What is the most reliable and cost-effective way to build a BTC and LN node? \ stacker news ~bitcoin

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What is the most reliable and cost-effective way to build a BTC and LN node?

2014 sats \ 14 comments \ @MattInTech 17 Dec 2023 bitcoin_beginners

I am pretty sure this question has been asked multiple times in the past, but since new hardware and software comes out every day, maybe good to refresh the topic.

In your experience, what is the most reliable and cost-effective way to build a BTC and LN node, for an absolute beginner with some (basic) Linux skills? What combination of hardware, software and redundancy/backup/continuity solutions would you recommend?

Thanks!

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334 sats \ 0 replies \ @benthecarman 17 Dec 2023

Use an old laptop, if you don't have one, buy a cheap laptop on ebay

347 sats \ 3 replies \ @fixthemoneyfixtheworld 17 Dec 2023 freebie

Buy a refurbished Thinkpad on eBay or use an old laptop you have lying around. Just make sure it has at least 6GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. Install Start9 OS on it or run it in a VM if you have enough RAM.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @bzzzt 17 Dec 2023 freebie

I agree with this route 🤙

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @windward 17 Dec 2023

are there any particular models of thinkpad that you'd recommend as a starting host?

12 sats \ 0 replies \ @fixthemoneyfixtheworld 17 Dec 2023

The X and T series tend to work very well with Linux. They also tend to be used first by corporations and sold in bulk to eBay resellers. If you have a problem, parts are usually cheap and really easy to find.

158 sats \ 0 replies \ @Natalia 17 Dec 2023 freebie

I built mine with all the things in the left list here https://umbrel.com/umbrelos#install and I stared from an absolute beginner with 0 Linux skills 😂

157 sats \ 1 reply \ @ToxicSaraTV 17 Dec 2023

Buy the parts yourself and build the computer. A mini-itx form factor is great. Install ubuntu and get to work. easy.

127 sats \ 0 replies \ @chaoticalHeavy 17 Dec 2023

mini-itx form factor

Thanks for mentioning this had to look it up

128 sats \ 0 replies \ @nullcount 17 Dec 2023

https://nullcount.com/how-to-install-umbrel-in-a-proxmox-virtual-machine/

https://nullcount.com/how-to-add-redundancy-to-your-lightning-node/

5 sats \ 1 reply \ @034b483ee7 17 Dec 2023

For LN node, one has remember that a lightning node should be online 24x7x365 or as close to it as possible. For me this ruled out running it on home hardware.

For my lightning node, I went with hosting it on Oracle Cloud using the free-forever offering using an ARM VM instance and installed Ubuntu. The ARM free-forever option is a 4-core processor, 24GB Memory, and 200GB memory. Next I used the Docker instance of BTCPay server and implemented the LND node instance. This node has been running now for almost a year at ZERO hosting cost.

Here are some related references for your journey on running bitcoin core on your home hardware.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @021da48107 18 Dec 2023

and 200GB memory

I think you meant storage here.

What did you use for storage? I know the Oracle Cloud free tier doesn't offer 1tb of storage.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 18 Dec 2023

I really like the 1 liter PCs made by Dell. You can often get one for under $100 on ebay or a refurbed one for a bit more. Small, low power usage, and quiet.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @GregAsks 18 Dec 2023

🙋‍♂️ Start9 + Used HP 800 G3 Mini + UPS

The best for the beginner and experience person. Stable and cost-effective configuration. 💪

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @stargut 17 Dec 2023

why not just use your day-to-day pc. Then all you need to buy is a SSD