Most Efficient Way To Run A Full Node?

[Mike Mayor]

I was busy reading and wondering why no one mentioned raspberry pi. I thought it would have been mentioned in the first reply. However, I see someone did mention it. You can get a second hand one very cheaply and then just ad an sd card or a USB stick or HDD. I was thinking of using a raspberry pi to run a file downloading service much like Megaupload and it's perfect. You tuck it in somewhere in your house and don't worry about it. Just check it now and again. They are awesome for servers. However many nodes of other coins will not work as some require a beefy computer with 16Gb ram.

I am wondering what is the best way to run a full node with limited computing resources. In order to do this we must download and synchronize a full copy of the blockchain (300+ GB). This is not for being competitive as a miner but only hosting a full network node that can remain up-to-date with the blockchain in real-time.

I have tried downloading the entire blockchain to an external hard drive. However, it is basically at a standstill with 25% or more of the blockchain still needing to be synchronized. Is this delay because I am hosting it on an external hard drive? (Western Digital External Hard Drive)

I have heard people on this forum recommend renting server space in order to host a full node. I am wondering if this is a better option than hosting locally and what the costs associated would be. Performance and security are top priorities. I am looking at running a full node continuously, not just for a temporary time.

You really don't explain why you feel the desire to run a full node.

1.  Just a fanboy and want to waste money.

2.  Business venture such as exchange and it is necessary for internal accounting.

Explaining exactly which will help people give you a better answer for your situation.

Because if you are only doing it for #1, then how you do it is irrelevant, as full node that don't mine don't secure anything at all except weak egos.

However option 2, requires decent hardware not that raspberry pi nonsense.
As real money is involved. Don't go cheap, it would cost you more later.

I also want to know this. I wouldn't run a node without some form of compensation. You don't know what you are talking about. Rasperberry pi is perfect and it isn't cheap and won't cost more later on. Have you ever even run a node?

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[BitcoinFX]

...snip...

I suppose the crux of my questioning on efficiency revolves around storage of the blockchain and the experiences of bitcointalk users storing the blockchain in an external HDD and SSD. It would seem due to the continuous requirement of read/write access, using a SSD is almost always better performance wise. In order to have a forward-compatible node, we would need a SSD of at least 350 GB at this point.

Someone here made the comment that a full node shouldn't be hosted in the cloud in the very place but should only be hosted on hardware that you actually own and can physically access. I tend to agree with the observation that if you are using someone else's hardware than it is not truly YOUR node. In terms of efficiency, it seems in the long run it would actually be most cost-efficiency to pony up the costs for hardware that you yourself host locally, and in the case of storage, this would require a SSD of at least 350 GB - might as well buy 1 TB while you are at it.

Thank you all for your input.

Sure. SSD is the way to go.

However, "Stop saying the cloud is just someone else's computer - because it's not" ...
- https://www.zdnet.com/article/stop-saying-the-cloud-is-just-someone-elses-computer-because-its-not/

Many "cloud" hosts will now let you upload or run your own custom and/or fully encrypted OS, for example.

In terms of your "home" node, did you build it from scratch using only "trusted" Open Hardware and Open Source Software ?

Did you review all of the Source Code in it's entirety before you ran it ? Etc., etc.,

[Paleus]

...snip...

I suppose the crux of my questioning on efficiency revolves around storage of the blockchain and the experiences of bitcointalk users storing the blockchain in an external HDD and SSD. It would seem due to the continuous requirement of read/write access, using a SSD is almost always better performance wise. In order to have a forward-compatible node, we would need a SSD of at least 350 GB at this point.

Someone here made the comment that a full node shouldn't be hosted in the cloud in the very place but should only be hosted on hardware that you actually own and can physically access. I tend to agree with the observation that if you are using someone else's hardware than it is not truly YOUR node. In terms of efficiency, it seems in the long run it would actually be most cost-efficiency to pony up the costs for hardware that you yourself host locally, and in the case of storage, this would require a SSD of at least 350 GB - might as well buy 1 TB while you are at it.

Thank you all for your input.

Sure. SSD is the way to go.

However, "Stop saying the cloud is just someone else's computer - because it's not" ...
- https://www.zdnet.com/article/stop-saying-the-cloud-is-just-someone-elses-computer-because-its-not/

Many "cloud" hosts will now let you upload or run your own custom and/or fully encrypted OS, for example.

In terms of your "home" node, did you build it from scratch using only "trusted" Open Hardware and Open Source Software ?

Did you review all of the Source Code in it's entirety before you ran it ? Etc., etc.,

How can one test the integrity of hardware manufactured in China for example?

[dimzayan]

Just ordered the hardware to run my personal node by using the list from Umbrel.

This is my first attempt at running one, please don't take this recommendation for gospel, but a lot of the well respected maxis on twitter are vouching for Umbrel.
They have a step by step tutorial on how to build and deploy your node on their site:https://getumbrel.com/.

Here is a copy and paste of their shopping list:

Raspberry Pi 4

1 TB SSD

SSD Enclosure

16GB+ microSD

Power Supply

Ethernet Cable

Case


The other solution I was looking for was from Start9Labs. https://start9labs.com/
Despite the fact their box comes pre-made, i was told its a little bit more hands on, and it can be a good solution for people looking to do more than basic node/LN channel. Personally I really wanted to start with a straight forward beginners approach, so went with umbrel.

Hope that helps