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Trouble with getting incoming connections on new Bitcoin node.
98 sats \ 20 comments \ @Solomonsatoshi 3 Jan bitcoin_support
Ok finally did my 2023 NY resolution and set up a Bitcoin node up and running on 31/12/24. But its not full node- only 20gb storage.
Running on debian laptop solely for the purpose of Bitcoin node. Downloaded the full Blockchain which took a while and now have 10 outbound connections.
But my internet connection is via a 4g Huawei E8372 dongle and I cannot figure how to set up ports 8333 or even fix IP? So have just set the Bitcoin options to connect via socks. I don't really know what this means but hoped it would enable incoming connections via Tor?
I now have one outbound peer via onion and the rest are via IPv4 and IPv6 but no inbound peers.
Questions-
How can I get inbound peers at least via Tor/Onion or otherwise?
Does my pruned node serve any greater purpose if I can connect to inbound peers?
Am not technical but can do basics. Not confident on console or editing programs.
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0 sats \ 6 replies \ @ama 3 Jan
Since you haven't got any other answer yet, I've thought I'd ask perplexity.ai, and I got:
Based on the information provided, it appears that port forwarding and setting up a fixed IP for your Huawei E8372 4G dongle is not possible. This is because cellular networks typically use NAT (Network Address Translation) and do not allow direct incoming connections14. To enable incoming connections for your Bitcoin node, using Tor is indeed a good alternative. By configuring Bitcoin Core to use Tor, you can bypass the limitations of your cellular network and allow incoming connections without port forwarding2. To set up Bitcoin Core to use Tor, you can add the following lines to your bitcoin.conf file: text proxy=127.0.0.1:9050 listen=1 bind=127.0.0.1 externalip=YOUR_ONION_ADDRESS.onion Replace "YOUR_ONION_ADDRESS" with the actual .onion address of your Tor hidden service2. Using SOCKS (as you mentioned) is part of the Tor configuration. SOCKS is a protocol that routes network packets between a client and server through a proxy server, which in this case is Tor2. By setting up Bitcoin Core to use Tor, you should be able to accept incoming connections without needing to configure port forwarding on your 4G dongle. This setup allows other Tor users to connect to your node, enhancing your participation in the Bitcoin network while working around the limitations of your cellular internet connection23.
I don't know if it'll help. :-)
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0 sats \ 5 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi OP 3 Jan
Thank you - this is the exact sort of answer I hoped for. Just need to figure out how to edit bitcoin.conf file and how to find my Tor actual.onion address. Will try to do this later today.
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12 sats \ 4 replies \ @ama 3 Jan
The config file is in your home directory: ~/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf and your onion address should be revealed by the command 'bitcoin-cli getnetworkinfo'.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi OP 3 Jan
bitcoin-cli getnetworkinfo reports 'error: timeout on transcient error: Could not connect to server 127.0.0.1.8332 Make sure the bitcoind server is running and that you are connecting to the correct RPC port.'
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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi OP 3 Jan
Thanks but how do I edit the config file? Do I need a special application to do that?
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @ama 3 Jan
You need a text editor. I like using a console based editor, like Vim, but you probably prefer a GUI one. Gedit was a popular one a few years ago, when I used the Gnome desktop environment. Any 'editor', 'notepad' or similar program you find on your 'tools' or 'office' menu or similar should do. It's just a text file.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi OP 3 Jan
Ok thanks again- will try Gedit.
PS just enabled RPC port in oprions and restarting- maybe can help connection re error above.
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0 sats \ 10 replies \ @ama 3 Jan
Do you limit the number or nodes to 8 or less? If you do, there might be no time for inbound nodes to find yours before it makes 8 (or less) outbound connections.
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0 sats \ 9 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi OP 3 Jan
No I have not knowingly limited the number of nodes- there are currently 10 nodes connected but all are outbound. There has never been any inbound nodes. There has never been more than 10 nodes connected so there does seem to be a limit of ten but when one drops off it is replaced fairly quickly by another outbound connection.
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0 sats \ 8 replies \ @ama 3 Jan
Then, are you running a firewall on your Debian laptop, perhaps? Does it allow connections through on port 8333, which is the default Bitcoin port?
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0 sats \ 7 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi OP 3 Jan
I think the firewall is more likely in the 4g Huawei router and yes it may be what is blocking inbound connections. I thought opening the connection through socks proxy as shown in the photo might get around any ports blocked in router...but not sure. Not even sure if the socks proxy connections are correctly configured but are as shown in the photo.
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0 sats \ 6 replies \ @ama 3 Jan
You say the firewall is more likely in the router, but have you checked whether or not you are running a firewall on your laptop?
I have never used the GUI, I only use the CLI for almost everything. Editing a config file is much easier for me than browsing through menus and lists of options with a mouse looking for the right thing.
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0 sats \ 5 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi OP 3 Jan
I dont know how to check for firewall in laptop. I will try and look.
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @ama 3 Jan
A common firewall is ufw, which is the default firewall on Ubuntu and maybe Debian as well. When I used Debian (I've been running Devuan for a few years now instead) it didn't come with a firewall running as default, but I don't know if that could have changed after so long. You could try typing in the CLS "sudo ufw status" to check out for ufw.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi OP 3 Jan
Had to install GUFW and UFW to see no firewall in laptop.
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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi OP 3 Jan
I opened GUFW and it shows no firewall on the laptop.
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @ama 3 Jan
OK, then. I've never used a 4G router, but with cable (fiber or DSL) you need to either set up port forwarding for incoming connections on single ports on the router to go to a certain local box, or set up a default server for all incoming connections on the router to go to that default server.
You could try to find out how to access your router configuration to check for either option. Cable routers you usually access them with a web browser pointing at its IP address (192.168.x.1, where x could be 0, or 1, or any other number depending on your local network configuration). You can find out your laptop IP on the CLI: "ip address", as well as your default router IP address: "sudo route".
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @OT 3 Jan
Looks like you're already connected to peers. If you started with TOR enabled then that shouldn't be an issue.
It sounds like you are having problems connecting other wallets to your node?
Try this. Look for the config file and type
server=1
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi OP 3 Jan
No the problem is I don't have any inbound peers connected/ing- only outbound.
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