Looking for crypto software for my Raspberry Pi 5

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WildWolfMember
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#1May 26, 2020, 06:34 PM
Raspiblitz Umbrel myNode I just got my Raspberry Pi 5 with 8GB of RAM. Gonna hook it up to my 1TB Silicon Power 2.5 SSD using a USB cable. If everything works out, I plan to get an Argon case for the Pi and add a new internal m.2 1TB 2280. I want to run my node with Lightning Network and Electrum EPS. I’ve already downloaded the entire blockchain onto my 1TB SSD, so it’ll be all set once I install the software on my RPi5. If you’ve tried any of these, what software would you suggest?
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alt21Senior Member
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#2May 26, 2020, 07:12 PM
Funny enough, but I won't suggest any of the above options  My favorite ones have been: RaspiBolt: especially for learning. RaspiBolt a spectacular DIY project which requires a technical skills, but offers great knowledge and flexibility in return.Start9 OS: from the ready-to-go node options, I suggest this suite of programs. It's incredibly well maintained and much more flexible than the ones you 've mentioned.
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WildWolfMember
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#3May 27, 2020, 12:09 AM
It's why I didn't put RaspiBolt at top. When's the last time you used StartOS? Github's saying StartOS is in beta. It lacks features. It doesn't always work perfectly. Start9 servers are not plug and play. Using them properly requires some effort and patience. Please do not use StartOS or purchase a server if you are unable or unwilling to follow instructions and learn new concepts.
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alt21Senior Member
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#4May 27, 2020, 01:34 AM
Must have been approximately 2 years ago. Perhpaps a little less. I remember I used to have both a bitcoin and a monero node, I also had robosats and LND. That's a very good video tutorial if you wish to follow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKBJ3_3ZomU&list=PLxdf8G0kzsUXSgv6TahOzg5mhNNprVKjM&index=3 So, since both my options weren't suitable, I 'd suggest Umbrel, because it's one of the most common node suites out there. In fact, it must be the most used suite.
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WildWolfMember
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#5May 29, 2020, 03:31 AM
2 year's a long time what are you using now? Umbrel's a popular choice I'm on Raspiblitz's & Umbrel's git pages. Raspberry Pi isn't recommended by Start9. DO NOT USE A RASPBERRY PI FOR RUNNING BITCOIN SOFTWARE! You will have a bad time. The pi is a great choice for other use cases, such as file storage, password management, git hosting, etc.
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alt21Senior Member
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#6May 29, 2020, 09:40 AM
I am using: (a) raspbibolt as my main full node (b) bitcoin core as a wallet in a pruned node In general, what I used to dislike with Umbrel, was that they have imported multiple tools in the suite that aren't bitcoin-related.
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hash_bossLegendary
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#7May 29, 2020, 11:12 AM
1TB is a bit tight to run Bitcoin Core without pruning, since my Bitcoin Core takes almost 700GB (blocks and chainstate directory) and almost 70GB (index directory, which is optional feature). And if that SSD is cheap one with QLC NAND, you may experience noticeable slow-down when Bitcoin Core (or other software) perform intense I/O write. But for fun and learning, you shouldn't face major problem.
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alt21Senior Member
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#8May 29, 2020, 05:29 PM
And it's also worth mentioning that the chain's size increases rapidly, making 1TB not suitable for long-term. According to Jameson Lopp's Bitcoin 2024 annual review: Pretty big increase, isn't it?
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WildWolfMember
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#9May 31, 2020, 07:14 AM
It's a cool setup. I've got 682GB in blocks & 11GB in chainstate folders. There's 953GB available. Mine's a 1TB Silicon Power A55 3D NAND SLC 2.5 SSD. If I'm happy with the RPi5 setup I'm going to buy an Argon case for internal m.2 2280 SSD. If I'm able to find a low price 2TB m.2 I'll use it. I've mentioned the 1TB Silicon Power 2.5 SSD I/O problems in my review Fun & learning Bitcoin blockchain downloaded on 1TB Silicon Power 2.5 SSD. It's a cheap SSD but it's worked successfully. It's a big increase. Any size disk's going to work for pruned blockchains but 2TB's recommended for full blockchain downloads.
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whale_chainFull Member
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#10May 31, 2020, 01:24 PM
With the 953GB you are fine and set for the next two years if the chain's size maintains 90GB increase per year. Argon case for internal m.2 2280 SSD will obviously provide better cooling and compact setup when you upgrade to 2TB m.2. That's over 90GB increase which is  way too big, if Blockchain continues to grow significantly like this 2TB might not be sustainable for a period of 5-6 years that is when running an unpruned Blockchain since the current bitcoin Blockchain size is around 770GB( blocks + chain state directory + index directory).
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alt21Senior Member
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#11May 31, 2020, 03:55 PM
The devs have done a good progress in reducing transaction sizes and making bitcoin nodes more sustainable. Satoshi's original purpose must have been to make it easy for any entity (individual or not) to run a node. Satoshi specifically mentioned that the number 2,100,000,000,000,000 (or 2.1 quadrillion) satoshis was decided after a long thought and considering many aspects both technological and financial. I guess that the whole system was designed with a long-term view. So, to respond to your note, I agree that 2TB may not be sustainable for 5-6 years, but with the increasing speed in technology, the price for a higher capacity storage disk won't affect negatively (at least I suppose so).
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WildWolfMember
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#12May 31, 2020, 08:58 PM
It's a cool to save money on a new SSD by using my 1TB Silicon Power 2.5 SSD. It's free space's going to last for years because there's 693GB used so it's got 260GB free. I'll use it with my RPi5 when it's sent. If it's a good experience I'll buy the Argon case & 2TB 2280 SSD.
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paul2017Senior Member
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#13Jun 1, 2020, 01:08 AM
I would have recommended Raspibolt, but the Raspibolt guide is still incompatible with the latest RPi OS that is based on Debian Bookworm. That advice is many years outdated and their other recommendations are off -- "Don't use an SSD", for example.
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WildWolfMember
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#14Jun 1, 2020, 03:55 AM
It isn't outdated it's on the start9 site as latest info.
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im_lynxHero Member
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#15Jun 1, 2020, 11:09 AM
I'm running a very minimal Raspibolt with Tor and Bitcoin Core only on a Raspi 4B with 8GB RAM and a 1TB HDD (yes, it's slower but I didn't have to do the initial blockchain download with it). OS is as far as I remember RaspiOS without GUI, it feels very Debian like. I think you have wrong assumptions about available free space. Here's reality of my node: With normal growth of blockchain it might last for about a year until free space becomes uncomfortably small, definitely not for years.
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WildWolfMember
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#16Jun 1, 2020, 05:08 PM
You've transferred it from existing drives to your HDD ? My RPi5 wasn't delivered. I've arranged to buy it from a new source I'm hoping it'll arrive soon. I'll use my 1TB Silicon Power 2.5 SSD to connect it with USB cable to practice using the pi. The blockchain download's increasing so I'll buy m.2 2TB 2280 & Argon case if I'm feeling confident about using the pi for long time.
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im_lynxHero Member
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#17Jun 4, 2020, 04:29 AM
All my Raspis are currently 4Bs with 8GB RAM. My oldest node ran on RaspiBlitz with a 1TB SSD connected via USB3 to the Raspi 4B. Then I also have an Umbrel node on another Raspi 4B to experiment with. Call me a Raspi Bitcoin node junkie. I will likely soon grab a Raspi 5 with 16GB RAM, maybe as Compute Module 5, and build something nice with a 2 or 4TB NVMe SSD. This will likely be my goto Electrum server, Bitcoin Core, whatnotelse node, also running a local copy of mempool.space as Bitcoin explorer. Should be fun... Yes, I likely copied the blocks and chainstate folders from my Umbrel node (Bitcoin Core was shut down before copying!) for my Raspibolt on HDD.
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WildWolfMember
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#18Jun 4, 2020, 06:14 AM
How many Pi's do you own ? Using copied blocks & chainstate folder to transfer from one to other drive would've saved you days of downloading the blochchain. I'm going to copy my bitcoin blocks & chainstate folders from my 1TB Silicon Power 2.5 SSD to the new m.2 drive when I buy it. Using copied blocks & chainstate folder to transfer from one to other drive would've saved you days of downloading the blockchain. I'm going to copy the bitcoin blocks & chainstate folders from my 1TB Silicon Power 2.5 SSD to the new m.2 drive when I buy it.
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hash_bossLegendary
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#19Jun 4, 2020, 08:56 AM
I don't know why i didn't mention it earlier, but mini PC (one with Intel N100 or similar CPU) could be better than Pi 5. While it's less fun for experiment or certain type of programming, it's CPU is somewhat faster with better storage connectivity (most mini PC have at least one M.2 slot) and wider software/OS support (since it use x86 CPU). Good point. It's easy to forget than storage company use decimal unit (1000) while computer use binary unit (1024) and some space reserved as over-provisioning , which makes 1TB storage actually have size about 900GB. Although it could be a bit longer if OP don't enable txindex.
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WildWolfMember
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#20Jun 4, 2020, 03:06 PM
I've used a different SSD for the chainstate folder. It adds speed to blockchain downloading with mklink symbolic links. I've done it on Win 11 Fun & learning with Bitcoin Core QT in Win 11 mklink chainstate error. If ppl want to use 1TB drives they'll free space for the blockchain download by keeping their chainstate folder on a different drive.
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