[Guide] How to run a Bitcoin Core full node for under 50 bucks!

[vjudeu]

I feel like it's downloading the blocks again instead of reindexing.

If you use pruning, then it definitely is.

[1713959112]

1713959112

[AnotherAlt]

I feel like it's downloading the blocks again instead of reindexing.

If you use pruning, then it definitely is.

Before, I didn't know the difference between a Full node and a pruned node. But I guess I understand now. Someone from this thread suggested me run pruned node because I don't run my computed 24/7. So, It's not going to help the blockchain. I live in a village and the electricity in my village is worse than you can imagine. You may ask, why not use a laptop? Well, I can buy a IPS for my PC. But Internet also sucks here. No electricity means no internet. My ISP Don't use IPS or any other power backup too. Being a farmer's son and living in a village becomes pretty hard now if I compare it with digital equipment. But, I only love nature here. So, The environment forced me to live here.

[n0nce]

I feel like it's downloading the blocks again instead of reindexing.

If you use pruning, then it definitely is.

Before, I didn't know the difference between a Full node and a pruned node. But I guess I understand now. Someone from this thread suggested me run pruned node because I don't run my computed 24/7. So, It's not going to help the blockchain.

Actually, if you have bad internet and / or power, it may be very beneficial to run a full node, because you'll be less reliant on connectivity to other peers and could look for old transactions and stuff without working internet connection.
You'll also definitely 'help the network' whenever your node is online - and, in case of an issue like here, you won't need to redownload everything. That's going to be very helpful if you have a slow connection; since every IBD won't take a few minutes or hours like on a fiber connection, but days and weeks. So I'd 100% go get a 1TB SSD and run full without pruning.

[n0nce]

[quote from different thread, but makes more sense here]

If, and that's a big if they can really get these stateside for $99
https://www.gaminghunt.net/2022/06/04/n6000-x86-single-board-computer/
I think it's going to be very interesting to see how many things that are now RPi based will go in this direction. Yes it's more then a Pi and you still have to add memory, but it's got a lot more power to do a lot more things. AND it's a lot more expandable.

Hey, so I just discovered something somewhat similar, somewhat different. Another x86 SBC, but more akin to a Pi, being based on Celeron instead of Pentium, more compact, with soldered components.

With Raspberry Pi 4 (8GB model) being sold for ~$180 USD at the moment, the ZimaBoard [1] may make more sense. For $199 you get an Intel Celeron N3450 Quad Core 1.1-2.2GHz, 32GB of eMMC flash and of course 8GB of RAM.
Compared to that (unreleased - link even went offline, not sure what's going on; a video [2] is still up) SBC you linked to earlier, it does cost double but it also comes with all components of course.
I love how it's x86 and yet still has a very low TDP, passively cooled and lots of I/O: perfect for node applications, due to dual SATA ports and a PCIe x4 for e.g. a boot OS on an SSD.

We talked about this in this thread I believe, but using a notebook may or may not give you reliability issues due to not being designed for 24/7 operation, meanwhile this SBC is specifically made to run a small local server as a private cloud or similar.


[1] https://shop.zimaboard.com/products/zimaboard-single-board-server-for-creators-8g-32gb-linux-windows-openwrt-pfsense-andorid-libreelec-development-board-low-cost-hackable-single-board-server?variant=39283928465606
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP4Tp2cpAjc

[AnotherAlt]

Do you mean you currently use a PC without UPS? If so, I would recommend you to get one to avoid the risk power outage breaking your PC.

Finally, This month I bought an IPS and Ran it in UPS Mode. It powers up my house for two hours at least. But, My Internet connection drops during the power outage. My PC has only 250 GB SSD and 4TB HDD. My blocks were on HDD. But, After I started re-indexing the blocks, I had to move them to the C drive which is located on SSD. I have only 100 GB of Free storage on my SSD. IDK if it's enough. The most Fraustrated thing is that I was using Prunning, and it started downloading the block again. My Internet speed increased a bit now. But, The progress per hour is still 0.28%. I am still five years behind. Should I delete all the blocks and core Start from the beginning and download the entire block? I don't want to Prunning since I bought an IPS, which can give me some backup during the power outage.

[Cricktor]

<snip>

When your internet connection drops out, this doesn't hurt Bitcoin Core and it's data files. It's bad when your PC suddenly goes off. If you can detect a power dropout and your UPS is about to run low on energy storage, your PC should close Bitcoin Core gracefully and shutdown OS gracefully. That will keep Bitcoin Core's data files healthy.

Why did you start re-indexing? This shouldn't be necessary when Bitcoin Core shuts down normally.

With a 4TB HDD you have enough space to store an unpruned blockchain on your HDD (current sizes are ~446 GiB for blocks, ~5 GiB for chainstate and ~37 GiB for indexes/txindex (if you enable creation of transaction index)).

Pruning is only to reduce the size of the stored blockchain but has its own disadvantages as a rescan or reindex would likely always redownload the whole blockchain to read through it. As I assume you have enough space on that HDD, in that case pruning makes no sense.

If your current download is with pruning enabled, you would need to stop it, disable pruning and restart the sync of the full blockchain.

You can speed up the sync process of the blockchain if you set at least dbcache=2048 in bitcoin.conf file or to some even higher value depending on how much RAM your PC has. Don't overdo it with too high dbcache value (it's in MiB) compared to total RAM size and what else is running on your PC. With 4 GiB RAM, I'd try with dbcache=1024, with 8 GiB RAM dbcache=2048 (or 3072, maybe 4096 could work, too). With 16 GiB RAM you might be able to use dbcache=5120 which should likely be enough to hold the UTXO set completely in RAM during sync of blockchain.

After the initial sync you can reduce the dbcache value or comment it out by placing a hash # in front of it.

[Austin.BitcoinMagazine]

Austin from Bitcoin Magazine here,

This is excellent! Let me know if interested in writing on article to be published in Bitcoin Magazine. Send email to austin@btcmedia.org if interested.

Everyone should have the opportunity to run a node.

I strongly believe that it's one of Bitcoin's core values to have as many full nodes (and preferably also miners, but that's another story ) as possible, distributed in as many households as possible.

While cool node boxes, composed of all-new hardware with SSDs and sexy metal cases can be built for between 200€ and 300€ (or dollars!), that might still be too much for many people. Especially in countries where wages are lower, I understand that this can be an infeasibly large sum of money.

https://i.imgur.com/StsZ49ll.jpg

MyNode and Argon One m.2 enclosures, full setup ~250€

The good news: it can be achieved much cheaper than the above mentioned figures! In fact, it can even be free if you have old hardware lying around.
The fact of the matter is, Bitcoin Core doesn't need a whole lot of resources and a 10-year-old, decommissioned laptop or Desktop PC might have enough power to run it.

So I would like to encourage everybody that's not running a node yet, to reconsider it if price for the device itself or an SSD was the main deterring factor.

Hardware selection
Almost any kind of desktop PC, laptop, NUC-type device of the last 10 years should suffice.

Make sure you can swap the drive (they are usually dead after such a long time) and you have a working PSU for it.
Anything else - screen, keyboard, trackpad, speakers, it can all be broken. You will SSH into the machine anyway and you can connect to a HDMI screen + USB keyboard during setup.
This kind of hardware is very often given away for free if you ask around friends and family, or got cheaply (or free) on craigslist.

Recommendations
RAM: 4GB - 8GB (Even as little as 1GB can suffice! If you have more, it's better of course See my graph down below about sync time with 4 vs 8GB)
Drive: 500GB - 1TB (HDD is fine, but SSD will help for faster initial sync. 500 will not last long and not suffice for Lightning and Electrum server - 1TB would be advised!)
CPU: Intel Core i3 (2nd generation or up tested and working just fine) or better - dual core is advised by me

If the machine you acquired, doesn't meet those specs, you can in many cases just add more RAM or swap the hard drive.
I would stay away from Chromebooks with non-replaceable drives and RAM since they're usually too small and USB drives aren't convenient.

Price
Of course, this low price is mainly made possible by relying on free and cheap old & used stuff.
The final price will depend a lot on how many things you can find for free, but it's possible to build a node from scratch for around $50.
I personally built one of my nodes off a gifted laptop that had no charger, so the person wanted to throw it away. I just bought the PSU for ~20€ and added an existing 500GB USB HDD for the bitcoin directory. So that node cost me just 20€. Here's a setup if you really can't find anything for free.

Example setup for $58:^{[JUST QUICKLY CHECKED EBAY!]}
Laptop without RAM and charger for $29:
https://i.postimg.cc/k5Wd87Js/image.png

4GB RAM for $10:
https://i.postimg.cc/vTghgZMH/image.png

Laptop charger for $10:
https://i.postimg.cc/T3686ZqW/image.png

500GB HDD for $9:
https://i.postimg.cc/sxCpH977/image.png

Of course, shipping adds up and I actually surpassed my $50 limit already. But I just checked eBay 'buy now' section very quickly! If you search locally, ask around, you will easily find someone who will give you an old laptop that doesn't turn on anymore (often broken charger and / or battery) or with cracked screen etc. for free.
Then you just source the charger and a new HDD for a total of $20!

If you actually have a working (but old) laptop already, with charger and everything, maybe invest the full $50 into a new SSD for better performance and longevity!

TL;DR
Get as much free and cheap used, old stuff as possible and slap it together!
I know it's not the 'deepest' topic that exists, but it's mainly to explain and show figuratively that running a node can be done very, very cheap and storage size is not an issue either, since HDDs are so damn cheap and can easily be swapped out.

[AnotherAlt]

AFAIK disable pruning from Bitcoin Core UI or bitcoin.conf should be enough. Just make sure you quit Bitcoin Core gracefully shutdown your computer before your IPS run out of power or configure your computer to do it automatically if your computer can see your IPS status.

I was so confused. I recently installed the latest version of core and started downloading the full block. My block folder size increased to 93 GB so I guess it's a lot for such low-speed internet. Yesterday, My computer was downloading blocks, and I was sleeping. My wife unplugged the computer's power to reduce the load on IPS during the power outage. heck boom,

The same issue as the previous one. This time I know how to re-index. I was happy that I didn't have to start from the beginning because I was not pruning this time. But, After running the command, It's always stuck here, and nothing happens.



Possible solution?

Another Question, Is it possible to download the blocks using IDM from anywhere on the internet and after completing the download, Move them to the blocks folder and re-index?

[n0nce]

AFAIK disable pruning from Bitcoin Core UI or bitcoin.conf should be enough. Just make sure you quit Bitcoin Core gracefully shutdown your computer before your IPS run out of power or configure your computer to do it automatically if your computer can see your IPS status.

I was so confused. I recently installed the latest version of core and started downloading the full block. My block folder size increased to 93 GB so I guess it's a lot for such low-speed internet.

The folder will increase up to 400+ GB, no matter the internet speed. That's the size of the whole blockchain.

Yesterday, My computer was downloading blocks, and I was sleeping. My wife unplugged the computer's power to reduce the load on IPS during the power outage. heck boom,

The same issue as the previous one. This time I know how to re-index. I was happy that I didn't have to start from the beginning because I was not pruning this time.

Exactly. It will still need to sync block headers and go through the (local) block files, though.

Basically:
[1] Synchronize headers with other nodes (takes just a few minutes usually)
[2] Reindex local blocks
[3] Continue downloading from last non-corrupted block file.

But, After running the command, It's always stuck here, and nothing happens.



Possible solution?

If that header percentage is not going up (20.5% in the screenshot), you could try gracefully closing and re-opening Bitcoin Core. Might have a connection issue with the network peers. Restarting will give you new ones.

Another Question, Is it possible to download the blocks using IDM from anywhere on the internet and after completing the download, Move them to the blocks folder and re-index?

There's honestly no real good reason to do so and it's more secure to do it through the Bitcoin protocol. However, there are people who upload snapshots regularly, such as here.

[AnotherAlt]

If that header percentage is not going up (20.5% in the screenshot), you could try gracefully closing and re-opening Bitcoin Core. Might have a connection issue with the network peers. Restarting will give you new ones.

Exactly, This stuck on 20.5%. I tried closing it gracefully and re-opening Bitcoin core. It doesn't help. It starts updating the last block time from the beginning and is stuck on ten years 46 weeks behind. It has been over a month now. I have been trying to run a full node with such a low-speed internet connection to help the network and use my own wallet.

[n0nce]

If that header percentage is not going up (20.5% in the screenshot), you could try gracefully closing and re-opening Bitcoin Core. Might have a connection issue with the network peers. Restarting will give you new ones.

Exactly, This stuck on 20.5%. I tried closing it gracefully and re-opening Bitcoin core. It doesn't help. It starts updating the last block time from the beginning and is stuck on ten years 46 weeks behind.

Do you have any peers / how many do you have? You can check this in Window > Peers.

Also, consider starting Bitcoin Core with -reindex flag to manually restart the reindexing process from the very start, again.

[AnotherAlt]

Do you have any peers / how many do you have? You can check this in Window > Peers.

Yes, I have 10 peers connected and I can see Network traffic.

[n0nce]

Do you have any peers / how many do you have? You can check this in Window > Peers.

Yes, I have 10 peers connected and I can see Network traffic.

Then I'd leave it running for a few hours; let it do its thing.
Otherwise, as I said, restart with -reindex and / or (maybe a bit crude measure - opinions welcome) remove some (probably the last few) blk files manually that have the corruptions in them.

[AnotherAlt]

@n0nce, Hi man. Finally, I am here with The Full network synchronized node.
One of my purposes was to use it as a wallet and help the network. It's just reached the last block, and I am up to date right now. What do I have to do to help the network? I can see my node received 970 MB while it sent only 15 MB. Do I have to enable/disable anything?

I have some questions about Bitcoin core options. Do you believe it's an appropriate thread to ask? Or do you suggest any other threads?

[BlackHatCoiner]

What do I have to do to help the network?

You're already helping it. The fact that you enforce consensus rules and propagate blocks means you're helping. If you want to help more than this, consider allowing incoming connections. If you don't, you'll connect with up to 8 full-relay nodes, and propagate the chain only to those. If you do, you can connect with up to 125 full nodes, and therefore share more.

To allow incoming connections you need to port forward and add a listen=1 in your configuration file. If you want to avoid the hassle of port forwarding, consider switching to Tor. You're also contributing to the Tor network that way.

[AnotherAlt]

To allow incoming connections you need to port forward and add a listen=1 in your configuration file. If you want to avoid the hassle of port forwarding, consider switching to Tor. You're also contributing to the Tor network that way.

I am a Dick-Head noob. I just read all of them and didn't get anything. I would search for a youtube video instead. I have some questions.
What will happen if I enable the RPC server?
What is the coin control feature? Is it the option to speed up the transaction by replacing the transaction fees?
What is connected through SOCKS5 Proxy? If I tick on it, it allows me to tick on Ipv4, Ipv6 and Tor.
BTW, If it's already helping the network, I don't want to disturb it by digging in the wrong side. Before, I ran pruned nodes without knowing the difference. It took me three months to run this Full node. You cannot imagine the smile on my face. It's big without sound.

[LoyceV]

What do I have to do to help the network?

Since you're using a VPN, your Bitcoin Core can't be reached from the outside world unless the VPN provider allows port forwarding. But, considering your low bandwidth and throttling ISP, allowing full uploads may not be the best idea. I don't think the Bitcoin network lacks bandwidth anyway: my server uploaded only 900 GB in 34 days, which is much, much less than it can handle. The server is idling, so I take it there's no demand for more bandwidth.

What is the coin control feature?

Enable it, select your own Inputs under the Send tab. I always use it, great for privacy and great for optimizing transaction fees.

Is it the option to speed up the transaction by replacing the transaction fees?

It depends.... See my topic on fees.

[BlackHatCoiner]

What will happen if I enable the RPC server?

You'll allow other computers to execute commands in your full node. For example, I request your node to return me a raw transaction. An example of RPC usage appears often in block explorers. Here's an example: https://mempool.space/api/tx/0e3e2357e806b6cdb1f70b54c3a3a17b6714ee1f0e68bebb44a74b1efd512098/hex.

Here's what happens in the background:

• Client (the user who's visiting the explorer) requests to have the raw transaction by the id: 0e3e2357e806b6cdb1f70b54c3a3a17b6714ee1f0e68bebb44a74b1efd512098.
• Mempool.space sends this request to their full node.
• Mempool.space's full node runs bitcoin-cli getrawtransaction "0e3e2357e806b6cdb1f70b54c3a3a17b6714ee1f0e68bebb44a74b1efd512098", and gets 010000000[...]ac00000000 (which is the raw transaction).
• They send the raw transaction to mempool.space.
• Mempool.space sends you the raw transaction.

That's what an RPC server does. It transmits this useful information from a full node across other protocols.

What is the coin control feature? Is it the option to speed up the transaction by replacing the transaction fees?

No. Coin control is when you individually select which UTXO you're about to spend, and when you don't let the wallet software pick them for you. It doesn't have to do with RBF, which is what you're asking.

What is connected through SOCKS5 Proxy? If I tick on it, it allows me to tick on Ipv4, Ipv6 and Tor.

Proxy is used in this case to route your outgoing & incoming traffic through Tor.

[AnotherAlt]

my server uploaded only 900 GB in 34 days, which is much, much less than it can handle.

Where do you find this info? Is it from the Network Traffic tab? If so, don't you have a power outage?
I guess, somewhere, I read that I can check on the internet if my node is contributing or not. IDK, maybe I didn't understand.

Enable it, and select your own Inputs under the Send tab. I always use it, great for privacy and great for optimizing transaction fees.

I just enabled it. I was wondering how people do that. How do they have multiple addresses in the same wallet? I used Atomic wallet, and it has only one address that cannot be changed.

That's what an RPC server does.

I got it. Do you believe I should enable it? Does it help the whole network? Or does it only help mempool?

Not Sure Where it is most appropriate. I received my first ever signature payment, which is $40 In Bitcoin.
I want to add another $10 to round up $50 and donate to someone who wants to run a Bitcoin Core full node for under 50 bucks!
It's hard for me to buy that hardware cheaply and run another full node with such internet and power issues. Whoever can do it, I will appreciate it, and I would like to help with my first ever signature income.

Cheers!

[LoyceV]

my server uploaded only 900 GB in 34 days, which is much, much less than it can handle.

Where do you find this info? Is it from the Network Traffic tab?

I used this:

Code:

./bitcoincore/bitcoin-23.0/bin/bitcoin-cli getnettotals

I assume the GUI would show the same in the Network Traffic tab indeed.

If so, don't you have a power outage?

I'm not sure what that has to do with the Network Traffic.

I was wondering how people do that. How do they have multiple addresses in the same wallet?

Click Receive tab > Create new receiving address > click as many times as you want.

$50 and donate to someone who wants to run a Bitcoin Core full node for under 50 bucks!

My advice: do it yourself I'm running one already, but there's not really a point in paying someone else to run a node.
What hardware are you now using for Bitcoin Core? It doesn't have to be dedicated hardware, if it doesn't consume too much resources you can run it just fine on your daily machine.

I received my first ever signature payment, which is $40 In Bitcoin.

Congrats! Frame it Make something special out of it and see what it's worth in 10 years.