A bitcoin full node FAQ

[gweedo]

During a lot of my day I see inaccurate information about bitcoin full nodes. I wanted to create a topic where people can ask questions and we can answer them. So there's 1000's of separate topics on this subject found in many different boards.

I think this could also help make newbies feel better as to why it is important to run a full node and it isn't that hard to get started.

Ask your questions here and I or the community will answer them.

[Vod]

What is a "full node"?

(Seriously, that is a legit question!)

[Epiphany]

Do you have to be mining to have a full node? Can I just open my wallet with the full blockchain and it is a full node while it is open? Or do I have to tweak some setting for that to happen? I assumed you had to mine to have a full node. Can you clarify?

[Epiphany]

Do you have to be mining to have a full node? Can I just open my wallet with the full blockchain and it is a full node while it is open? Or do I have to tweak some setting for that to happen? I assumed you had to mine to have a full node. Can you clarify?

You don't have be mining to run a full node. You just have to have port 8333 open on your router or firewall. So peers can connect to you and download data. Default bitcoin is setup to do just this relay transactions.

A full node can just relay transactions to peers and help the network be connected.

Interesting, I didn't realize that.  How much bandwidth does that hog? I don't have a great internet connection but if it didn't use much, I'd leave mine running to help secure the network.

[gweedo]

Do you have to be mining to have a full node? Can I just open my wallet with the full blockchain and it is a full node while it is open? Or do I have to tweak some setting for that to happen? I assumed you had to mine to have a full node. Can you clarify?

You don't have be mining to run a full node. You just have to have port 8333 open on your router or firewall. So peers can connect to you and download data. Default bitcoin is setup to do just this relay transactions.

A full node can just relay transactions to peers and help the network be connected.

Interesting, I didn't realize that.  How much bandwidth does that hog? I don't have a great internet connection but if it didn't use much, I'd leave mine running to help secure the network.

It is a lot of bandwidth it really depends on your hoster or ISP. I run a VPS that has 5tb bandwidth and I am not even close to that level and my mac mini has a node running and it is fine no complaints from my ISP.

[Greenleed]

So,what is not "full node" or " half-full node "?  I use multibit wallet and sometimes it seems taking forever for syn the blockchain. Does that mean I am just in a bad luck by connecting to a "not full node" peer?

[DeathAndTaxes]

So,what is not "full node" or " half-full node "?  I use multibit wallet and sometimes it seems taking forever for syn the blockchain. Does that mean I am just in a bad luck by connecting to a "not full node" peer?

No there are only full nodes and lite or SPV nodes.  You can't download the blockchain from lite nodes because they don't have it.  The "forever" may be due to your peers being slow or it may just be due to your system.  SSD and lots of memory help in the initial sync. 

[dree12]

So,what is not "full node" or " half-full node "?  I use multibit wallet and sometimes it seems taking forever for syn the blockchain. Does that mean I am just in a bad luck by connecting to a "not full node" peer?

No there are only full nodes and lite or SPV nodes.  You can't download the blockchain from lite nodes because they don't have it.  The "forever" may be due to your peers being slow or it may just be due to your system.  SSD and lots of memory help in the initial sync. 

There are also "leech nodes" that arise from people running "full nodes" behind an archaic UPnP-less router that blocks the port... They waste all the resources a full node does while providing none of the benefit.

[mailmansDOG]

Ok I saw that one on reddit, does running a full bitcoin node in a casual home computer with a kind of slow connection really contribute to the network? Or could it even have a negative effect? 

Is the sacrifice of your bandwidth and hard drive space worth it? I think that if your connection is slow you won't get enough connections and therefore your client wont send information to other people trying to receive the blockchain. This way being a "leecher" of the p2p data without contributing.

Could this by any means be true?

[R2D221]

I want to run a full node, but I don't have any spare computer to leave it running 24/7. I'm planning to buy hosting. Is that a good idea? What specs should the hosting have?

[DeathAndTaxes]

Ok I saw that one on reddit, does running a full bitcoin node in a casual home computer with a kind of slow connection really contribute to the network? Or could it even have a negative effect? 

Is the sacrifice of your bandwidth and hard drive space worth it? I think that if your connection is slow you won't get enough connections and therefore your client wont send information to other people trying to receive the blockchain. This way being a "leecher" of the p2p data without contributing.

Could this by any means be true?

It depends on what you mean by slow.  If you are on dialup then no you probably are not helping.  If you aren't accepting inbound connections then no you aren't helping.  However even with reasonable speed and a moderate number of connections (you can limit it based on your bandwidth) you are providing available connections to new nodes so you are helping.  Even a node with 8 inbound connections on a home cable or dsl line helps.

[gweedo]

I want to run a full node, but I don't have any spare computer to leave it running 24/7. I'm planning to buy hosting. Is that a good idea? What specs should the hosting have?

1GB of ram, at least 50gb or more of HDD space, get SDD (solid state drive as hard drive type) unmetered or high bandwidth at least 1 tb.

Ok I saw that one on reddit, does running a full bitcoin node in a casual home computer with a kind of slow connection really contribute to the network? Or could it even have a negative effect?  

Is the sacrifice of your bandwidth and hard drive space worth it? I think that if your connection is slow you won't get enough connections and therefore your client wont send information to other people trying to receive the blockchain. This way being a "leecher" of the p2p data without contributing.

Could this by any means be true?

I would suggest if that is the case you aren't helping by having this slow peer, but instead invest in a VPS, that would worth more to the network.

[Foxpup]

There are also "leech nodes" that arise from people running "full nodes" behind an archaic UPnP-less router that blocks the port... They waste all the resources a full node does while providing none of the benefit.

False.

[dree12]

There are also "leech nodes" that arise from people running "full nodes" behind an archaic UPnP-less router that blocks the port... They waste all the resources a full node does while providing none of the benefit.

False.

Please elaborate.

[Foxpup]

There are also "leech nodes" that arise from people running "full nodes" behind an archaic UPnP-less router that blocks the port... They waste all the resources a full node does while providing none of the benefit.

False.

Please elaborate.

Nothing in your post is even remotely true. Therefore, it is false. If you have any reason for believing anything in your post to be true, please provide such reasons.

[dree12]

There are also "leech nodes" that arise from people running "full nodes" behind an archaic UPnP-less router that blocks the port... They waste all the resources a full node does while providing none of the benefit.

False.

Please elaborate.

Nothing in your post is even remotely true. Therefore, it is false. If you have any reason for believing anything in your post to be true, please provide such reasons.

How about an appeal to authority?

Most ordinary folks should NOT be running a full node. We need full nodes that are always on, have more than 8 connections (if you have only 8 then you are part of the problem, not part of the solution), and have a high-bandwidth connection to the Internet.

So: if you've got an extra virtual machine with enough memory in a data center, then yes, please, run a full node.

[phillipsjk]

Please elaborate.

UPnP does firewall piercing so: that you don't have to, or, DRM/malware can do it without your consent.

Even with no inbound connections, you can help relay transactions if you happen to be the lowest latency route between two nodes. Edit: Bittorrent can work the same way: you can upload with outbound connections.

Currently my node uses less than 100GB per month with 16 Bitcoin and P2Pool connections (I wish I had better stats--have not gotten around to breaking bandwidth down by port).

[dree12]

Please elaborate.

UPnP does firewall piercing so: that you don't have to, or, DRM/malware can do it without your consent.

I am talking about UPnP-less (or UPnP-disabled) routers that some people still hide behind, deliberately or not.

Even with no inbound connections, you can help relay transactions if you happen to be the lowest latency route between two nodes.

Say the node A sends something to you (B) and you relay it to C. Well, if your node wasn't leeching in the first place, A would have had room for another connection: directly to C.

[jc01480]

Hat's off to the OP.  +1 for a legitimate subject finally.  

Second, can I run a full node on Linux Backtrack?  Planning to install on a computer with a failed drive I plan to replace with SSD.  I have full node now but it is a business computer and I want my wallets off of it.

Are there any benefits to a full node other than relating information?  Can you mine with it.  If my node is a full one and is passing transactions, why do I not get fees for doing so?  Just some thoughts you may hear many times over.

And again, nice topic, OP.

[phillipsjk]

I am talking about UPnP-less (or UPnP-disabled) routers that some people still hide behind, deliberately or not.

My router has UPnP disabled with the port manually forwarded.

Say the node A sends something to you (B) and you relay it to C. Well, if your node wasn't leeching in the first place, A would have had room for another connection: directly to C.

There is a possibility that (B) would relay the information to more than one host. The odds get smaller with fewer connections though.