441520]

1713441520

[1713441520]

1713441520

[Rath_]

How much volume of transactions did Lightning have for those services last month, compared to its onchain counterpart?

A CTO of Bitfinex shared some data in June on Twitter.

Withdrawal stats (last ~24h timeframe)
~2.6 BTC withdrew via #LightningNetwork ⚡️ , across ~100 invoices
~3.7k BTC withdrew via #bitcoin mainchain, across ~600 outputs
[...]
~11BTC in deposits via #LightningNetwork ⚡️ in 24h (across ~1000 txs).
~1k BTC deposited via #bitcoin mainchain, across 500 inputs

Bitfinex has two Lightning nodes. They even share their current liquidity here. At the moment, they have ~90 BTC inbound capacity and ~311 BTC outbound capacity.

[Wind_FURY]

How much volume of transactions did Lightning have for those services last month, compared to its onchain counterpart? Are Lightning transactions increasing, month by month, giving more reason behind the utility of the Lightning Network? Or decreasing, giving reason to debate if the developers are just wasting their time or not?

the volume on lightning is not a public metric

Yeah, we'll never get a truly accurate sense of volume, just because of the levels of privacy inherent in Lightning.  Individual services can publish their own statistics if they choose to (but then we're reliant on the accuracy and honesty of those services).  Capacity is a slightly more accurate metric to report, but we can still only use that to guess the overall amount of activity happening.

OK, but can anyone in this topic assume that actual utility in the Lightning Network for users’ regular transactions is increasing? What is Bitcoin used mostly for? Sending to exchanges for trading, gambling, buying illegal drugs in the dark markets.

[ndalliard]

OK, but can anyone in this topic assume that actual utility in the Lightning Network for users’ regular transactions is increasing? What is Bitcoin used mostly for? Sending to exchanges for trading, gambling, buying illegal drugs in the dark markets.

i can assume that...    any source for the bolded sentence in the quote? or do you assume too?

[Roversee]

Hi guys, I am new here... Where is the post where the "Lightning network" was first proposed on this forum?

To inspire another member to do some work for you (in the event that s/he does not know the answer right of the top of his/her head), maybe you could explain some efforts (work) that you have already attempted in this matter, and maybe even through such efforts, you would end up finding the information that you are seeking and further be able to provide that information to the rest of us who are following this thread?  

Wow a hypothetical way to actually contribute value!!! rather than appearing as someone who merely is striving to cause work upon others.

I am sorry you got my question that way. You're right, I should have added more context, but I did say I am a beginner, and navigating this site, Github etc. can be difficult sometimes... I thought that this was the most appropriate place to ask such a question and thought that someone had an answer. I wasn't trying to inspire anyone to do any work for me. I have spent a lot of time the past 2 weeks reading about the technical sides of Bitcoin and getting myself familiar with the governance, and all the places where the community discusses technical details about bitcoin (so not places like Reddit). One thing that I found most confusing was the way BIP's are handled. I am still not quite sure where people have informal/formal discussions about new technical features of Bitcoin and where it is possible to follow them. The repo points to this forum and the IRC chat. I have been on the IRC chat for a few days and it is mostly inactive. At least, they do not have discussions about new features etc. I have subscribed myself to the bitcoin-dev mailing list as well but that seems to be the most confusing place of all. There is no context given on the discussions there, it is just a continuation of an existing one. I guess what I am looking for is the first proposal of the Lightning network. The first-ever place was talked about and proposed to the community. Is it on this forum, in the mailing list, in a bitcoin conference in the form of a youtube video etc. I have seen the Lightning Network paper, but there must have been some informal discussion beforehand I am sure? I tried looking on this forum by sorting posts with the most view and searching for posts related to the lightning network. However, I didn't have much luck. Now I am here asking anyone if they know the answer to my question! Thanks all for your help.

Well I am glad that you are looking around the forum and other places for lightning-related information, and so surely the more that you read in your area of specific interest (such as lightning historical discussions), the more you are going to learn as go.  Just looking at the contents of this thread, you are going to get a lot of information (maybe more so related to implementation questions).. if you even bothered to read through it... and decently organized in the OP too. with links to other threads and discussions, too.

I don't exactly know where to point you, but from my brief understanding and memory (and not claiming to be an expert), the lightning network went active in January 2018.. as a kind of rash response to then seeming spam attacks going on bitcoin (largely those spam attacks were in late 2017 and increased in December 2017 and January 2018) so in about mid to late January 2018, there were quite a few people who were against the reckless going live of lightning network.. but that did not stop the lightning network from continuing to operate live on bitcoin since January 2018 (even if not very developed at that time)..

So surely the lightning network had already been worked on through testing and with papers and discussions in 2017 (before going live in January 2018).. so I am not sure when the papers, discussions and even the testing started exactly, but if you find threads with discussions in 2017 then you are having discussions of lightning that precede lightning going live.  

Maybe someone else can chime in here a wee bit more better to the extent that Roversee might be really trying but unable to figure out the better threads on his desires to know about early day/ historical lightning discussions?  

The topic and the references might be of interest to others here too.. perhaps?

I appreciate your valuable information. In that case, I will just continue navigating through the forum and see where I land just like I have been doing for the past couple of days. I am learning so much in such a little amount of time that it is very fun. Thanks.

[n0nce]

~

Have fun; this forum is such a great learning resource!
Just one note; Like you've seen above, it's generally a good idea to trim out quotes if they're too large to prevent a post that is the size of your whole screen
You can e.g. opt to only leave the last message that you're actually replying to, because if someone wants to go back further, they can just click the link at the top of the quote.
Or just replace everything with a tilde of course.

[Wind_FURY]

OK, but can anyone in this topic assume that actual utility in the Lightning Network for users’ regular transactions is increasing? What is Bitcoin used mostly for? Sending to exchanges for trading, gambling, buying illegal drugs in the dark markets.

i can assume that...    any source for the bolded sentence in the quote? or do you assume too?

Then, in your assumption, what is/are the utility/utilties that Bitcoin is being used best, and the highest, and can you say, or actually see that offchain transactions through the Lightning Network are increasing in those use cases on a monthly basis.

[BlackHatCoiner]

I've tried to install and run a LND node from Raspibolt, but I'm having this problem;

When I try to connect to a node, using:

Code:

lncli -n testnet openchannel --sat_per_vbyte 1 03864ef025fde8fb587d989186ce6a4a186895ee44a926bfc370e2c366597a3f8f 500000 0

I get:

Code:

[lncli] rpc error: code = Unknown desc = channels cannot be created before the wallet is fully synced

Which means that my wallet isn't synced. How does the synchronization work? My bitcoin node (on testnet) is fully synchronized with the network. (with txindex=1)

[jackg]

Which means that my wallet isn't synced. How does the synchronization work? My bitcoin node (on testnet) is fully synchronized with the network. (with txindex=1)

Afaik, lightning nodes Index the network's channels to find routes through them. Have you tried leaving an lnd application open to see what it reports - as in syncing progress or something?

[DaveF]

I've tried to install and run a LND node from Raspibolt, but I'm having this problem;

When I try to connect to a node, using:

Code:

lncli -n testnet openchannel --sat_per_vbyte 1 03864ef025fde8fb587d989186ce6a4a186895ee44a926bfc370e2c366597a3f8f 500000 0

I get:

Code:

[lncli] rpc error: code = Unknown desc = channels cannot be created before the wallet is fully synced

Which means that my wallet isn't synced. How does the synchronization work? My bitcoin node (on testnet) is fully synchronized with the network. (with txindex=1)

From the just to be sure department, when you do a lncli getinfo:

Code:

admin@raspberrypi:~ $ lncli getinfo
{
    "version": "0.12.1-beta commit=v0.12.1-beta",
    "commit_hash": "d233f61383f2f950aa06f5b09da5b0e78e784fae",
    "identity_pubkey": "03f8a4c71e852ff1104d20ad204404992c120aaf0d41259ee02f96ad5f45f5fc8b",
    "alias": "dave",
    "color": "#68f442",
    "num_pending_channels": 1,
    "num_active_channels": 0,
    "num_inactive_channels": 0,
    "num_peers": 4,
    "block_height": 704871,
    "block_hash": "000000000000000000057d5702d16c037cecc39de1542678e4d3af727ab51678",
    "best_header_timestamp": "1634156530",
    "synced_to_chain": true,
    "synced_to_graph": true,
    "testnet": false,
    "chains": [
        {
            "chain": "bitcoin",
            "network": "mainnet"
        }

Is testnet set to true and network set to testnet?
Do you have RTL or another web front end installed that has a status page?
Other then that I have no idea, it has been a while since I did LN testnet.

-Dave

[BlackHatCoiner]

when you do a lncli getinfo

Is testnet set to true and network set to testnet?

You mean when I execute lncli -n testnet getinfo? Yes, testnet=true. The network is also set to testnet.

Do you have RTL or another web front end installed that has a status page?

No... Why would I?

Other then that I have no idea, it has been a while since I did LN testnet.

Why would the testnet differ from mainnet? Here's the entire result of the execution of the above command:

Code:

{
    "version": "0.13.1-beta commit=v0.13.1-beta",
    "commit_hash": "***",
    "identity_pubkey": "***",
    "alias": "YOUR_FANCY_ALIAS",
    "color": "#ffff00",
    "num_pending_channels": 0,
    "num_active_channels": 0,
    "num_inactive_channels": 0,
    "num_peers": 3,
    "block_height": 2099049,
    "block_hash": "0000000000000022964cb96fd1f100657a90551adc54ec0f8dfba3b97ada4791",
    "best_header_timestamp": "1634152684",
    "synced_to_chain": false,
    "synced_to_graph": true,
    "testnet": true,
    "chains": [
        {
            "chain": "bitcoin",
            "network": "testnet"
        }
    ],
    "uris": [
        "***"
    ],
    "features": {
        "0": {
            "name": "data-loss-protect",
            "is_required": true,
            "is_known": true
        },
        "5": {
            "name": "upfront-shutdown-script",
            "is_required": false,
            "is_known": true
        },
        "7": {
            "name": "gossip-queries",
            "is_required": false,
            "is_known": true
        },
        "9": {
            "name": "tlv-onion",
            "is_required": false,
            "is_known": true
        },
        "12": {
            "name": "static-remote-key",
            "is_required": true,
            "is_known": true
        },
        "14": {
            "name": "payment-addr",
            "is_required": true,
            "is_known": true
        },
        "17": {
            "name": "multi-path-payments",
            "is_required": false,
            "is_known": true
        },
        "19": {
            "name": "wumbo-channels",
            "is_required": false,
            "is_known": true
        },
        "23": {
            "name": "anchors-zero-fee-htlc-tx",
            "is_required": false,
            "is_known": true
        },
        "30": {
            "name": "amp",
            "is_required": true,
            "is_known": true
        },
        "31": {
            "name": "amp",
            "is_required": false,
            "is_known": true
        }
    }
}

The “***” values are hidden on purpose by me.

[DaveF]

The “***” values are hidden on purpose by me.

If you post the pubkey people with a running testnet box can try to connect to you to see if they can open a channel.
You already have 3 peers connected so it is communicating as if it is ready to accept a channel and people on the internet are able to get to it.

Do you have RTL or another web front end installed that has a status page?

No... Why would I?

No other reason then looking at the same information in a different format can occasionally let you see something you missed.
That's actually why in a lot of glass cockpit aircraft some information is displayed as both just a number and old style dial indicator format, even though it's still on the same monitor. The human brain is funny like that. Source: One of our old clients used to make the boards for the displays.

-Dave

[BlackHatCoiner]

If you post the pubkey people with a running testnet box can try to connect to you to see if they can open a channel.

Here's my URI: 0370c1f28b315806fa9e7fc2616715a5052401fcbeff89e83d3810f1f9683b9a37@3thm3rotf4bhgppcfsyh7ihcdzany7ozew7kyxnjw5ozfq6mxn3afuad.onion:9735

No other reason then looking at the same information in a different format can occasionally let you see something you missed.

I keep getting those errors when I sudo journalctl -f -u lnd:

Code:

2021-10-15 06:57:32.488 [ERR] SRVR: Unable to connect to 02c7c1463d6b845e3ef50f6fc013a2daee67285c17fbcc2541239374c38dd1b353@108.210.178.0:9735: socks connect tcp 127.0.0.1:9050->108.210.178.0:9735: unknown error general SOCKS server failure

Could that be the fault why it doesn't sync with the chain? Here's the log when I enter lnd:

Code:

bitcoin@raspibolt:~ $ lnd
Attempting automatic RPC configuration to bitcoind
Automatically obtained bitcoind's RPC credentials
2021-10-15 06:50:58.696 [INF] LTND: Version: 0.13.1-beta commit=v0.13.1-beta, build=production, logging=default, debuglevel=info
2021-10-15 06:50:58.696 [INF] LTND: Active chain: Bitcoin (network=testnet)
2021-10-15 06:50:58.700 [INF] RPCS: RPC server listening on 127.0.0.1:10009
2021-10-15 06:50:58.702 [INF] RPCS: gRPC proxy started at 127.0.0.1:8080
2021-10-15 06:50:58.702 [INF] LTND: Opening the main database, this might take a few minutes...
2021-10-15 06:50:58.702 [INF] LTND: Opening bbolt database, sync_freelist=true, auto_compact=true
2021-10-15 06:50:58.703 [INF] CHDB: Not compacting database file at /home/bitcoin/.lnd/data/graph/testnet/channel.db, it was last compacted at 2021-10-13 18:53:07.201443081 +0100 BST (35h57m51s ago), min age is set to 168h0m0s
2021-10-15 06:50:58.837 [INF] CHDB: Checking for schema update: latest_version=22, db_version=22
2021-10-15 06:50:58.837 [INF] LTND: Database now open (time_to_open=134.163656ms)!
2021-10-15 06:50:58.837 [INF] LTND: Waiting for wallet encryption password. Use `lncli create` to create a wallet, `lncli unlock` to unlock an existing wallet, or `lncli changepassword` to change the password of an existing wallet and unlock it.
2021-10-15 06:51:37.570 [INF] LNWL: Opened wallet
2021-10-15 06:51:37.809 [INF] CHRE: Primary chain is set to: bitcoin
2021-10-15 06:51:37.877 [INF] CHRE: Initializing bitcoind backed fee estimator in CONSERVATIVE mode
2021-10-15 06:51:37.877 [INF] LNWL: Started listening for bitcoind transaction notifications via ZMQ on 127.0.0.1:28333
2021-10-15 06:51:37.877 [INF] LNWL: Started listening for bitcoind block notifications via ZMQ on 127.0.0.1:28332
2021-10-15 06:51:40.715 [INF] LNWL: The wallet has been unlocked without a time limit
2021-10-15 06:51:40.720 [INF] CHRE: LightningWallet opened
2021-10-15 06:51:40.846 [INF] SRVR: Proxying all network traffic via Tor (stream_isolation=true)! NOTE: Ensure the backend node is proxying over Tor as well
2021-10-15 06:51:40.880 [INF] HSWC: Restoring in-memory circuit state from disk
2021-10-15 06:51:41.762 [INF] HSWC: Payment circuits loaded: num_pending=0, num_open=0
2021-10-15 06:51:41.861 [INF] LNWL: Started rescan from block 000000000000001fc45d041a7d1d4c847acf7d0ddfee4eea1d547b06d2465949 (height 2099081) for 1 address
2021-10-15 06:51:42.039 [INF] LTND: Channel backup proxy channel notifier starting
2021-10-15 06:51:42.039 [INF] ATPL: Instantiating autopilot with active=false, max_channels=5, allocation=0.600000, min_chan_size=20000, max_chan_size=16777215, private=false, min_confs=1, conf_target=3
2021-10-15 06:51:42.044 [INF] LTND: Waiting for chain backend to finish sync, start_height=2099154
2021-10-15 06:51:44.602 [INF] LNWL: Catching up block hashes to height 2099154, this might take a while
2021-10-15 06:51:44.636 [INF] LNWL: Done catching up block hashes
2021-10-15 06:51:44.637 [INF] LNWL: Finished rescan for 1 address (synced to block 000000000000002290b790213faa3cd053a352aada138b86880568f92fa9244e, height 2099154)
2021-10-15 06:51:45.080 [INF] LTND: Chain backend is fully synced (end_height=2099154)!
2021-10-15 06:51:45.969 [WRN] HLCK: check: disk space configured with 0 attempts, skipping it
2021-10-15 06:51:45.970 [WRN] HLCK: check: tls configured with 0 attempts, skipping it
2021-10-15 06:51:45.981 [INF] PRNF: PeerNotifier starting
2021-10-15 06:51:46.009 [INF] CHDB: Not compacting database file at /home/bitcoin/.lnd/data/graph/testnet/sphinxreplay.db, it was last compacted at 2021-10-13 19:47:21.075094447 +0100 BST (35h4m24s ago), min age is set to 168h0m0s
2021-10-15 06:51:46.074 [INF] HSWC: Starting HTLC Switch
2021-10-15 06:51:46.074 [INF] NTFN: New block epoch subscription
2021-10-15 06:51:46.074 [INF] NTFN: New block epoch subscription
2021-10-15 06:51:46.074 [INF] NTFN: New block epoch subscription
2021-10-15 06:51:46.077 [INF] NTFN: New block epoch subscription
2021-10-15 06:51:46.080 [INF] NTFN: New block epoch subscription
2021-10-15 06:51:46.081 [INF] DISC: Authenticated Gossiper is starting
2021-10-15 06:51:46.081 [INF] BRAR: Starting contract observer, watching for breaches.
2021-10-15 06:51:46.081 [INF] NTFN: New block epoch subscription
2021-10-15 06:51:46.127 [INF] CRTR: FilteredChainView starting
2021-10-15 06:51:48.782 [INF] CRTR: Filtering chain using 8285 channels active
2021-10-15 06:51:48.789 [INF] CRTR: Prune tip for Channel Graph: height=2098949, hash=00000000000000249812cab614ee9aac354424e89101859fbf6f41302b4552cc
2021-10-15 06:51:48.791 [INF] CRTR: Syncing channel graph from height=2098949 (hash=00000000000000249812cab614ee9aac354424e89101859fbf6f41302b4552cc) to height=2099154 (hash=000000000000002290b790213faa3cd053a352aada138b86880568f92fa9244e)
2021-10-15 06:51:51.976 [INF] CHDB: Pruned unconnected node 02215717c97b36f767d3428f6c603cb0cc5fe08d7b5ea812eb299a6bde4d91989b from channel graph
2021-10-15 06:51:52.223 [INF] CHDB: Pruned unconnected node 03c968f96048e061f628c95e7d67396db244515aa02c098f80d5e84577d2d66278 from channel graph
2021-10-15 06:51:52.364 [INF] CHDB: Pruned unconnected node 023b4f129dd86d14c977f0d3f2819fec1065ec0c0a1498c7b20f207a31d7866b98 from channel graph
2021-10-15 06:51:52.365 [INF] CHDB: Pruned 3 unconnected nodes from the channel graph
2021-10-15 06:51:52.450 [INF] CRTR: Graph pruning complete: 7 channels were closed since height 2098949
2021-10-15 06:51:52.551 [INF] NTFN: New block epoch subscription
2021-10-15 06:51:52.551 [INF] CHFT: Adding 0 channels to event store
2021-10-15 06:51:52.552 [INF] CHBU: Starting chanbackup.SubSwapper
2021-10-15 06:51:52.674 [INF] CHBU: Updating backup file at /home/bitcoin/.lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/testnet/channel.backup
2021-10-15 06:51:52.752 [INF] CHBU: Swapping old multi backup file from /home/bitcoin/.lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/testnet/temp-dont-use.backup to /home/bitcoin/.lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/testnet/channel.backup
2021-10-15 06:51:52.753 [INF] BTCN: Server listening on 127.0.0.1:9735
2021-10-15 06:51:52.786 [INF] SRVR: Initializing peer network bootstrappers!
2021-10-15 06:51:52.787 [INF] SRVR: Creating DNS peer bootstrapper with seeds: [[test.nodes.lightning.directory soa.nodes.lightning.directory]]
2021-10-15 06:51:52.787 [INF] DISC: Attempting to bootstrap with: BOLT-0010 DNS Seed: [[test.nodes.lightning.directory soa.nodes.lightning.directory]]
2021-10-15 06:51:54.705 [INF] DISC: Obtained 3 addrs to bootstrap network with
2021-10-15 06:51:55.858 [INF] SRVR: Established connection to: 03e5a30acf806b1226b5e22152eed370a9698fe50f34a694ce1c7c06db143db715@135.180.44.61:19735
2021-10-15 06:51:55.858 [INF] SRVR: Finalizing connection to 03e5a30acf806b1226b5e22152eed370a9698fe50f34a694ce1c7c06db143db715@135.180.44.61:19735, inbound=false
2021-10-15 06:51:56.106 [INF] PEER: Negotiated chan series queries with 03e5a30acf806b1226b5e22152eed370a9698fe50f34a694ce1c7c06db143db715
2021-10-15 06:51:56.106 [INF] DISC: Creating new GossipSyncer for peer=03e5a30acf806b1226b5e22152eed370a9698fe50f34a694ce1c7c06db143db715
2021-10-15 06:51:56.106 [INF] DISC: GossipSyncer(03e5a30acf806b1226b5e22152eed370a9698fe50f34a694ce1c7c06db143db715): requesting new chans from height=0 and 2099154 blocks after
2021-10-15 06:51:56.572 [INF] SRVR: Established connection to: 034ecfd567a64f06742ac300a2985676abc0b1dc6345904a08bb52d5418e685f79@35.240.72.95:9735
2021-10-15 06:51:56.572 [INF] SRVR: Finalizing connection to 034ecfd567a64f06742ac300a2985676abc0b1dc6345904a08bb52d5418e685f79@35.240.72.95:9735, inbound=false
2021-10-15 06:51:56.621 [ERR] SRVR: Unable to connect to 02823073d137d1dad2ffd113c30bb511d007e229a3bfff0dd2c27b1d33bb441ca7@47.244.167.76:8811: unexpected EOF
2021-10-15 06:51:56.622 [ERR] SRVR: Unable to connect to 02823073d137d1dad2ffd113c30bb511d007e229a3bfff0dd2c27b1d33bb441ca7@47.244.167.76:8811: unexpected EOF
2021-10-15 06:51:56.754 [INF] DISC: GossipSyncer(03e5a30acf806b1226b5e22152eed370a9698fe50f34a694ce1c7c06db143db715): buffering chan range reply of size=7426
2021-10-15 06:51:56.754 [INF] DISC: GossipSyncer(03e5a30acf806b1226b5e22152eed370a9698fe50f34a694ce1c7c06db143db715): filtering through 7426 chans
2021-10-15 06:51:56.797 [INF] DISC: GossipSyncer(03e5a30acf806b1226b5e22152eed370a9698fe50f34a694ce1c7c06db143db715): starting query for 14 new chans
2021-10-15 06:51:56.798 [INF] DISC: GossipSyncer(03e5a30acf806b1226b5e22152eed370a9698fe50f34a694ce1c7c06db143db715): querying for 14 new channels
2021-10-15 06:51:57.128 [INF] PEER: Negotiated chan series queries with 034ecfd567a64f06742ac300a2985676abc0b1dc6345904a08bb52d5418e685f79
2021-10-15 06:51:57.128 [INF] DISC: Creating new GossipSyncer for peer=034ecfd567a64f06742ac300a2985676abc0b1dc6345904a08bb52d5418e685f79
2021-10-15 06:51:57.308 [INF] DISC: GossipSyncer(03e5a30acf806b1226b5e22152eed370a9698fe50f34a694ce1c7c06db143db715): no more chans to query
2021-10-15 06:51:57.308 [INF] DISC: GossipSyncer(03e5a30acf806b1226b5e22152eed370a9698fe50f34a694ce1c7c06db143db715): applying gossipFilter(start=2021-10-15 06:51:57.308296105 +0100 BST m=+58.774580471, end=2157-11-21 12:20:12.308296105 +0000 GMT)
2021-10-15 06:51:57.308 [INF] DISC: GossipSyncer(034ecfd567a64f06742ac300a2985676abc0b1dc6345904a08bb52d5418e685f79): applying gossipFilter(start=2021-10-15 06:51:57.308549583 +0100 BST m=+58.774833986, end=2157-11-21 12:20:12.308549583 +0000 GMT)
2021-10-15 06:51:58.623 [INF] DISC: Attempting to bootstrap with: Authenticated Channel Graph
2021-10-15 06:51:58.646 [INF] DISC: Obtained 1 addrs to bootstrap network with
2021-10-15 06:52:00.616 [ERR] SRVR: Unable to connect to 02ee498dadd991d636578a6cea97ff59fc991ea269dbac9a51e303868775a07554@69.181.249.230:9712: socks connect tcp 127.0.0.1:9050->69.181.249.230:9712: unknown error general SOCKS server failure
2021-10-15 06:52:00.616 [ERR] SRVR: Unable to connect to 02ee498dadd991d636578a6cea97ff59fc991ea269dbac9a51e303868775a07554@69.181.249.230:9712: socks connect tcp 127.0.0.1:9050->69.181.249.230:9712: unknown error general SOCKS server failure
2021-10-15 06:52:04.616 [INF] DISC: Attempting to bootstrap with: BOLT-0010 DNS Seed: [[test.nodes.lightning.directory soa.nodes.lightning.directory]]
2021-10-15 06:52:15.715 [INF] DISC: Obtained 1 addrs to bootstrap network with
2021-10-15 06:52:16.202 [ERR] SRVR: Unable to connect to 020b5482958cddf359daacb9dc38448e8e56e1cf12c5cf7d777a082c9b0fdd5219@38.27.130.87:9735: EOF
2021-10-15 06:52:16.203 [ERR] SRVR: Unable to connect to 020b5482958cddf359daacb9dc38448e8e56e1cf12c5cf7d777a082c9b0fdd5219@38.27.130.87:9735: EOF
2021-10-15 06:52:24.204 [INF] DISC: Attempting to bootstrap with: BOLT-0010 DNS Seed: [[test.nodes.lightning.directory soa.nodes.lightning.directory]]
2021-10-15 06:52:27.035 [INF] DISC: Attempting to bootstrap with: Authenticated Channel Graph
2021-10-15 06:52:27.042 [INF] DISC: Obtained 1 addrs to bootstrap network with
2021-10-15 06:52:46.045 [INF] DISC: Attempting to bootstrap with: Authenticated Channel Graph
2021-10-15 06:52:46.061 [INF] DISC: Obtained 2 addrs to bootstrap network with
2021-10-15 06:52:47.606 [ERR] SRVR: Unable to connect to 029020cca7e37d8ddb1e8d3906aed89e0b4b89f905f3db581385d1acc7f4e54005@54.38.71.76:19889: socks connect tcp 127.0.0.1:9050->54.38.71.76:19889: unknown error general SOCKS server failure
2021-10-15 06:52:47.607 [ERR] SRVR: Unable to connect to 029020cca7e37d8ddb1e8d3906aed89e0b4b89f905f3db581385d1acc7f4e54005@54.38.71.76:19889: socks connect tcp 127.0.0.1:9050->54.38.71.76:19889: unknown error general SOCKS server failure
2021-10-15 06:52:55.636 [ERR] SRVR: Unable to connect to 029020cca7e37d8ddb1e8d3906aed89e0b4b89f905f3db581385d1acc7f4e54005@n3m7vqshf7ag26dnmzb6oknu4isq47bxb4djnsg5rqkr56pfonny6aid.onion:9735: socks connect tcp 127.0.0.1:9050->n3m7vqshf7ag26dnmzb6oknu4isq47bxb4djnsg5rqkr56pfonny6aid.onion:9735: unknown error host unreachable
2021-10-15 06:52:59.599 [INF] CRTR: Processed channels=10 updates=20 nodes=13 in last 1m7.048269285s
2021-10-15 06:53:21.062 [INF] DISC: Attempting to bootstrap with: Authenticated Channel Graph
2021-10-15 06:53:21.070 [INF] DISC: Obtained 1 addrs to bootstrap network with
2021-10-15 06:53:59.600 [INF] CRTR: Processed channels=0 updates=18 nodes=0 in last 1m0.000267829s
2021-10-15 06:54:24.074 [INF] DISC: Attempting to bootstrap with: Authenticated Channel Graph
2021-10-15 06:54:24.093 [INF] DISC: Obtained 1 addrs to bootstrap network with
2021-10-15 06:54:32.487 [ERR] SRVR: Unable to connect to 023a8dfe081c6bbd0504e599f33d39d17687de63023a8b20afcb59147d9d77c19d@92.53.89.123:19735: socks connect tcp 127.0.0.1:9050->92.53.89.123:19735: unknown error general SOCKS server failure
2021-10-15 06:54:35.960 [ERR] SRVR: Unable to connect to 02bab398c7daff0539544f20898733bb087bab70205907cd0b0fccc0737177e3b8@6uv757tsefz5ffu2r5anfhsr3e6yeivpjxv2k3mfvgyd7cheionfbtyd.onion:9735: socks connect tcp 127.0.0.1:9050->6uv757tsefz5ffu2r5anfhsr3e6yeivpjxv2k3mfvgyd7cheionfbtyd.onion:9735: unknown error host unreachable
2021-10-15 06:54:46.085 [INF] DISC: Broadcasting 20 new announcements in 2 sub batches
2021-10-15 06:54:59.599 [INF] CRTR: Processed channels=0 updates=2 nodes=0 in last 59.999142436s
2021-10-15 06:55:26.490 [ERR] SRVR: Unable to connect to 024453b74b1701b6d0df0a51a3dc950a137408f70996f11d8d00be23372cf878b1@35.237.214.39:9735: socks connect tcp 127.0.0.1:9050->35.237.214.39:9735: unknown error general SOCKS server failure
2021-10-15 06:55:27.095 [INF] DISC: Attempting to bootstrap with: Authenticated Channel Graph
2021-10-15 06:55:27.116 [INF] DISC: Obtained 1 addrs to bootstrap network with
2021-10-15 06:55:59.600 [INF] CRTR: Processed channels=0 updates=1 nodes=0 in last 1m0.000486004s
2021-10-15 06:56:16.085 [INF] DISC: Broadcasting 1 new announcements in 1 sub batches
2021-10-15 06:56:30.119 [INF] DISC: Attempting to bootstrap with: BOLT-0010 DNS Seed: [[test.nodes.lightning.directory soa.nodes.lightning.directory]]
2021-10-15 06:56:36.349 [INF] DISC: Obtained 1 addrs to bootstrap network with
2021-10-15 06:56:37.125 [INF] SRVR: Established connection to: 030bac1d62b6838a57c301d7e0244729b9699a8dacffcfbde359abc2cc20701a3a@5.196.73.52:9737
2021-10-15 06:56:37.125 [INF] SRVR: Finalizing connection to 030bac1d62b6838a57c301d7e0244729b9699a8dacffcfbde359abc2cc20701a3a@5.196.73.52:9737, inbound=false
2021-10-15 06:56:37.598 [INF] PEER: Negotiated chan series queries with 030bac1d62b6838a57c301d7e0244729b9699a8dacffcfbde359abc2cc20701a3a
2021-10-15 06:56:37.599 [INF] DISC: Creating new GossipSyncer for peer=030bac1d62b6838a57c301d7e0244729b9699a8dacffcfbde359abc2cc20701a3a
2021-10-15 06:56:37.599 [INF] DISC: GossipSyncer(030bac1d62b6838a57c301d7e0244729b9699a8dacffcfbde359abc2cc20701a3a): applying gossipFilter(start=2021-10-15 06:56:37.599636882 +0100 BST m=+339.065921692, end=2157-11-21 12:24:52.599636882 +0000 GMT)
2021-10-15 06:57:32.488 [ERR] SRVR: Unable to connect to 02c7c1463d6b845e3ef50f6fc013a2daee67285c17fbcc2541239374c38dd1b353@108.210.178.0:9735: socks connect tcp 127.0.0.1:9050->108.210.178.0:9735: unknown error general SOCKS server failure

[DaveF]

If you post the pubkey people with a running testnet box can try to connect to you to see if they can open a channel.

Here's my URI: 0370c1f28b315806fa9e7fc2616715a5052401fcbeff89e83d3810f1f9683b9a37@3thm3rotf4bhgppcfsyh7ihcdzany7ozew7kyxnjw5ozfq6mxn3afuad.onion:9735

When I try to connect I get:

Code:

socks connect tcp 10.21.21.11:9050->3thm3rotf4bhgppcfsyh7ihcdzany7ozew7kyxnjw5ozfq6mxn3afuad.onion:9735: unknown error host unreachable

Also on 1ML when I search for your URI all I see are a few old nodes that have been offline for a long time.

No other reason then looking at the same information in a different format can occasionally let you see something you missed.

I keep getting those errors when I sudo journalctl -f -u lnd:

Code:

2021-10-15 06:57:32.488 [ERR] SRVR: Unable to connect to 02c7c1463d6b845e3ef50f6fc013a2daee67285c17fbcc2541239374c38dd1b353@108.210.178.0:9735: socks connect tcp 127.0.0.1:9050->108.210.178.0:9735: unknown error general SOCKS server failure

Could that be the fault why it doesn't sync with the chain? Here's the log when I enter lnd:

For some reason it's trying to connect to a clearnet IP not an onion one. But in the log that you posted that I did not quote here there is a line
 "Proxying all network traffic via Tor (stream_isolation=true)! NOTE: Ensure the backend node is proxying over Tor as well"
so *I think* there is something misconfigured someplace. No idea what or how but with it trying to talk to a public IP when everything should be on TOR looks to me to be config issue.
Which I could help more, but I have no idea.

-Dave

[vv181]

@BlackHatCoiner Neither do I isn't able to connect to your node.

For some reason it's trying to connect to a clearnet IP not an onion one. But in the log that you posted that I did not quote here there is a line
 "Proxying all network traffic via Tor (stream_isolation=true)! NOTE: Ensure the backend node is proxying over Tor as well"
so *I think* there is something misconfigured someplace. No idea what or how but with it trying to talk to a public IP when everything should be on TOR looks to me to be config issue.

I believe it has nothing to do with that, see #L839. I think the node trying to connect the clearnet IP from the DNS seed or somewhere and its indeed try to establish the connection over Tor, 127.0.0.1:9050->108.210.178.0:9735.

[darkv0rt3x]

From C-Lightning node:

Code:

$ lightning-cli connect 0370c1f28b315806fa9e7fc2616715a5052401fcbeff89e83d3810f1f9683b9a37@3thm3rotf4bhgppcfsyh7ihcdzany7ozew7kyxnjw5ozfq6mxn3afuad.onion:9735
{
   "code": 401,
   "message": "Error connecting to 3thm3rotf4bhgppcfsyh7ihcdzany7ozew7kyxnjw5ozfq6mxn3afuad.onion: Tor server reply: host unreachable. 3thm3rotf4bhgppcfsyh7ihcdzany7ozew7kyxnjw5ozfq6mxn3afuad.onion:9735: Connection establishment: Connection refused. "
}

That's a Tor config problem, most likely.

Are you running your node under Linux?

[vv181]

That's a Tor config problem, most likely.

Quite possibly I think it might be related to #5166.

@BlackHatCoiner, as a temporary fix, maybe you can restart your LND, and then let see if I can connect to it.

[darkv0rt3x]

That's a Tor config problem, most likely.

Quite possibly I think it might be related to #5166.

@BlackHatCoiner, as a temporary fix, maybe you can restart your LND, and then let see if I can connect to it.

You can try to connect to mine if you want.

[BlackHatCoiner]

I think the node trying to connect the clearnet IP from the DNS seed or somewhere and its indeed try to establish the connection over Tor, 127.0.0.1:9050->108.210.178.0:9735.

Why would it do that? It doesn't do this only with clearnet, but on onion URIs too. Check the log above;

Unable to connect to 029020cca7e37d8ddb1e8d3906aed89e0b4b89f905f3db581385d1acc7f4e54005@n3m7vqshf7ag26dnmzb6oknu4isq47bxb4djnsg5rqkr56pfonny6aid.onion:9735: socks connect tcp 127.0.0.1:9050->n3m7vqshf7ag26dnmzb6oknu4isq47bxb4djnsg5rqkr56pfonny6aid.onion:9735: unknown error host unreachable

Are you running your node under Linux?

Yes. As I said, Raspibolt.

@BlackHatCoiner, as a temporary fix, maybe you can restart your LND, and then let see if I can connect to it.

I restarted it.

You can try to connect to mine if you want.

Would it show you something in your log? If that's so, give me your URI.

Edit: Just saw your signature. Tried to connect. Here's the output:

[lncli] rpc error: code = Unknown desc = socks connect tcp 127.0.0.1:9050->2obm3yvfj5m3zabnea5y2xolimeuc4gbelika3pa7div5pk2eolqrtad.onion:9735: unknown error connection refused

[vv181]

I think the node trying to connect the clearnet IP from the DNS seed or somewhere and its indeed try to establish the connection over Tor, 127.0.0.1:9050->108.210.178.0:9735.

Why would it do that? It doesn't do this only with clearnet, but on onion URIs too. Check the log above;

I still barely try to understand how LN works, so If I'm wrong I hope someone corrects it.

It is simply because a brand new node needs to discover and establish a peer connection. I'm sure that your node gets those URIs from the DNS seed server, the node is trying to establish to any peer that the DNS server returned. I think why the connection get failed is because the DNS server is still keeping an inactive node.

Reference: BOLT #10: DNS Bootstrap and Assisted Node Location

I restarted it.

There, I'm able to connect to the node.

Code:

$ lncli --rpcserver localhost:20009 connect 0370c1f28b315806fa9e7fc2616715a5052401fcbeff89e83d3810f1f9683b9a37@3thm3rotf4bhgppcfsyh7ihcdzany7ozew7kyxnjw5ozfq6mxn3afuad.onion:9735
{

}
$ lncli listpeers
{
            "pub_key": "0370c1f28b315806fa9e7fc2616715a5052401fcbeff89e83d3810f1f9683b9a37",
            "address": "3thm3rotf4bhgppcfsyh7ihcdzany7ozew7kyxnjw5ozfq6mxn3afuad.onion:9735",

Here is my URI:

Code:

02edda84bcaae1b32da8de236329e4c9572a00ec99e56f9f7f72811b1cfa2025e4@zrqoqad3aeqzzma5ce7pyc5fftmvem2qsleeay36gujnim5scuuixeqd.onion:9735