Looking for advice on a full node

[defa1]

I've been running Core on my computer for a while, but now it's time to turn my Pi into a more fully featured node. WIth lightning, electrs, and all that other good stuff. I've been looking at some full node products and evaluating the benefits. So far I've come across: myNode, Raspiblitz, Umbrel. Nodl One/Dojo and Start9 are expensive and I already have the hardware so I'll pass.

Does anyone recommend either of these projects or know of other projects that I should consider and why? So far I'm most interested in myNode and Raspiblitz. I know Umbrel is easy but I heard the security isn't the best.

Any recommendations welcome!

[DeathAngel]

I’d advise you to most this thread to the more technical sub of the forum. You’re more likely to get constructive answers https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=4.0

[odolvlobo]

Does anyone recommend either of these projects or know of other projects that I should consider and why? So far I'm most interested in myNode and Raspiblitz. I know Umbrel is easy but I heard the security isn't the best.

If you already have an RPi and and a drive, then you want to set up the RaspiBolt project: https://stadicus.github.io/RaspiBolt/

I have bitcoind, lnd, electrs, JoinMarket, btc-rpc-explorer, and TOR set up on my RPi via Raspibolt.

[Welsh]

As long as you have the minimum requirements (I'm not sure what Raspberry Pi you're running) all of the above should be fine, and is likely down to personal preference.

To expand on the point above about RaspiBolt. It has good documentation available along with Raspiblitz, which reduces the complexity, which I believe is set out a little better than some of the alternatives. So, if you are new its probably a decent starting point.

[defa1]

What's the difference between Raspibolt and Raspiblitz? Is the bolt a bit more hands on? I have a Pi4 8GB btw.
I'm thinking of doing it all myself, I'm just a tad worried I might mess something up and start leaking over clearnet for example.
i'm relatively comfortable with bitcoin core by now, but have never touched lnd or electrum server (except eps)

[HCP]

RaspiBlitz is a nice solution, has been refined quite well, but the cost is a bit more if you go with the touchscreen setup... I'd also recommend RaspiBolt if you don't currently have the touchscreen hardware and want a cheaper "headless" solution.

The RaspiBolt project is also pretty solid and has pretty minimal requirements being just the Pi, powersupply, microSD + storage drive.

[odolvlobo]

What's the difference between Raspibolt and Raspiblitz? Is the bolt a bit more hands on? I have a Pi4 8GB btw.
I'm thinking of doing it all myself, I'm just a tad worried I might mess something up and start leaking over clearnet for example.
i'm relatively comfortable with bitcoin core by now, but have never touched lnd or electrum server (except eps)

I had mistakenly assumed that Raspiblitz was a kit. Given that you can buy the hardware separately for Raspiblitz, I don't know the pros and cons of Raspibolt vs. Raspiblitz. I would be interested in that info also.

[dkbit98]

Does anyone recommend either of these projects or know of other projects that I should consider and why? So far I'm most interested in myNode and Raspiblitz. I know Umbrel is easy but I heard the security isn't the best.

Umbrel is probably one of the easiest option for setting up Bitcoin node I ever saw, everything is open source and Lightning Network is fully supported, but you won't do anything wrong if you choose something else like myNode or Raspiblitz.

[defa1]

Does anyone recommend either of these projects or know of other projects that I should consider and why? So far I'm most interested in myNode and Raspiblitz. I know Umbrel is easy but I heard the security isn't the best.

Umbrel is probably one of the easiest option for setting up Bitcoin node I ever saw, everything is open source and Lightning Network is fully supported, but you won't do anything wrong if you choose something else like myNode or Raspiblitz.

I read that it's not as secure because for example updates aren't signed, although I don't know if that's also the case with the other nodes

[defa1]

What's the difference between Raspibolt and Raspiblitz?

Raspibolt is more difficult to use since you need to setup each component (e.g. Bitcoin Core, LND) manually. Raspiblitz only require you to set few password and how to sync. As @HCP mentioned, Raspiblitz is heavier since it include more feature/component by default. But since you have Pi4 8GB, you shouldn't face any major performance. problem

If I have a free weekend I might actually enjoy setting all of it up manually :-) Do you know which services are available on the blitz but not on the bolt?

[dkbit98]

I read that it's not as secure because for example updates aren't signed, although I don't know if that's also the case with the other nodes

You can verify any update yourself because everything is open source and posted on their github page:
https://github.com/getumbrel/umbrel/releases

[HCP]

If I have a free weekend I might actually enjoy setting all of it up manually :-) Do you know which services are available on the blitz but not on the bolt?

There isn't a definitive Blitz vs Bolt list that I have seen anywhere... I dare say that Blitz includes a number of "add-ons" or extra features that Bolt doesn't like the "stacking sats on kraken" script etc.

Bolt is definitely the bare-bones DIY solution... Blitz is a bit more polished and somewhat "automated", imo

[Cricktor]

... I'd also recommend RaspiBolt if you don't currently have the touchscreen hardware and want a cheaper "headless" solution.

The RaspiBolt project is also pretty solid and has pretty minimal requirements being just the Pi, powersupply, microSD + storage drive.

The touchscreen for RaspiBlitz is totally optional, you can run RaspiBlitz headless without any issues. I run RaspiBlitz without touchscreen on a Pi 4B with 8GB RAM and currently have only an issue to activate the add-on JoinMarket which runs into an error I couldn't sort out so far with RaspiBlitz v1.7.0 (actively running bitcoind, LND, electrs, RTL, BTC-RPC-Explorer, TOR).

[HCP]

Indeed... it seems that the information I was looking at is slightly outdated... I had read that using it headless required creating your own sdcard image. However, further investigation shows that you can use the default image and set it all up headless without issue. There is a fairly comprehensive guide here: https://armantheparman.com/raspiblitz/

And he even shows how to go headless AND use WiFi, if ethernet is not suitable: https://armantheparman.com/headless-wifi/


Meanwhile, I'm off to the store to buy a more reliable power supply for my Pi

[vv181]

I tried to run a full node on pi 4 8GB, and the initial blockchain download is really a pain in the neck, especially that i use HDD. It's a bad decision that I made to use HDD.

Recently, I got power failures on the pi, which made the blockchain data corrupt,  I had to run -reindex-chainstate on it but I guess I got the CPU throttled. So, I tried to reindex it on my PC, I use the permission bitcoin:bitcoin as it the same on pi. Latter if I move it back to pi it shouldn't be a problem, right?

Also, is there any chance to prevent the data from corrupted if it got unclean/forcefully shut down? Is the thing on the Linux OS/file system side or there should be some way on the bitcoin node that able to make the data safe even if it is got unclean shutdown?

[HCP]

I tried to run a full node on pi 4 8GB, and the initial blockchain download is really a pain in the neck, especially that i use HDD. It's a bad decision that I made to use HDD.

Yeah, using an HDD for the IBD is going to be very slow on the Pi... it's already processor limited, and you're just knee-capping it further using the HDD.

I setup Raspiblitz using a Pi 4B 8GB with an HDD... but I used the "copy" option that it has to transfer the data from my desktop to the Pi HDD. My first attempt I used WiFi (which was incredibly slow) and I didn't copy the "indexes" folder, only the "blocks" and "chainstate" folders as per the RaspiBlitz install instructions.

This was a huge mistake as using some of the other features of RaspiBlitz like electrs (Electrum Server) or the block explorers requires txindex=1... so then I had to wait for the node to complete the transaction indexing... which took something like 24 hrs to index 75%... but I suspect some of the slowdown might have been because I tried to enable several of the extra services at the same time so electrs was creating it's database while bitcoind was txindexing etc.

I eventually had the bright idea of copying the txindex from my desktop as well... so, I wiped the Pi... and this time copied "blocks", "chainstate" and "indexes" from my desktop node datadir (making sure the node was not running of course):

Code:

scp -r ./chainstate ./blocks ./indexes bitcoin@pi.ip.addr.here:/mnt/hdd/bitcoin

I also used an ethernet cable... which improved the transfer speed by a factor of around 10 (ie. it was taking 2 seconds to transfer a 130GB block file instead of around 18-20 seconds).

So after a couple of hours copying the blockdata, I had bitcoind/lnd up and running... I then installed the mempool/btc-explorer services on the RaspiBlitz and was able to use the block explorer functionality immediately as the node was already indexed.

I then installed the electrs service and it took a few hours to create it's database... and then an hour or so more to compact the database... and now everything is running fairly smoothly.

So, after about a full 24 hours, I have my own personal Bitcoin/LND Node + Electrum Server + Block explorer... and it's all running behind Tor.

I'm actually pretty impressed with RaspiBlitz.

Recently, I got power failures on the pi, which made the blockchain data corrupt,  I had to run -reindex-chainstate on it but I guess I got the CPU throttled. So, I tried to reindex it on my PC, I use the permission bitcoin:bitcoin as it the same on pi. Latter if I move it back to pi it shouldn't be a problem, right?

Are you running plain bitcoind on the Pi or are you attempting to use something like RaspiBolt/RaspiBlitz/MyNode?

If you're using plain bitcoind, you should be able to copy the data without issue. Just make sure that your desktop node is stopped first, then copy the data. You will need to copy "blocks" and "chainstate" (and "indexes" if your desktop is set to use txindex=1 and you also want the Pi to do the same) from the desktop node datadir.

Also, is there any chance to prevent the data from corrupted if it got unclean/forcefully shut down? Is the thing on the Linux OS/file system side or there should be some way on the bitcoin node that able to make the data safe even if it is got unclean shutdown?

There isn't really much you can do... even on a desktop, or Windows... an unclean shutdown can corrupt data. Usually, this should only affect the last block file, so a reindex (while time consuming) should fix it.

Are you using an "official" Pi powersupply? Or just a generic USB adapter? The Pi's can be quite power sensitive and an external HDD will require more power than an external SSD... using a generic USB adapter might be causing power delivery issues.

I got an official power supply... it was like US$8 from my local Pi stockist. I've not had any issues as yet (touch wood)... it seems pretty solid.

[vv181]

@HCP
I'm following the Raspibolt tutorial. I was successfully reindexed on my PC, and its all works fine when i move the HDD back to pi. Though there are some permission issues, so I just changed it back to bitcoin:bitcoin without a problem.

My HDD contained the whole Pi os and the bitcoin data. I just connect it to my pc running Arch, then I just symlink the bitcoin folder to my home bitcoin user. Run the reindex on plain bitcoind with some configuration, it's indeed going faster. When I move it back to pi there are some file permissions are changed to root, but I just chown it back to bitcoin:bitcoin. Upon starting again on the pi, its works.

Yea I use the official power adapter. And yep, AFAIK hdd is a more prone error from power failure, so I rather use the official one.

Thanks anyway! 

I have my own personal Bitcoin/LND Node + Electrum Server + Block explorer... and it's all running behind Tor.

How's your pi perform when running all of that? I mean like the ram usage and the CPU Usage

[HCP]

I'm following the Raspibolt tutorial. I was successfully reindexed on my PC, and its all works fine when i move the HDD back to pi. Though there are some permission issues, so I just changed it back to bitcoin:bitcoin without a problem.

Seems like you have a good process for getting the blocks/chainstate all sorted via the PC and then migrated back over to the Pi. Nice.

I have my own personal Bitcoin/LND Node + Electrum Server + Block explorer... and it's all running behind Tor.

How's your pi perform when running all of that? I mean like the ram usage and the CPU Usage

It "idles" away OK:


Idle == just syncing new blocks with electrs + block explorer working away in the background


If I attempt to sync an Electrum wallet with a modest amount of transactions:


It drives the load up a little... increases the memory usage slightly and the temps jump (because I don't have any heatsinks/fans or anything on the Pi at the moment, it's just the bare board sitting on the cardboard box that it came in )


And this is with Electrum syncing + mempool.space + btc explorer open in the browser on my laptop:



So it hums along "OK"... honestly, the most taxing thing so far was the electrum server indexing...



On a side note... because I hate myself and can't just leave well enough alone... I'm thinking of blowing it all away and trying out Umbrel. Just so I can see what that is like

Apparently you can also copy across the data from another node, it's just a slightly more manual process: https://github.com/getumbrel/umbrel-os/issues/119

I'll report back once that is done.

[vv181]

~

Thanks for sharing! Just want to make sure the number on the left side of "free mem xx / xx" is the free RAM you got right?
I'm planning to run other apps on pi, I guess maybe it should be safe then.

(because I don't have any heatsinks/fans or anything on the Pi at the moment, it's just the bare board sitting on the cardboard box that it came in )

xd , My pi runs exactly the same as you. Barebone on top of the package box with a tangled-up cable.

Anyway, the IBD is still ongoing but when I run

Code:

bitcoin-cli --rpcuser=raspibolt --rpcpassword=x getblockchaininfo

It returned with http error 403.

My Pi run using Raspap on AP-STA mode + Nextcloud. And I use default Raspibolt bitcoin.conf but I haven't set up the ufw firewall on the Raspibolt security step.

debug.log

Code: (netstat -an | grep 8332)

tcp        0      0 127.0.0.1:28332         0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN     
tcp        0      0 127.0.0.1:8332          0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN     
tcp6       0      0 ::1:8332                :::*                    LISTEN    

Been checking around with my network configuration, but still couldn't figure it out. Until I set the bitcoin.conf with rpcallowip=127.0.0.1/0, and it is workings fine. By setting up that conf, would it fix the the actual problems and its safe to procced?

[nortwood]

I recently setup a headless raspiblitz running on a naked RPi4 8gb as well. I've got a passive aluminum case (which I like more than the fans) but haven't disconnected it yet. I have had some performance issues. Ultimately uninstalled mempool. The RPi was doggish and the mempool didn't provide as much info as mempool.space. I guess I had just assumed it would have everything.   

A question that I have is whether it downloads the blockchain via tor by default. In the guides I saw that there was an option during initial setup, but I didn't see it. I read that they switched to tor by default for the node itself, and I would hope that would mean from initial blockchain download forward but I'm uncertain. Anyone have any ideas?

Also, I'm surprised that "pi" wasn't deleted and I wonder how secure that is. That seems less than ideal based on what I've read from installing other instances on RPi's. But I'm not technically advanced enough to know for sure if that's just less of an issue with tor, assuming it was during download.

So far I haven't actually used it other than to just play around and learn. I'm not sure that I trust it in it's current configuration, and for sure want to at least isolate it on my network first. Especially after learning how few are online and that there might be other vulnerabilities like the "spying nodes" referenced in another thread that I've yet to fully elucidate.