Do not do this with a RPi shity node and internet connection.
Incoming connection = large traffic to share
Yes, we want to help the network, but if you do not have a good machine and a really good internet connection (not Tor) you are practically do NOT help the network but creating bottle necks.
A Bitcoin Core node usually have by default 8 inbound connections to share the blocks you already download, to the new nodes that are starting. This is more than enough for a simple full node to share with others. Don't push this limit if you do not know how to correctly do it and know what are you doing!
To increase this number you would have to:
  • open the port 8333 on your node machine and also on your router and fw it to the node machine local IP. Not many users know how to do that.
  • it is indicated also to control this limit in your bitcoin.conf file with the following settings
maxuploadtarget=5000 maxconnections=15 or 20 or whatever number you can handle
These settings are to not suffocate your internet connection and machine. If you leave them by default or not specified, your node machine will take all available resources and your internet connection will be crashed.
Make slowly increases into your inbound connections allowances, that can handle your setup.
"Helping the network" means you can offer good and steady blocks seeding not just intermittent and shity share.
Same for LN nodes.
reply
Well put.
I just assumed (and we all know what happens when you assume) RPi is not used for that - that is a plaque in the network. I understand why people buy them, but you can get a much more powerful NUC for almost the same price nowadays.
reply
Gaming laptops come with a screen and battery. Install ubuntu server or proxmox and 🤌
(js)
reply
Laptops are not meant to be on 24/7 + why would you use the extra electricity to power the screen?
reply
Laptops are not meant to be on 24/7
Says who?
why would you use the extra electricity to power the screen?
  1. Change a setting.
  2. Close the lid.
reply
A good laptop could be plugged in and its battery could be just as a backup UPS. You don't need to keep the screen on all the time, you can just lid off the screen and disable all the standby features of the latop. The screen goes off when you lid down. I trust more a good laptop than a RPi for a LN node.
reply
disable all the standby features of the laptop
There's more??
reply
there is always more :). Either way, I would not trust a regular laptop to do this job. Perhaps just a personal opinion, but the main point of a laptop is that it is transferrable and not just sitting plugged in all the time.
reply
Not a valid argument imo. Physical access is root access.
Do you put a Raspberry Pi with 8 GB with a cooling fan + stable internet + energy backup in the "shity node" basket?
reply
yes All RPis have a big weak link: the connection to the disk drive, through USB and also the mSD cards where OS is located.
The USB cable, case, power adapter are very susceptible to fail, are the weakest link and will fail. Always. The mSD cards are terrible and always broke and give errors. The power adapter of a RPi you could never compare it with a stable power source of a PC. Are terrible.
And all these create several issues and you not even notice that your node is losing connection and give terrible link to thers.
RPis are NOT good for a sustained BTC/LN node. Are just toys. Yes are good for other destinations but not a BTC node
reply