Official FutureBit Apollo II/BTC Software/Image and Support thread

[aurel57]

I am waiting on FedEx to drop off my Apollo II full node. Any tips on setting it up that you might have. Should I let the node populate the blockchain before doing anything else?

[PennyBit]

I am waiting on FedEx to drop off my Apollo II full node. Any tips on setting it up that you might have. Should I let the node populate the blockchain before doing anything else?

First thing, make sure both the MicroSD card and the NVME card are seated all the way before you even plug it in. Then after you get it up and running (preferably hard-wired with an ethernet cable) I would let the node sync up fully (could be several days) before trying to mine beyond ECO mode. Besides, you can't mine to your own node until it is sync'd completely - but you can pool mine, just stay in ECO until the node is complete. Anything higher than ECO during the sync really puts a strain on the system. That's pretty much it in a nutshell.

Here is the full getting started guide on the Futurebit website:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a9c84ac89c172bcf087f4c0/t/662173d150d84b057cb14192/1713468369163/FutureBit-Apollo-II-Guide.pdf

Cheers!

[aurel57]

I am waiting on FedEx to drop off my Apollo II full node. Any tips on setting it up that you might have. Should I let the node populate the blockchain before doing anything else?

First thing, make sure both the MicroSD card and the NVME card are seated all the way before you even plug it in. Then after you get it up and running (preferably hard-wired with an ethernet cable) I would let the node sync up fully (could be several days) before trying to mine beyond ECO mode. Besides, you can't mine to your own node until it is sync'd completely - but you can pool mine, just stay in ECO until the node is complete. Anything higher than ECO during the sync really puts a strain on the system. That's pretty much it in a nutshell.

Here is the full getting started guide on the Futurebit website:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a9c84ac89c172bcf087f4c0/t/662173d150d84b057cb14192/1713468369163/FutureBit-Apollo-II-Guide.pdf

Cheers!

Thanks I will wait for it sync and yes i plan on using ethernet cable

[Poker8]

2.0.6 is finally merged on production and doing a public test before pushing to everyone next week

If anyone wants to test ssh into your device (futurebit/password you set for your dashboard) and

Code:

cd /opt/apolloapi/backend/

sudo ./update

to manually force an update

reminder can take up to 20 min to rebuild the system and it will auto reboot when finished. Close your UI tab and clear cache so your browser does not load the old version.

Please shoot any build issue or bugs...this will definitely fix all the graphql errors small number of users have seen

Sorry this took way longer than planned!

Is this ready for public release yet?

[jstefanop]

2.0.6 is finally merged on production and doing a public test before pushing to everyone next week

If anyone wants to test ssh into your device (futurebit/password you set for your dashboard) and

Code:

cd /opt/apolloapi/backend/

sudo ./update

to manually force an update

reminder can take up to 20 min to rebuild the system and it will auto reboot when finished. Close your UI tab and clear cache so your browser does not load the old version.

Please shoot any build issue or bugs...this will definitely fix all the graphql errors small number of users have seen

Sorry this took way longer than planned!

Is this ready for public release yet?

It is but we are still building the images.

Sorry guys dropped the ball on this update. Last two weeks with the block find and trump winning has been pretty crazy so trying to stay on top of production and support.

I dont want to push the OTA update until we have the images ready in case there are update failures. Going to have those out Monday or Tuesday.

[aurel57]

I am waiting on FedEx to drop off my Apollo II full node. Any tips on setting it up that you might have. Should I let the node populate the blockchain before doing anything else?

First thing, make sure both the MicroSD card and the NVME card are seated all the way before you even plug it in. Then after you get it up and running (preferably hard-wired with an ethernet cable) I would let the node sync up fully (could be several days) before trying to mine beyond ECO mode. Besides, you can't mine to your own node until it is sync'd completely - but you can pool mine, just stay in ECO until the node is complete. Anything higher than ECO during the sync really puts a strain on the system. That's pretty much it in a nutshell.

Here is the full getting started guide on the Futurebit website:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a9c84ac89c172bcf087f4c0/t/662173d150d84b057cb14192/1713468369163/FutureBit-Apollo-II-Guide.pdf

Cheers!

Thanks I will wait for it sync and yes i plan on using ethernet cable

I am glad you recommended checking the MicroSD card but its about 70% sync'd now. It shows 10/32 connections, but the instructions say it should go higher (to the 32 I guess), so will it not go higher until 100% sync'd or do I need to do something.

[PennyBit]

I am waiting on FedEx to drop off my Apollo II full node. Any tips on setting it up that you might have. Should I let the node populate the blockchain before doing anything else?

First thing, make sure both the MicroSD card and the NVME card are seated all the way before you even plug it in. Then after you get it up and running (preferably hard-wired with an ethernet cable) I would let the node sync up fully (could be several days) before trying to mine beyond ECO mode. Besides, you can't mine to your own node until it is sync'd completely - but you can pool mine, just stay in ECO until the node is complete. Anything higher than ECO during the sync really puts a strain on the system. That's pretty much it in a nutshell.

Here is the full getting started guide on the Futurebit website:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a9c84ac89c172bcf087f4c0/t/662173d150d84b057cb14192/1713468369163/FutureBit-Apollo-II-Guide.pdf

Cheers!

Thanks I will wait for it sync and yes i plan on using ethernet cable

I am glad you recommended checking the MicroSD card but its about 70% sync'd now. It shows 10/32 connections, but the instructions say it should go higher (to the 32 I guess), so will it not go higher until 100% sync'd or do I need to do something.

It's been suggested to forward to port 8333 on your router if you're not getting more than 10. Personally, I've never been able to get my Netgear router to actually accommodate my efforts in this regard (could be my router acting up or just me being stupid). However, I did manually add a few node addresses from https://bitnodes.io/ and after that I can at least can get 12-13. It's obviously a common problem as this issue keeps coming up here and simple port forwarding just doesn't seem to address it in every case. I should state that I don't forward via UPnP as I don't believe it's that secure. In any case, until I get a new router I'll just live with 12 connections.

Cheers!

[aurel57]

I am waiting on FedEx to drop off my Apollo II full node. Any tips on setting it up that you might have. Should I let the node populate the blockchain before doing anything else?

First thing, make sure both the MicroSD card and the NVME card are seated all the way before you even plug it in. Then after you get it up and running (preferably hard-wired with an ethernet cable) I would let the node sync up fully (could be several days) before trying to mine beyond ECO mode. Besides, you can't mine to your own node until it is sync'd completely - but you can pool mine, just stay in ECO until the node is complete. Anything higher than ECO during the sync really puts a strain on the system. That's pretty much it in a nutshell.

Here is the full getting started guide on the Futurebit website:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a9c84ac89c172bcf087f4c0/t/662173d150d84b057cb14192/1713468369163/FutureBit-Apollo-II-Guide.pdf

Cheers!

Thanks I will wait for it sync and yes i plan on using ethernet cable

I am glad you recommended checking the MicroSD card but its about 70% sync'd now. It shows 10/32 connections, but the instructions say it should go higher (to the 32 I guess), so will it not go higher until 100% sync'd or do I need to do something.

It's been suggested to forward to port 8333 on your router if you're not getting more than 10. Personally, I've never been able to get my Netgear router to actually accommodate my efforts in this regard (could be my router acting up or just me being stupid). However, I did manually add a few node addresses from https://bitnodes.io/ and after that I can at least can get 12-13. It's obviously a common problem as this issue keeps coming up here and simple port forwarding just doesn't seem to address it in every case. I should state that I don't forward via UPnP as I don't believe it's that secure. In any case, until I get a new router I'll just live with 12 connections.

Cheers!

Thank you PennyBit for the reply. I switched it over to my piggybacked Eero hoping it might change but it looks like i might need to manually add a couple as well. Can you tell me the steps in adding the other connections? I am thinking at the "Bitcoin node configuration" and if so do I just need to add the IP address of some local nodes?

[PennyBit]

I am waiting on FedEx to drop off my Apollo II full node. Any tips on setting it up that you might have. Should I let the node populate the blockchain before doing anything else?

First thing, make sure both the MicroSD card and the NVME card are seated all the way before you even plug it in. Then after you get it up and running (preferably hard-wired with an ethernet cable) I would let the node sync up fully (could be several days) before trying to mine beyond ECO mode. Besides, you can't mine to your own node until it is sync'd completely - but you can pool mine, just stay in ECO until the node is complete. Anything higher than ECO during the sync really puts a strain on the system. That's pretty much it in a nutshell.

Here is the full getting started guide on the Futurebit website:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a9c84ac89c172bcf087f4c0/t/662173d150d84b057cb14192/1713468369163/FutureBit-Apollo-II-Guide.pdf

Cheers!

Thanks I will wait for it sync and yes i plan on using ethernet cable

I am glad you recommended checking the MicroSD card but its about 70% sync'd now. It shows 10/32 connections, but the instructions say it should go higher (to the 32 I guess), so will it not go higher until 100% sync'd or do I need to do something.

It's been suggested to forward to port 8333 on your router if you're not getting more than 10. Personally, I've never been able to get my Netgear router to actually accommodate my efforts in this regard (could be my router acting up or just me being stupid). However, I did manually add a few node addresses from https://bitnodes.io/ and after that I can at least can get 12-13. It's obviously a common problem as this issue keeps coming up here and simple port forwarding just doesn't seem to address it in every case. I should state that I don't forward via UPnP as I don't believe it's that secure. In any case, until I get a new router I'll just live with 12 connections.

Cheers!

Thank you PennyBit for the reply. I switched it over to my piggybacked Eero hoping it might change but it looks like i might need to manually add a couple as well. Can you tell me the steps in adding the other connections? I am thinking at the "Bitcoin node configuration" and if so do I just need to add the IP address of some local nodes?

Take a look at a post from Sledge0001 here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5492150.0

About 2/3 of the way down of his pics he gives a good example using the addnode=IPADDRESS and listenonion=0 commands

Cheers!

[rnproject]

2.0.6 is finally merged on production and doing a public test before pushing to everyone next week

If anyone wants to test ssh into your device (futurebit/password you set for your dashboard) and

Code:

cd /opt/apolloapi/backend/

sudo ./update

to manually force an update

reminder can take up to 20 min to rebuild the system and it will auto reboot when finished. Close your UI tab and clear cache so your browser does not load the old version.

Please shoot any build issue or bugs...this will definitely fix all the graphql errors small number of users have seen

Sorry this took way longer than planned!

I tried forcing the update manually, but the version in the GUI seems to remain at 2.0.5.

The update log also shows it as v2.0.5 to v2.0.5.

Code:

futurebit@futurebit-apollo-2:/opt/apolloapi/backend$ sudo ./update
rm: cannot remove '/tmp/update_progress': No such file or directory
Now using node v21.6.2 (npm v10.2.4)
 ---> Updating API modules
HEAD is now at d6ba154 Update image_update
remote: Enumerating objects: 86, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (86/86), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (46/46), done.
remote: Total 86 (delta 53), reused 69 (delta 40), pack-reused 0 (from 0)
Unpacking objects: 100% (86/86), 13.52 KiB | 28.00 KiB/s, done.
From https://github.com/jstefanop/apolloapi-v2
   d6ba154..fd67cf6  main       -> origin/main
 * [new tag]         v2.0.5     -> v2.0.5
Updating d6ba154..fd67cf6

Is there a way to check the Apollo OS version from the command line?

Shows 2.0.5 for me after the update as well

The display still shows 2.0.5, but after the update there are no more GraphQL errors.

I'm glad no longer have to restart Apollo II due to them!

[Starbucks Dev]

Guys/Gals
Does anyone have any experience with remote access to the Apollo II??
I do a lot of travel and really need to setup remote access to my miner and thought I would ask if anyone has done this previously before I start down the rabbit hole (maybe save myself some time and pain  )

What software did you use?
any tips/tricks on the process.

Thanks in advance

[aurel57]

Guys/Gals
Does anyone have any experience with remote access to the Apollo II??
I do a lot of travel and really need to setup remote access to my miner and thought I would ask if anyone has done this previously before I start down the rabbit hole (maybe save myself some time and pain   )

What software did you use?
any tips/tricks on the process.

Thanks in advance

I find it easy to just leave a laptop or desktop at home on the network running and use a free version of TeamViewer. I can access from my iPhone as needed.

[aurel57]

Take a look at a post from Sledge0001 here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5492150.0

About 2/3 of the way down of his pics he gives a good example using the addnode=IPADDRESS and listenonion=0 commands

Cheers!

Thanks again, this will help, and I will wait until its fully sync'd before adding. I do see once the number jumps to 11 connections then drops back to 10 in a short while? Did you add the "listenonion=0"? if so what is the reason for that?

[rayday11]

Guys/Gals
Does anyone have any experience with remote access to the Apollo II??
I do a lot of travel and really need to setup remote access to my miner and thought I would ask if anyone has done this previously before I start down the rabbit hole (maybe save myself some time and pain  )

What software did you use?
any tips/tricks on the process.

Thanks in advance

I also use Teamviewer with a barebones pc running at home. I access it with my tablet, anywhere on the planet.

[PennyBit]

Take a look at a post from Sledge0001 here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5492150.0

About 2/3 of the way down of his pics he gives a good example using the addnode=IPADDRESS and listenonion=0 commands

Cheers!

Thanks again, this will help, and I will wait until its fully sync'd before adding. I do see once the number jumps to 11 connections then drops back to 10 in a short while? Did you add the "listenonion=0"? if so what is the reason for that?

Yes, I did add the "listenonion=0" command although I don't use TOR either. I have to admit I don't know much more about those options than the little research I did on the web. So I really don't know enough to guide you into an informed decision in this regard. Sorry. But if you research "onion service" on the web along with TOR you'll get an idea if you need/want to use them or not.

Cheers!

[BrokenTractor]

Is there any advantage to upgrading the MicroSD card from 16 GB to 32 GB?
Can this additional space be utilized to prevent any system issues?
I plan on upgrading to an “Industrial” grade card since it has a wider functioning temperature range than the consumer grades, and just need to decide if 32 GB will make a difference or not.

[eagleye]

It's been reported that during IBD you only get 10 connections.  Once you get IDB=false and After the full node is running that jumps to max limit for me.

For those who are old school, I like to see the data from the logs live.  The GUI is great and helpful but when running the node and the miner I want to see real time data.  Some data maybe considered redundant but I setup two screens so I can see on the monitor next to the apollo what is running.

open up two linux terminator windows.  in the first window you can "cd /media/nvme/Bitcoin"  then "tail -F debug.log"  this will show the running output of the node debug log
in the second window you can "cd opt/apolloapi/backend/ckpool/logs" then "tail -f ckpool.log"  this will show you the miners status log.
These two windows use minimal memory.  
I also have the system monitor running. I don't keep the firefox browser up as it consumes memory.  I monitor the GUI remotely.

To me this is the breathing machine When you can see old school real time log status outputs.

And as an example my node stopped running and you get the connection refused message but don't know why.  Quickly I was able to see details on the node screens of the logs live.  I had  a nasty error database corrupted message.  I was able to easily scroll back through the log and see what happened.  I was able to restart the node and watch the recovery.  It failed with the same error database corrupt.  Then stopped the miner that continued to mine worthlessly with a down node,   Then I shutdown the system, turning it off and then back on.  system restarted and node came back to life without error and resynced.

*** Developer Suggestion***  When the node crashes During solo mining The miner does not stop mining even with error messages.  There should be a way to automatically stop the miner.  Or have the option to switch the miner over to a backup pool if the node crashes.  Most basic mining software on mining rigs had this feature to revert to a backup pool when main pool failed. Then, when the node comes back alive, the miner switches back the the node.

[eagleye]

Is there any advantage to upgrading the MicroSD card from 16 GB to 32 GB?
Can this additional space be utilized to prevent any system issues?
I plan on upgrading to an “Industrial” grade card since it has a wider functioning temperature range than the consumer grades, and just need to decide if 32 GB will make a difference or not.

Reliability.  The new card is more reliable than the factory supplied card.  Memory wise I haven't found a use other than lots of free space.  Maybe a slight bit faster on boot.  I picked a microsd with the fastest memory access speed I could find and I could only find a card with 128GB on sale.  It's rated industrial or gaming speeds and temps.  Works fine.  I believe my system is more stable.  I seemed to have more crashes with the factory 16GB. Now, almost none.  

That's my experience.

With more memory you could download more programs for your LINUX os running on the raspberry PI Or use the space for downloaded research online.  but then This machine really only has one purpose. Cache memory belongs in ram and on the NVME drive.  They are fast.  The system memory on the microsd is dedicated to OS programs.  That's proper delegation and design.

[Poker8]

Is there any advantage to upgrading the MicroSD card from 16 GB to 32 GB?
Can this additional space be utilized to prevent any system issues?
I plan on upgrading to an “Industrial” grade card since it has a wider functioning temperature range than the consumer grades, and just need to decide if 32 GB will make a difference or not.

Reliability.  The new card is more reliable than the factory supplied card.  Memory wise I haven't found a use other than lots of free space.  Maybe a slight bit faster on boot.  I picked a microsd with the fastest memory access speed I could find and I could only find a card with 128GB on sale.  It's rated industrial or gaming speeds and temps.  Works fine.  I believe my system is more stable.  I seemed to have more crashes with the factory 16GB. Now, almost none.  

That's my experience.

With more memory you could download more programs for your LINUX os running on the raspberry PI Or use the space for downloaded research online.  but then This machine really only has one purpose. Cache memory belongs in ram and on the NVME drive.  They are fast.  The system memory on the microsd is dedicated to OS programs.  That's proper delegation and design.

What brand of microsd card did you purchase? I have been running my new Apollo2 for six days and it is 94.35% synced. It has crashed a few times during this process. It has shown usually 16/32 connections. My factory 1tb nvme card has 37% remaining space left. So, I will probably go to a larger nvme also.

[bubbAJoe]

cant believe it...make no mistake everyone in the futurebit community just made history today

10 years of grinding for this and its surreal...today we took bitcoin back

So to hit a block, would the miner's Best Share have to be equal to BTC network difficulty?

Has Futurebit learned any more details about how this block was mined?

e.g.:

one miner or multiple miners feeding the solo node?

how many days had the miner/s been running before hitting?