Topic: The Lightning Network node experience (Read 3378 times)

I *thought* "accept-amp=false" was the default. Which was why I figured it came from the invoice.

From: https://docs.lightning.engineering/lightning-network-tools/lnd/optimal-configuration-of-a-routing-node


I do not have an easy way to dig into that node at the moment.
Will have to check when I get home.

Not a big deal, but that was why I was running with the invoice theory.

-Dave

Yes, it's due to Satogram, a kind-of ad broadcaster that reaches nearly the entire lightning network.

They don't need an invoice to send you satoshi. Anyone can send you satoshi over lightning by just having your node ID and keysend. If you're running LND, you can disable receiving that way with "accept-amp=false".

I wouldn't do it, if I were you. Just like email spam, but you're getting paid. 

Kind of a necro bump but wondering if anyone else running a node is getting 1 sat transactions with messages attached to them?









I am guessing they are scraping websites and looking for payment requests because it started when I posted this about 1 month ago in another thread:





Or am I missing something else as to how people are doing it?

-Dave

I want to try to avoid using this solution. I'll try to look for something that works on Windows. There must be something.
In fact, I already did some brief research, and it seemed to me that there was something.

Yes, it is compiled in Linux. So, get yourself a WSL if your machine runs on Windows: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install. I don't believe there's any way to run that software in Windows elsewhere, probably only with lightning Electrum?

Linux is pretty much everywhere nowadays, so that isn't the reason. Windows are just known to suffer from more vulnerabilities than Linux, probably because they are closed-source since their launch.

I was thinking about CLN.
But, I will analyze the other options, which have a Windows version. If there isn't, no problem...

Your citation from darkv0rt3x speaks of multiple software: CLN, RTL and LND. To which of those three are you asking for a Windows version?

A Lightning node is a hot wallet. I don't think it's the wisest decission to run it on Windows, a platform that is likely the main target for all sorts of malware, mainly due to its large user base and market share.

Maybe you didn't mean the Lightning node, we can't know, you weren't specific enough.

From a quick look at the project website, it seemed to me that they don't have any version for Windows. Or am I mistaken?

I am running Core Lightning implementation of the Lightning Network and those pictures are from a fron-end for the node which is called RTL or Ride The Lightning.
I never tried LND which is another LN implementation and I don't want. I'm very happy with Core Lightning aka CLN.

What program are you using to do this monitoring?
Or better yet, what program are you using to run the LN node?

Congratulations.. rebalancing is costly. Channels should be chosen so that manual rebalancing isn't necessary and balancing happens naturall but it's possible that it's required to have multiple larger channels to achieve that

Another month, another improvement. But I also paid quite a few sats in rebalancing. Probably it was almost the same as I got from forwarding payments! Never tracked how much I spent in fees for rebalancing channels!

Once more I'm showing my results for the last few months.

For July, I had a special situation and I didn't forward a single payment. This situation still remains but with a few changes. The situation is that my node shouldd probably be in some "dark place" of the LN graph and therefore, I only have one channel that is taking payments "in". If it happens that this channel gets all liquidity on my side, I cannot get any payments coming "in". That was what happened in July. I made an experience of not rebalancing this channel and tried to lower the fees in all other channels to see if the liquidity would change sides globally in my channels. It simply didn't happened. Maybe I should have lowered even more the fees.

Anyway, in August I end up rebalancing this channel and one other "major" event took place. The node operator of this channel, started a second LN node and we opened another channel. Now, we can rebalance our 2 channels for free and not only I was able to circulate some sats in oppsite directions between these 2 channels, meaning that some "auto-rebalance" took place. Good news...  

Here are my earning for August. July is not here because, as I said, there were no routings at all.

This month was quite active for my node. 33 events made it one of the best months or maybe the best month since I run the node. However, I have the feeling that most of the routed payments were also rebalances as response to my own rebalances, if I make myself understand.

I mean, it happened over and onver again that after I perform a rebalance, in the next day or so, all the amount used in that rebalance was already in other side of the same or eventually other channels!
I did quite a few rebalances and it always happened, so I gave up and decided to change some fees in some of my channels to try to make outgoing channels, incoming, and vice-versa!

Oh yes... I forgot those because I was thinking only in the point of view of a node operator! But yes, you are absolutely right. Sorry for missing those options that are the closest to pure p2p bitcoin trading in the sense of buying and selling anonymously!

Great to know that. I am definitlly going to end up in lot of discussion. I already saw that thread and the codes you guys have posted went like tangent over my head. 
But why not try it out and see how it goes.

And no I am not even plugging any random USB so far on my regular laptop so I am pretty sure that we are good on that front and I don't end up injecting virus over the entire LN chain. 

Lot of homework to be done on single and dual funded channels, splicing and channel factories.  Yes I think I will have lot of discussion with you once I get started for real. Thanks mate.

You don't really need to worry about that, especially if you follow my guide and run all that software on a fresh, up-to-date Linux system and don't do other things on it (especially risky stuff like plugging in random USB drives found on the street or downloading pirated files).

Those are basically all needed. Just install one-by-one following the guide from top to bottom. If you have more questions about it, feel free to post them over there. In case you think they are specific just to your setup / situation, you can also write me direct messages.

There is one exception, namely submarine swaps. The high-level idea is that you send Bitcoin in the LN to someone who then sends you the same amount (minus a small fee for providing this service) on-chain. The beauty in the implementation of this is that the two payments are 'linked' by design, i.e. one cannot take place without the other one taking place. Neither party can 'take the other party's money and run'.

There are two settings for fees: a base fee and a relative fee. Relative relates to the transaction amount, though and not to the mempool. Most payments cost about a handful of sats for the whole route, though.

That's not really true; you can use a Lightning to fiat exchange like [Review] Robosats Bitcoin Lightning on-/off-ramp (no KYC, P2P, Tor) or if you prefer centralized ones, Kraken and others nowadays offer Lightning deposits, too.

I didn't understand what you didn't understand.

Regarding making payments without opening channels to every peer you need to pay, yes. You can use 3rd party services, wallets in this case an use their nodes and the nodes in the network to make your payments to get to their destinations.

Yes, node's operators let other people use teir channels to route payments until their destinations.
So, if you use a LN wallet and receive a payment of let's say 500k sats in that wallet, that wallet must support the conversion of those 500k sats offchain to 500k sats (less fees) to onchain. And then, yes, you can cash out to fiat using other means such as exchanges!

But I have the feeling you are not doing any research on your own. Also, this thread should not be used to discuss LN details. It should be used for users to share their experiences regarding fees collected and other experiences.You have this thread that you can read and learn a lot from it:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/the-lightning-network-faq-5158920

Maybe some mod could move these last posts into that thread!

I don't understand this well:
So, I can make LN payments without opening a channel for each person I want to pay if utilize channel routing, right? So, is this like, one person opens a channel with some funds and lets other people to use his channel for payments? Do I understand correctly? If that's right, then do I have to wait for that person to close LN channel to cash out my coins (convert into fiat or use as I wish).

No. All Bitcoin locked in LN can only be transacted offchain using the channel balance. The only way to cash out is to close the channel. This is because there are only 2 transactions hitting the blockchain. The one used to open the channel and the one used to close the channel. All intermediary transactions will happen inside the channel without ever touching the blockchain.

By cash out, I understand to convert Bitcoin back to fiat!


LN channels can be open as long as the 2 peers want. This is the short answer.
Channels don't close on their own unless one or two very specific scenarios. Force closes / unilateral closes or a situation where a peer tries to cheat the other. Can't remember other situations where you can get channels closed without you requesting so.

About the fees:
You have 2 scenarios: onchain (Bitcoin transactions) and offchain (LN transactions).
Regarding fees, you also have 2 scenarios: onchain fees or network fees and offline fees or routing fees or payment fees or whatever you want to call it.
Online fees depends on a few factors, for instance the size of the transaction, the mempool congestion (meaning that the more transactions in the mempool, higher the fees will become). Onchain transactions also kinda obeys to free market rules. So, they can be higher today, lower tomorrow, etc, depening on the demand!

Offline fees or the fees in the LN depends also on a few factors such as the length of the path chosen and the fee settings of each routing node! But this is an whole other chapter! You also need to DYOR!

Once more, you can only cash out Bitcoin back to fiat of online transactions. A channel open must be closed so that you can cash out the Bitcoin once locked in that channel!