Hey everyone. I'm thinking about setting up my own Bitcoin node and have a few questions:
1. I’ve got this old laptop from 2014 (Acer Aspire E14, E5-411) with just 2GB RAM and a 500GB HDD. I do have an external 1TB drive though. Will this work for running a node?
2. What's the difference between a full node and a pruned one? Is it better to go with one over the other?
3. I want to switch the OS to Linux, but I’ve never used it before. Any recommendations for a good distribution?
4. Do I really need to use Tor for this?
I'm really excited to learn through this process and plan to keep it running as long as the laptop holds up. Would love to get your thoughts and any advice you might have.
Well I don't know about the 2gb Ram, because even some users have complained of their systems lagging while running on a 4gb ram. So yours might probably be a bit slow while download but nothing to fear if you exercise patience.. the 500gb internal storage won't also be enough because you need at least 800gb SSD fully available to download.. I've not tried an external drive before but considering how slow it usually is sometimes, then it would take longer to sync..
The pruned mode helps you save storage, by downloading a specific amount of the Blockchain data, which can be selected.. but then the performance of the node would depend on the type you which to run.. Tor will help to hide your IP address, enhancing privacy so it's a good idea to use it..
By date of the laptop, the date is likely windows 8 laptop. I hope you know that 2014 laptop will likely not receive any security update from windows. Other than that, the laptop can run node a set up.
But since you are replacing the OS to Linux, go for a version that will fit and still has security update from Linux distribution.
Prune node gives an option for computers that has limited space to keep old blocks on computer. Full node is about 700gb or so, you can see that your 500gb hdd can't run full node because it wouldn't be able to keep the all blocks. You can run a prune node with it and be able to keep small size of blocks on your computer.
However, there is a drawback in running a prune node, you will not be able to validate or relay any transactions from old blocks.
Since you have an external 1Tb ssd, you can run the full node, that can keep all the blocks. Go with full node.
For a pretty privacy yes, but it's not compulsory.
2GB can run a node but your laptop might be slow. Check if your laptop has an additional slot for ram, buy a 4GB ram and add it. That will make a total of 6GB. Your node wouldn't lag and your laptop should run smoothly.
System requirement is within the minimum.
But sync speed will be one of your major problem, reliability of the external storage and its connectors/ports should be checked as well (or it'll jeopardize your progress).
Completing IBD with the datadir in an external drive isn't going to be easy,
Couple it with its low RAM which wont benefit much from high dbcache (or even worsen it), that'll result to a very slow sync rate that could take weeks or even a month+ to complete.
Go for it if you're fine with that.
And enabling pruning wont skip that syncing process, it'll just save you disk space.
But with it, you can ditch the external drive and use the internal HDD which will make it faster,
But since it's not an SSD, the difference will not be that high.
Tell us what's your purpose of setting up a Bitcoin node.
Without it, no one can give you precise answer on which you should pick.
In general;
If you'll just be using it as a wallet and wont be loading more old wallet.dat/private keys, pruned mode is good enough for you.
It's not just a wallet though, it still helps the network by propagating/verifying transactions, and providing the latest blocks, etc. Given that the right options are enabled.
But If you're planning to use it for other purposes like serving historical blocks, research, projects or you just have future plans to import old keys or old wallet files, then do not enable pruning.
Yes, this is my main reason for wanting to switch to Linux, but I'm seeing different recommendations like Ubuntu and Mint, so I am confused on what to choose as a beginner.
Unfortunately, it doesn't have one. But yeah, I guess I should replace it with at least 4 GB ram.
Hmmm, I guess I don't mind. Do I have to run the laptop 24/7 during the initial syncing or I can shut it down?
(Edit) I am also worried about connectivity issues and power interruptions, will it affect the progress?
I will most likely just use it as a wallet. Given my hardware limitations and the options that you gave, I will probably just run a pruned node.
Allow me to start with a counter question: why do you want to run a Bitcoin Core? If it's for a wallet, you're probably much better off with just Electrum.
I would NOT start a full Initial Block Download on a laptop with 2 GB RAM and HDD. According to acer.com, your laptop supports 8 GB RAM. Last time I tried on a laptop with 8 GB and SSD, the SSD was already the limiting factor and it wrote terabytes to disk. With HDD and 4 times less RAM, you're looking at an exponential increase in sync time. It's going to take months if not years to complete, and it only gets heavier as chainstate (currently 11 GB) keeps growing in size.
With only 2GB of RAM, you'll want to use light distribution. Xubuntu and Linux Mint (Xfce edition) are common recommendation on this forum.
Not necessary. In fact, i would recommend you to use VPN (rather than Tor) for IBD/initial sync since Tor is very slow for downloading 700GB+ blockchain.
Go for 8GiB of RAM if this is the maximum as LoyceV mentioned (I haven't checked it), unless the price difference for your "ancient" laptop and the RAM modules required is prohibitive to choose 8 over 4GiB.
No, you don't have to run IBD 24/7 but it will of course take longer to finish. Always shutdown Bitcoin Core gracefully.
Connectivity dropouts aren't much of a problem but I don't have first-hand experience because my internet connectivity is rock-solid. Bitcoin Core should handle it gracefully.
A laptop with a working battery has built-in UPS. Just set it up so that when battery runs low, Bitcoin Core and OS shutdown gracefully.
Pay attention to always try to shutdown Bitcoin Core gracefully to avoid data corruption, especially during IBD but also later. If you have a pruned node, you don't want to force Core to have to redo a rescan which is more or less like another IBD.
(IBD means Initial Blockchain Download)
I actually just wanted to try it out. I've been reading the guides from learnmeabitcoin, and I enjoy the beginner-friendly approach. I'm not a developer nor do I have the capacity to learn the technical stuff, but I can at least follow explanations that are simple and well laid out. As a regular user, I think it would be a fun learning process to run my own node, while contributing to the network at the same time. From the options that user nc50lc gave, using it as a wallet is the most probable scenario for me.
I want to use the spare laptop only if it's feasible, would there be a notable difference if I max it out to 8GB ram? I do have another laptop with 4GB ram and 256GB SSD, I will probably just use this instead if the old laptop couldn't cut it.
I see, thank you. I do have access to WireGuard, so I will most likely use it.
Connectivity issues aren't common in my place, but it does happen sometimes. In case of a problem with my internet, is it alright if I just leave it running until the connectivity is restored?
In that case: go for it! Start by installing Linux Mint. Or Ubuntu. Or any of the lightweight Linux distributions. It's probably best to stick to some of the more common ones. This gives you the chance to get some experience with Linux before doing anything else.
Yes. Just imagine 2 GB as if you're driving a very old car with 4 flat tires. Inflating them will be like using 8 GB, but it's still a very old car.
Better! But: there's still a huge difference in SSDs: some are terrible for sustained writes, and some are just good. Google the type and read some reviews to see which one you have. Still, if you could make it 8 (or more) GB RAM, it's going to make your journey much more fun.
Yes. Bitcoin Core doesn't break when you lose your internet. What breaks it, is not shutting down properly, and shutting down (writing chainstate to disk) can take quite a while.
Have fun!
Well, if this is for learning purposes, then don't expect much about the speed of the syncing process because this setup is actually very slow to sync. Why not set it to prune mode? The only difference is if you are running with a prune node, you have limited features, but if you actually want to learn everything about the node, then you should go with a full node.
If you want to learn more about blockchain I suggest try the DIY blockchain at least you can learn how blockchain works. Check this link below
- https://github.com/openblockchains/awesome-blockchains?tab=readme-ov-file#do-it-yourself-diy---build-your-own-blockchain
I am currently leaning towards Linux Mint. From what I've read, it's quite similar to Windows in terms of layout.
I like analogies like this, it just makes stuff much easier to understand. Well then, I will probably try the old laptop first (with 8GB ram) and see how it goes.
That's good to know. Now I don't have much to worry about.
I will, thank you.
I don't have knowledge with programming, so I don't think I can try this, but I will take a look.
Power interruptions on a laptop?
I guess it doesn't have a battery considering its too old. That will be an issue and your best solution is to insert a battery.
You can shut it down
But make sure to cleanly do it because its GUI will freeze occasionally while still working in the background, forcing it to close could corrupt your data.
And given your hardware, it'll be severe that you may not find a huge window when its not frozen.
If you found yourself in that situation, you may use bitcoin-cli to issue "stop" command that will gracefully shutdown Bitcoin Core.
You will need to set server=1 in your bitcoin.conf file or tick "Enable RPC server" in the setttings for that to work.
Based on my personal experience, SSD that use QLC flash type or from unknown brand usually have poor performance on sustained write. And if OP's laptop also contain HDD with big capacity, he can consider using --blocksdir option so blockchain data stored on HDD (while other files still on SSD) to reduce burden on the SSD.
Now that you mention it: I have several HDDs that also have terrible performance on big writes. It goes down to kilobytes per second long before the disk is full.
The blocks directory writes "only" 0.7 TB during IBD, the chainstate directory writes many TBs (when low on RAM) or barely anything (when high on RAM).
My daily driver which I also use to browse the forum is an old ThinkPad which I've upped from 8 to 16GiB RAM some time ago. It runs on Ubuntu and I have a non-pruned Bitcoin Core node on it, too. I don't use this node for my personal wallets, only for education, experiments and curious monitoring what traffic there is about the Patoshi blocks and other stuff I'm interested in.
The laptop has an internal 1TB SSD which ran out of space for the full node. Fortunately this ThinkPad has a drive bay for an optical drive, but you can swap it with drive bay adapter which can host any SATA drive (HDD or SSD) that isn't too high in dimensions (9mm is fine, I haven't tried if 13mm would fit).
I installed a second 1TB SSD in that drive bay which now hosts the blocksdir directory. I moved the block's data from the internal drive to the secondary and that gave me a lot of breathing space again on the first internal drive.
If space runs out on the blocksdir drive, I can simply swap it with a 2TB SSD (I prefer the silence of a SSD over a "rust spinning device").
It does have a removable battery, but it's not working anymore, so it currently only runs while plugged in (forgot to mention). I could try to find a replacement online, so I think it should be fine.
Thanks, I'll keep it in mind for now and revisit this when I start running the node.
I've bought a second-hand business laptop with 8 GB RAM, SSD and many hours of battery life for less money than a new laptop battery. This may depend on where you live, but it's worth considering.
That's also my experience, especially if you look for a bit older models which can still be decent. And the second hand or maybe also the refurbished market should be flooded with laptops that are not officially Windows 11 capable/ready by Micro$ucks arbitrary set standards.
Thanks to M$, a lot if not all countries should have quite a pile of non-Windows 11 ready gear which many businesses have to retire. Good for those who don't need to use Windows, more and possibly cheaper second hand or refurbished gear to buy.
Many Business laptops are also commonly easier to repair/open/upgrade than consumer models and some are built to last longer, especially when they're easier to clean off some dust built-up in the cooling system.
Even going from 2GB to 4 is going to make it soooooo much better.
And on older machines like that use an internal drive not USB. 11+ year old USB ports can be cranky. Just from the years of oxidation and insertion and removal of USB devices wearing on the connectors.
Don't know where you are in the world but here in the US both the drive and additional RAM should have a minimal cost.
-Dave