My Raspberry Pi 2 is arriving this Wednesday and I'll be setting it up on the 1 external ip that I have on my home network. This is going to be a learning experience, since my background isn't in computers.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED SO FAR- Every Masternode runs on it's own external ip and on port 9999. Most home networks only have 1 external ip, sometimes it's static but most of the time it changes. Every masternode needs to be on a static ip.
- In order to run more than 1 masternode you will need to pay for more external ips. Most Masternode owners buy these external ips from companies that can also host the masternode on their own servers. It's usually $5 per month for this service.
Questions- I see that VPN services offer to host in many different countries. If I'm in Australia, should I look for a VPN service near me to host the masternode? Or could I host it in the USA?
- Has anyone here hosted more than 1 masternode on their home network? If so, how does it work?
- In layman terms, how does hosting a masternode on a VPN service actually work? Does my wallet on my computer always have to be connected to the internet for the masternode to see my 1000 DASH? Can I use 1 wallet to host multiple masternodes? Are VPN services reliable, do they have 100% uptime? Is it safe? Can they steal my DASH?
- I believe most masternode operators use a program called Putty to maintain/update their masternodes. Since, I'm on a mac I found this:
http://brew.sh/ and
http://brewformulas.org/Putty- Is Goldenfrog a good VPN?
https://www.goldenfrog.com/vyprvpnThanks for your ongoing willingness to summarise what you're learning bluebit. It's good for new people to see what you're doing and encouraging for the ones that have been around for a while to see someone tackling their knowledge gap.
I'm no expert on many of the questions you're asking, but I know enough to have successfully run an MN on Vultr.com for quite a while now so will comment on two things you've asked about.
- I see that VPN services offer to host in many different countries. If I'm in Australia, should I look for a VPN service near me to host the masternode? Or could I host it in the USA?
I think you may be getting VPNs and VPS's confused (or I'm misunderstanding you). A VPN is a Virtual Private Network which provides a secured conduit or channel over a public network to access a private network. They've been in use in the corporate realm for decades but they're something many people are only just learning about in the regular Internet world (and I don't know if Goldenfrog is good). Typically a VPN service allows you to connect to a PoP (Point-of-presence) server in your home jurisdiction and then exit the VPN in another jurisdiction meaning your IP address (as seen by any website you're connecting to) is the local PoP at the exit destination, not your original IP address at your own location. This is how you can get around being restricted on getting access to certain websites and content. I'm in Australia too and (as you'd know we pay a premium for EVERYTHING here) so I once used a VPN to connect to a cruise line's U.S. based website to make a booking and saved thousands of dollars. At the time, if I put the same web address into my browser without being connected via the VPN, I'd be automatically re-directed to the local Australian operation and there was no way of preventing this. But with the VPN, the U.S. based web site for the cruise company "saw" an incoming IP address that was U.S. based hence allowed me to connect as if I was physically present in the U.S. This is just one example of a VPN's use; the major purpose is to provide some level of anonymity so your local ISP doesn't "see" everything you're doing online (but it's far from fully "anonymous").
A VPS on the other hand is a Virtual Private Server which is what many of us running MNs use. Examples are Amazon and Vultr (and you can view a whole lot more here
http://lowendbox.com/). I use Vultr, but with a server instance that's running here in Australia in Vultr's Australian based data centre (but I could have just as easily configured my instance to be somewhere else).
- In layman terms, how does hosting a masternode on a VPN service actually work? Does my wallet on my computer always have to be connected to the internet for the masternode to see my 1000 DASH? Can I use 1 wallet to host multiple masternodes? Are VPN services reliable, do they have 100% uptime? Is it safe? Can they steal my DASH?
You need to have 1000 Dash in a wallet but it doesn't need to be running ON the VPS (in fact having your 1000 Dash running on a wallet on the VPS is not a good idea at all as your Dash is less secure under that configuration). It's better to have your Dash in a wallet on your Win or Mac PC. However, the wallet doesn't need to be running the whole time; just at the beginning when you start your MN. But you need to be aware that the MN constantly monitors the address on the blockchain holding the 1000 Dash, so if you send those coins somewhere else, your MN will stop functioning and drop off the list. There's a whole lot more to know in terms of best practise around securing your Dash (cold wallet, keeping permanently offline, etc). Read through some of the guides on Dashtalk.org to get a better understanding.
I hope this helps.
my pose = 2 ugh
Looks like a lot of people here like Vultr.com, if I go with them do I want Vultr Compute Instances? Is everyone using the $5 per month option? So two masternodes is $10 per month.
