Topic: [Guide] How to run a Bitcoin Core full node for under 50 bucks! (Read 2165 times)

Yes, it should work! It's possible that it needs to be reindexed, e.g. if you copy while it's running or so, but that is pure local computation, so no worries about network speed.

Can you upload the entire Bitcoin Core folder to facebook except the wallet.dat file?

Reindexing ~450GB take more time than copying 450GB between 2 HDD though, even when you have SSD and big RAM. So it's strongly recommended to close Bitcoin Core gracefully before making a copy.

Huh? Is it for real? We cannot imagine this even in dreams. 

my last disruption was years ago, and announced ahead.

That's unfortunate. We pay high VAT, and new computers are getting more expensive, but since the market is saturated, older computers are abundant and cheap.

Do you use this On command prompt?

Well, I use UPS right now. But, due to a long time power outage. Sometimes it forcibly shut down my PC. Every time I close my Bitcoin core, The network traffic on the GUI start showing new data from a new session. That's why I asked this.

I wish I could reveal where I am from. Computer hardware prices are too high here. The old market also has some ridiculous prices. Too much vat tax is another issue. That's why people don't even dare to import.

I am using my daily use Desktop. Ryzen 3 3200G with 16 Gigs Ram, 250GB SSD and 4TB HDD. I am running the full node on this desktop already.

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.

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

Well, I use UPS right now. But, due to a long time power outage. Sometimes it forcibly shut down my PC. Every time I close my Bitcoin core, The network traffic on the GUI start showing new data from a new session. That's why I asked this.

A Simple Question; Can I copy all the block data, move it to another hard drive, and try to run the node? Do you believe it will work? Because downloading the whole blockchain is the biggest issue with such internet Speed.

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

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

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 many resources you can run it just fine on your daily machine.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That's what an RPC server does.

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.

What do I have to do to help the network?

What is the coin control feature?

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

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.

What do I have to do to help the network?

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

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

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.
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.