Raspberry Pi 4 performance

[pereira4]

The Raspberry Pi 4 is here, if someone gets one, could you post performance input including:

1) Time for the Bitcoin wallet to open
2) Time to download and sync the entire blockchain
3) Time to sync exiting copy of the blockchain

+ any other relevant performance info.

State your OS and your storage device.

Interested in the 4 GB version..

[klaaas]

2) Time to download and sync the entire blockchain
3) Time to sync exiting copy of the blockchain

Dont got one yet but the raspberry pi can handle 1gib connections and with the 4gib of memory it will boil down to your hard disk speeds.

[Rath_]

Dont got one yet but the raspberry pi can handle 1gib connections and with the 4gib of memory it will boil down to your hard disk speeds.

CPU was the biggest bottleneck when it came to synchronising with the network. Depending on the task, the CPU seems to be up to 3 times faster which is a huge improvement. No one has tested it yet with Bitcoin Core.

[pereira4]

Looking to get one of these soon. Which variant are you looking at the 1gb, 2 gb or 4 gb?

It says below im looking for 4 GB. I don't get why you would get any less... if you wanted to use it as a desktop computer as well you want at least 4. If you wanted to run a Windows node for some reason definitely impossible without less than 4 GB or at least not without a big PITA.

Dont got one yet but the raspberry pi can handle 1gib connections and with the 4gib of memory it will boil down to your hard disk speeds.

CPU was the biggest bottleneck when it came to synchronising with the network. Depending on the task, the CPU seems to be up to 3 times faster which is a huge improvement. No one has tested it yet with Bitcoin Core.

Not only the CPU but the Ethernet was capped at 300mpbs which was a big bottleneck if you had high speed optical fiber of 1 GBPS which you can take advantage of now with the 4 version. 4 GB doesn't hurt. Ideally we want 8 for the next release.

[DaveF]

I can't say this strongly enough.

IF you really want to run a node on an RPi think about the following.

If at all possible do not run it on the SD card. Get an external drive and make it an SSD

If you can't or don't want to. GET A GOOD SD CARD. There are good cheap ones out there but they are few and far between, spend the money and get a real name brand.
The cheap ones degrade quickly and core does a lot of reads & writes.

-Dave

[Rath_]

If at all possible do not run it on the SD card. Get an external drive and make it an SSD

Despite of decreasing SSDs prices, they are still quite expensive if you compare them to HDDs (especially used ones). If he is willing to use a Raspberry Pi then he probably wants to spend as little money as possible. Also, high capacity SD cards are way more expensive than SSDs. Thank you Dave for warning us against something that nobody would do.

[pereira4]

SD Cards are trash. If you wanted to stay digital then SSD is the way to go... but most likely you will be forced to run pruned mode pretty soon since the big TB drives are pretty expensive.

I don't see why not just you couldn't stay with HDD. Sure it's slower, but if you want to run a full node (no pruned mode) then it makes sense to get a 4TB one and forget about hitting a limit for years.

[Rath_]

I don't see why not just you couldn't stay with HDD. Sure it's slower, but if you want to run a full node (no pruned mode) then it makes sense to get a 4TB one and forget about hitting a limit for years.

I have started ditching HDDs mostly because they are much slower than SSDs (especially NVMe ones) and they are not shockproof. I wouldn't use an SSD for a budget build like the one with a Raspberry Pi, but spending $120 on a 1 TB SSD is a good deal if you are setting up a server which is supposed to handle a few different tasks beside running Bitcoin Core and LND.

[Rath_]

Samorai retweeted a tweet of a user who is currently synchronising a full Bitcoin node on the latest Raspberry Pi. I will keep you updated on the sync time but the problem is that this users is using an SSD which is going to affect the performance. I have switched to NVMe drive from HDD and the difference was huge.

[fillippone]

I run a full node on Rapi3+.
I followed Stadicus Guide and translated it in Italian (in signature) to help other running their own node.

For a series of mishaps my block.dat got corrupted, so I had the blockchain download in my SSD and I had the Raspi to validate it.
It took more than a month to fully validate the blockchain back in february.

Of course this is not what it is meant to be, but of course improved CPU performance and RAM are a more than welcome upgrade in this case.
So I second OP request to know more on validating/syncing blockcahin.

Re:SSD, in my experience they are not meant to be used as a constant R/W devices like an hard disk, so I have been told their use as mass storage is not optimal and quite prone to errors and data corruption.

Waiting a little bit to put my hands on a Raspi4 because of I heard of a few minor design flaws in the board.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/07/raspberry-pi-4-uses-incorrect-usb-c-design-wont-work-with-some-chargers/
Nothing too relevant,. but waiting they get rid of their stocks and design a new board version.

[Rath_]

So I second OP request to know more on validating/syncing blockcahin.

The author of the tweet I mentioned earlier still hasn't posted the results yet.

Re:SSD, in my experience they are not meant to be used as a constant R/W devices like an hard disk, so I have been told their use as mass storage is not optimal and quite prone to errors and data corruption.

That's how I would describe SD cards. SSDs improved a lot in the past few years. They have become affordable and reliable. Some SSDs last longer than advertised, but every device is prone to failure at some point. Why would anyone use them if they were not meant to be used for constant reads and writes?

[Carlton Banks]

Some SSDs last longer than advertised, but every device is prone to failure at some point. Why would anyone use them if they were not meant to be used for constant reads and writes?

what to look for:

• NAND cell tech - SLC is best, MLC 2nd, TLC 3rd and QLC 4th in reliability/longevity. Pricing corresponds; SLC based SSD devices are expensive, QLC cheap
• Over-provisioning - a larger over-provided pool of flash cells will improve reliability and reduce performance. Some SSDs let you reprogram the amount of over-provisioning via the firmware

there was another factor also, but I've forgotten it for now

[Rath_]

NAND cell tech - SLC is best, MLC 2nd, TLC 3rd and QLC 4th in reliability/longevity. Pricing corresponds; SLC based SSD devices are expensive, QLC cheap

SLC SSDs are mostly used for server applications and they are going to be harder to obtain for an average consumer. MLC drives are still widely available. QLC drives seem to be priced about the same as TLC ones (at least in my country) while being less durable.

there was another factor also, but I've forgotten it for now

Wasn't it Total Bytes Written (TBW) by any chance? If TBW is exceeded then the warranty is void, but the drive still can work for a decent amount of time. Also, the controller is a very important factor. If it breaks then all of the data becomes unrecoverable in most cases.

[fillippone]

On a side note, it's weird when people pair cheap Raspberry Pi with expensive storage, unless budget isn't their concern.

Totally agree.
System must be engineered to avoid bottleneck.
This  is what I tried to avoid setting up my Bitcoin node guide (in signature)as you can see if you check hardware page

[DaveF]

So, the RPi 4 generates a crap more heat from it's CPU then previous models.
Some people are having thermal throttling in under 5 minutes of heavy use.
So I give you the 52Pi Ice Tower

https://www.seeedstudio.com/ICE-Tower-CPU-Cooling-Fan-for-Raspberry-pi-Support-Pi-4-p-4097.html

Toms Hardware Review Link:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/52pi-ice-tower-raspberry-pi-4-cooler,6259.html

If you want something a bit more sane:
https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/fan-shim

I'm not just posting this for laughs, I had my 4 thermal throttle while nothing but bitcoind was running.

-Dave

[fillippone]

So, the RPi 4 generates a crap more heat from it's CPU then previous models.
Some people are having thermal throttling in under 5 minutes of heavy use.
So I give you the 52Pi Ice Tower

https://www.seeedstudio.com/ICE-Tower-CPU-Cooling-Fan-for-Raspberry-pi-Support-Pi-4-p-4097.html

Toms Hardware Review Link:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/52pi-ice-tower-raspberry-pi-4-cooler,6259.html

If you want something a bit more sane:
https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/fan-shim

I'm not just posting this for laughs, I had my 4 thermal throttle while nothing but bitcoind was running.

-Dave

Well this is something undoubtedly serious and needs to be taken into account while tinkering with a Raspi4 to run a Bitcoin full node. I like them quiet and reliable, tossing on desks and basically expecting them to work indefinitely. Of course heat is a very dangerous element to have on such a tiny device.
Thanks for pointing us in the right direction.

[DaveF]

Well this is something undoubtedly serious and needs to be taken into account while tinkering with a Raspi4 to run a Bitcoin full node. I like them quiet and reliable, tossing on desks and basically expecting them to work indefinitely. Of course heat is a very dangerous element to have on such a tiny device.
Thanks for pointing us in the right direction.

Yeah, I was trying to figure out why my node stopped responding now and then. And someone else on another forum was having issues with theirs overheating.
So I put a small fan on it and went to look around, and saw that it is happening to a lot of people. Someone someplace cut some corners that they should not have when designing the 4

-Dave

[philipma1957]

Rasp pi are simply not made for this task.

Cheap used Lenovo tiny PCs do a better job.

Dell has a good small unit. Buy a used one. Many will hold a nvme and a ssd.

I use Mac mini’s 2012 model and or 2014 models.

I clone a backup os with a wallet . And away I go.

[Carlton Banks]

Rasp pi are simply not made for this task.

sort of disagree (sort of)

storage is really what holds the Pi back these days. CPU did before, but not since the rPi 2. You can get around the SD card issues by using the most modern rPi's (3B+), as they allow you to boot from a SATA disk, bypassing SD cards altogether.

But really, USB storage, SATA or not, is less than ideal. You can get a Rock64 pro single board for less than $100. You can also get an NVMe or SATA PCI-E expansion card for the Rock64 pro (it has only 1 slot). And there's a 4GB version, you could run a lightweight hypervisor on that, and get a securely compartmentalized home Bitcoin node, + run other stuff in different VMs (it'd have to be without a desktop GUI, naturally)

[fillippone]

But really, USB storage, SATA or not, is less than ideal. You can get a Rock64 pro single board for less than $100. You can also get an NVMe or SATA PCI-E expansion card for the Rock64 pro (it has only 1 slot). And there's a 4GB version, you could run a lightweight hypervisor on that, and get a securely compartmentalized home Bitcoin node, + run other stuff in different VMs (it'd have to be without a desktop GUI, naturally)

I have been running my personal BTC+LN node on a Raspi3+ for months now (link to my guide to do so in signature) and I hadn’t a single issue.
I agree USB connections are “ shaky” in theory compared to SATA, but, touch wood, I hadn’t any issue so far.
Of course my node is “for fun”, not holding millions there. If I had to store a lot of money I would walk the extra steps.