Topic: [StarMiner] - ARM controller image for your ASIC mining needs! - page 3. (Read 15057 times)

Good to hear!  If you want to share a screen shot after you run your StarMiner + Gridseed Blade units for a while, I am sure others would love to see the results.  Our LitecoinTalk forum thread actually has quite a few from the "StarMiner groupies" showing and sharing their successes as well.

Now a simple explanation about StarMiner and the initial configuration files and profiles being used.  These files are meant to be "basic" and "simple" so that one can run startest from the command line to verify StarMiner with your Gridseed or Zeus Miner ASIC or Scriptor FPGA "does work".  The configuration files with startest will work in full with the "basic model" of the ASIC hardware (e.g., a Gridseed "Mini" or a Zeus Miner "Blizzard"), but are not expected to be show "optimal" for the other ASIC nor run long term for efficient and effective mining performance.  So then, one needs to select the proper hardware profile from the webUI and adjust accordingly (e.g., "gs-blade" for your specific case) using stared on the command line or from the webUI editor page to have "optimal" performance for the most part (yes, occasionally some minor adjustments might be needed ).  By "basic" (with respect to Gridseed ASIC units) this is with a clock speed of 850MHz and a single unit.  One can adjust these by adding the parameters for the chip count, and even specific ASIC clock frequencies by the serial number if such is desired.  Do note, the "serial number" aspect is Gridseed units specific only as Zeus Miner did not include such an option with their ASIC hardware (i.e., all Zeus Miner ASIC units would have to use the same clock frequency "across the board" here).

Also to note, the "StarMiner crew" for the majority are located in the US Mountain Time zone (UTC/GMT-7).  Please keep this in mind when posting or sending messages since contrary to popular belief, most of us are not "glued to the computer 24 hours a day", and do have other obligations in life.  We do our best though to respond to postings and inquiries as quickly as possible though.

Congrats once again on getting StarMiner up and running on your Gridseed Blades!  

Happy and profitable mining to all!

LinuxETC:

I have resolved this!!! Simply requires "chips=40,modules=1" inserted into the gridseed-options string in the conf file...

 

Really weird stats reported for first 2 G-Blades! Have clocked at 800Mhz initially.

435M/hs for 2 x Blades - I wish!

This is remote setup - so I'm concerned for heat issues etc. so not running continuously if I have doubts!

Is the SHA-256 cores definitely SWITCHED OFF / DISABLED on this cgminer version?

This using the latest stable image of Starminer... I'm going to try a couple of other pools to see if it is anything to do with MagicPool also.

You actually just caught me in front of the computer responding to messages.

With regards to the recent release, go into the SeedManager configuration (URL is http:///cgi-bin/sconfig.pl) and raise the "Hardware Error" level a bit.  This is causing some concerns, when in fact if you take a closer look, the Accept/Reject numbers are appropriate with Rejects being "low" (relatively speaking of course).  Unlike GPU rigs, ASIC units can produce hardware errors, but the share is still acceptable from the results.

Hi LinuxETC,

Thanks for your rapid response! I am now about to re-write the new image and will give it a whirl!

If all goes well I may well add my little GS Dual to the mix as I will have a spare port on my powered hub... But only after I have got the blades working satisfactorily!

 

Thanks for the positive remarks about your experience with StarMiner.

To answer your question, option (2) (download the latest image from our SourceForge site under Files and reimage your SD card) is the only choice currently.  We are working on a better upgrade methodology, but it is still "not up to par" to be released into the public unfortunately.

Also to note, our LitecoinTalk forum thread has several successful cases of "StarMiner groupies" using the Gridseed Blade ASIC units.   There are even a few screen shots as well, including one "groupie" who was able to successfully mix both Gridseed Blade units with Gridseed Mini units (it is recommended to NOT attempt this with Zeus Miner ASIC units at this time!).

Feel free to advise on any issues you may encounter, as well as share your experience in using StarMiner as well.  We actually encourage both, especially screen shots of StarMiner with your ASIC units "live" mining away.   We suggest using an image hosting service like Imgur (which is free) for the screen shots.

Happy and profitable mining to all!

Hi,

I have been running StarMiner on Pi with 1 x GS Dual / Mini 5 Chip for several weeks under my desk! Remote access is fine as I can VNC into my desktop and view from there. It does occasionally seem to be reporting all ok but pool shows much lower hashrate - quick re-start of miner brings it back up.

In fact, StarMiner was the only Pi image I could get to see and recognise the GS Dual 'out of the box' - I have PIMP (which I really like), with Gridseed support, on a headless rig but I cannot get it to see the blades or mine...

I'm not sure which version of SM I have as the Pi is now in my briefcase ready to use for my G-Blades...

1) Is there a quick way to upgrade my existing StarMiner install via SSH on the Pi?

2) Or, is it quicker / cleaner to grab the latest IMG and write that out to the SDCard and re-configure pools etc?

TY 

Just some "eye candy" screen shots from our end.

This is x2 Gridseed Mini ASIC units on StarMiner via dmaxl on Github's cgminer fork. 



This is x2 Zeus Miner Blizzard ASIC units on StarMiner via the Zeus Miner "version" of cgminer.   



Folks using the prior release will note the addition of the actual ASIC units showing up just below the Pool section on the webUI.

15 June 2014 version release notes and change log:
Files for download from SourceForge can be found here.

• Scriptor 8x FPGA support.
• Created multiple configuration profiles for individual Gridseed, Scriptor, and Zeus Miner ASIC units including the following:

• Gridseed "Mini".
• Gridseed "Blade".
• Scriptor, "Scriptor 8x".
• Zeus Miner "Blizzard".
• Zeus Miner "Cyclone".
• Zeus Miner "Hurricane X2".
• Zeus Miner "Hurricane X3".
• Xeus Miner "Thunder X2".
• Zeus Miner "Thunder X3".

and also included profiles matching the Zeus Miner ASIC units rebranded by GAW Miners.  The defaults are made for using up to ten (10) ASIC units at once.  Depending on the ASIC brand, the end user will need to adjust accordingly to account for multiple ASIC units being controlled by StarMiner.

• The webUI is running on lighttpd which should have some improvement on the previous latency issues.  Thanks to sling00 on Github for this work here.
• The additional of a "if the mining application stops" script and related scheduled checking of such to restart a "dead miner".  Thanks to worldly on LitecoinTalk for this work here.
• The webUI will now show the Zeus Miner ASIC units on the "Overview" page (below the Pools, above the graph).
• Updated all of the StarMiner scripts accordingly to work with the previously noted configuration profiles.
• Updated Raspberry Pi Linux kernel/firmware.

Possible issues:

• Due to StarMiner being able to support Gridseed, Scriptor, and Zeus Miner ASICs, it is strongly advised NOT to attempt to use a single StarMiner Raspberry Pi unit to control a mix of both types of ASIC units.  This is due to the limitations of a Raspberry Pi being just an ARM CPU with 512MB of RAM running a single mining application and webUI with statistical data reporting.  Unfortunately and once again, this "little guy" (the Raspberry Pi that is) can only handle so much.

This post is in reference to a StarMiner SourceForge Ticket made recently.

There is publicly known an issue in general with Raspberry Pi model B units that have stamped on the board itself Made in China (versus the Made in the UK versions).  We (Linux ETC) have experienced this issue first hand as well.  If one were to Google such, you will find a list of various complaints and griefs about this.  The "short version" is that quite often, the Made in China Raspberry Pi units are poorly fabricated when compared to the Made in the UK versions.  This is why Raspberry Pi (the company and .org itself) decided to move a majority of their production to the Sony UK facility.  There are still "some" Raspberry Pi's made in China (allegedly for the "far east market"), and I am not saying that all Raspberry Pi units from China "are bad" here, nor all from the UK "are good" either.  It seems though the reason for the move (besides RaspberryPi.org is based in the UK ) is for better quality and overall control of the manufacturing process.

So when you first boot up StarMiner on a Raspberry Pi, and things start going wrong with your network, do not blame StarMiner on it right off please.  StarMiner is a bit more "process and resource" intensive that a majority of images and applications that can run on a Raspberry Pi, yes.  However, out of nearly 300 downloads since StarMiner's initial release on 20 April 2014, and this is the only reported instance of "gremlins in mix", I think I will trust the logic and stats that 1 out of ~300 that StarMiner is not the cause nor fault here.  Now potentially a faulty Raspberry Pi with a bad NIC (Network Interface Controller) in this particular case does seem to fit the bill as potentially the cause.

For any WiFi device, one still needs to configure it properly unless you really want to run all of your network traffic via wifi unencrypted and "open", thus vulnerable.  Using the command line (thus, logging into StarMiner via SSH or via the console by plugging the Raspberry Pi into a monitor and keyboard), this is done via wicd-curses.  It is not "sexy" as a GUI, but it does the job it is designed to do in a TUI (Text User Interface) style just as well.

For reference, I am part of the developer team, as well as the Owner of Linux ETC.   StarMiner is my original concept and thus, it is "my baby" as a project here as well.  StarMiner came to be due to the lack of proper controllers that "looked pretty and sexy", but were "not up to snuff" mining functionality wise.  Reminds me of buying a car...always look "under the hood", not just at the body.

Yes, "time is money".  Most of us in the mining circles know and understand this as well (myself included here).  However, this is also a Raspberry Pi which is just a minimal/basic ARM CPU and 512MB of RAM, not like perhaps your video editing workstation on Apple's Mac hardware with 16GB+ of RAM and an Intel i7 CPU (as a polite guess ).  Having a GUI run on top of (1) a mining application like cgminer or bfgminer; and (2) Apache web server running Perl scripts will overload a Raspberry Pi to make it operate under an extremely and excessively high load (i.e., you are moving at "snail's pace").  The webUI is meant to resolve some of the "plug and play/miner" needs of basic users in place of using a GUI.  So, when you refer to "time is money", having a miner that runs as "snail's pace" also fits in this situation.  We are aware of such, and designed StarMiner to avoid running as "snail's pace" and thus be more effective and efficient as a mining controller tool.

So while I admit, StarMiner may not make everyone happy (as you so noted above) by not having a GUI interface, the reason, sound logic, and engineering behind such is noted.  Most would prefer knowing that StarMiner can and does mine with their particular ASIC device (we have a growing list on our SourceForge Discussion section) in full and efficiently versus "where is my pretty GUI" that will overload a simple Raspberry Pi.

For clarification purposes, StarMiner is not a "ROM" nor "firmware" (both terms have been commonly misused by both hardware manufacturers and community members).  This is an "image file" that is parallel (for example) to one installing Linux on a Raspberry Pi.  We just simplified the process by making sure that this image runs both Gridseed and Zeus Miner ASIC units, and eventually Scriptor 8X FPGA units.

To answer your questions in order:

• StarMiner does not use a GUI "per se" from the Raspberry Pi itself.  There is a webUI which is accessible by going to a web browser (e.g., Firefox, Chrome, IE (yuk!), Safari) and going to the IP address of the StarMiner Raspberry Pi.  This is "our GUI" and is focused on the specific aspects of ASIC mining for the "end user" without "extras" that could get any "curious George" type end user into trouble.
• WiFi can work on the Raspberry Pi via the command line and using wicd-curses.  However, not all USB wifi dongles will work with a Raspberry Pi.  Please refer to this site for more specifics related to "Raspberry Pi friendly" Wifi devices.
• StarMiner "could", however and to prevent people from damaging their Gridseed Mini and Blade units, we compiled and configured cgminer for "scrypt only".  Looking at the "operation costs", you are actually wasting power trying to "dual mine" with a Gridseed Mini ASIC versus just scrypt mine with it.
• By the "Gridseed 5 chips (orb)", if you mean the "Gridseed Mini" (as it is commonly referred to), then yes.

There is also more information and further discussions on our LitecoinTalk forum thread for further review, as well as our SourceForge site under Wiki and Discussion, both of which are "work in progress".

Let us know if you have any further questions. 

Happy and profitable mining to all!

I'm glad I found this thread.I'm not sure about some things.

1.How do I get the GUI to show and make it stay there?
2.How do I get wi-fi to work on this,if this works at all?
3.Does this support a DualMiner ASIC?
4.Does this support the Gridseed 5 chip (orb) miner?

Would appreciate some help before I commit to using this ROM. Thanks

We decided to start on our SourceForge Project page in the Discussion section a listing by ASIC manufacturer of verified and tested units with StarMiner.  I invite everyone to take a quick look here and advise if we are missing a particular model that you, yourself, have tested and can verify that "StarMiner with my particular ASIC is working". 

How would you verify such?  Message us via the forums the URL produced by starhelpme from the command line on a StarMiner Raspberry Pi, and inform us "I have this particular ASIC unit".  If you do not mind posting even a screen shot of the webUI's Overview page (with the ASIC(s) mining a bit for some time of course ) that would be even better.

Thanks to all of the folks out there mining away via StarMiner!

07 June 2014 version release notes and change log:
Files for download from SourceForge can be found here.

• Created multiple configuration profiles for individual Gridseed and Zeus Miner ASIC units including the following:
  
  • Gridseed Mini.
  • Gridseed Blade.
  • Zeus Miner Blizzard.
  • Zeus Miner Hurricane X2.
  • Zeus Miner Thunder X3.
  and also included profiles matching the Zeus Miner ASIC units "rebranded" by GAW Miners.  These default configurations are made for using only one (1) ASIC unit.  Depending on the ASIC brand, the end user will need to adjust accordingly to account for multiple ASIC units being controlled by StarMiner.
  

• Updated all of the StarMiner scripts accordingly to work with the previously noted configuration profiles.
• Updated Raspberry Pi Linux kernel/firmware.
• Applied security updates to Raspbian including recent OpenSSL issues (05 June 2014 announced ones).

Possible issues and considerations:

• Due to Zeus Miner ASIC units being released with cgminer v3.1.1 (versus a "more recent" version such as currently v4.3.4), thus using an older API version, the webUI will not display the individual ASIC miner units at this time. We are aware of this. However, everything else should function "normally".
• Due to StarMiner being able to support Gridseed and Zeus Miner ASICs, it is strongly advised NOT to attempt to use a single StarMiner Raspberry Pi unit to control a mix of both types of ASIC units. This is due to the limitations of a Raspberry Pi being just an ARM CPU with 512MB of RAM running a single mining application and webUI with statistical data reporting. Unfortunately, this "little guy" (the Raspberry Pi that is) can only handle so much.

@Suika:

Thanks for the compliments.  For reference, we are doing an updated release that should incorporate specific Gridseed and Zeus Miner (or GAW Miner's rebranded warez) to help facilitate easier start up.  Your note above though is a good suggestion since there were a few people on the LitecoinTalk.org thread inquiring about similar.

As for the "improved web front end performance", we are also looking into that as well.  However, (granted, there is some latency), the webUI currently "works".  So the recent priority is for better and easier "get going and start mining now with " for the general masses of "StarMiner groupies".

I went ahead and gave StarMiner a try and it has been working pretty well so far!  I'm running 3 GAWMiners Furies (Zeus Blizzard) on it, and I just thought I'd share my experiences with anyone else who wants to run multiple GAW/Zeus miners with StarMiner.  You will need to edit the SeedManager config settings for the miner to manually configure each miner's search parameter, like so:

http://img.psiblade.net/gawstarminer.jpg

Since I am running 3 Furies, I specified the USB port for each one.  It will generally start at USB0 and increment by one from there, so just add as many as you have devices.  Once you do this, just restart the profile and you should have all of your miners hashing away!  You can always ssh into the Pi and type the "starsc" command to view the miner console to make sure it found them all.  Hope this helps!

@LinuxETC:

Thanks for StarMiner!  I hope you'll be able to optimize the web front end to give it better performance in the future!

04 June 2014 version release notes and change log:
Files for download from SourceForge can be found here.

• Fixes the Zeus Miner configuration file to match the StarMiner test configuration properly.

We are awaiting some information from beekeeper to help with the webUI here at this time.  We apologize for the delay (we were hoping to have a version out late last week    ), but wanted the release to have a majority (if not all) of the current webUI functioning versus partially.

This release will actually be specific for FPGA (versus ASIC) mining units for reference due to the changes potentially needed to the webUI.

More to come soon.  Thanks for everyone's patience and support as well.