Author

Topic: How do I torrent the blockchain? (Read 759 times)

legendary
Activity: 1512
Merit: 1036
November 18, 2012, 11:33:49 PM
#5
What would be the point of this. When you get the blockchain through the QT client, you are getting it in a fashion similar to how  bittorrent distributes files. The time delay for synchronization is because the QT client takes a long time to verify the whole blockchain.
Bitcoin isn't so clever as to use bittorrent-like technology, it really just picks one peer and requests 500 blocks at a time from them. After that's done being processed, it requests 500 more blocks. It doesn't consider that a peer could have low outbound bandwidth or be halfway around the globe.

In the thread linked above which I created, I have complete blockchain files you can just drop into the data directory and start using Bitcoin (if you trust me to not have altered them some way so clever others haven't detected it - you will get identical datadir files if you do a full import with verification). I also have links to two different torrents, the complete Luke-Jr torrent (linked in that thread under blk0001.dat) is also immediately useable (it has a minimal/stripped index file where all spent transactions have been removed), however 1.5GB of blocks since July 11 2012 will still need to download.

The more "official" 193000-block torrent (linky) does need to use the slower import feature, which takes similar CPU time and system resources as normal initialization, but you remove inefficient networking from the equation. Notably though, the current version of Bitcoin has a bug and will only import up to block 189205 of that torrent unless you do some tricks.

"How do I torrent the blockchain?" Download one of these torrents, and leave it seeding for others after you are done.
hero member
Activity: 588
Merit: 500
firstbits.com/1kznfw
November 18, 2012, 10:46:14 PM
#4
What would be the point of this. When you get the blockchain through the QT client, you are getting it in a fashion similar to how  bittorrent distributes files. The time delay for synchronization is because the QT client takes a long time to verify the whole blockchain.
full member
Activity: 125
Merit: 100
November 18, 2012, 10:17:32 PM
#3
Thanks mlawrence, great to have that bookmarked hopefully not for future reference... Wink
Vod
legendary
Activity: 3668
Merit: 3010
Licking my boob since 1970
November 18, 2012, 07:52:55 PM
#2
I read somewhere on the forum there is a torrent of the blockchain to a certain block - can't find it now.  Sad

Anywhere know the thread explaining it?

Found it.

https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/howto-jump-start-bitcoin-installation-download-time-with-blockchain-torrent-51456
Vod
legendary
Activity: 3668
Merit: 3010
Licking my boob since 1970
November 18, 2012, 07:51:29 PM
#1
I read somewhere on the forum there is a torrent of the blockchain to a certain block - can't find it now.  Sad

Anywhere know the thread explaining it?
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