How to run a Bitcoin Full Node for $12/mo.

I'm going to explain how I am running my Full Bitcoin Node for only $12 USD per month.

Please let me know if you are able to do this more cheaply, and if I am making any mistakes in my commands, because I am no expert, I just like to support the network.

So here goes:

 

Step 1: Get A Virtual Private Server

Get yourself a VPS Linux box somewhere, with a minimum of 100 GB disk space and 4 GB RAM. I love DeepNet Solutions OpenVZ (http://bit.ly/1nt1q6H) and select any 4096 solution for $12 USD/mo. Paid in bitcoin, of course... :-)

I selected Ubuntu 14.04 as operating system, which seems to work great for this.

 

Step 2: Connect To Your Server

Download puTTY (www.putty.org), or use your own SSH client software to connect to the server.

To connect to the server you run:

putty.exe -ssh XYZ -l root -pw PWD 

where XYZ is the IP address of your server and PWD is the password of the root login.

 

Step 3: Install Bitcoin

When connected to the server it is time to install Bitcoin through the command line. I use these commands:

sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install software-properties-common sudo apt-get install python-software-properties sudo apt-add-repository ppa:bitcoin/bitcoin sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install bitcoind mkdir ~/.bitcoin touch ~/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf chmod 600 ~/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf 

The next command will error out but will show the password you need later.

bitcoind echo rpcuser=bitcoinrpc >> ~/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf echo rpcpassword=XYZ >> ~/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf 

XYZ is the password you see on the screen.

crontab -e 

My server asks me which editor I want to use, and I choose VIM. I then use "dd" to delete the lines.

So bitcoin is started when you reboot the server, put:

@reboot bitcoind -daemon 

Then save the file with command ":wq"

 

Step 4: Start The Bitcoin Server

Now start the Bitcoin server for the first time:

bitcoind -daemon 

Congrats! You are now a Bitcoin Knight...

 

Step 5 (optional): Register With Bitnodes At 21.co

Go to http://bit.ly/1Pwaqhh where XYZ is the IP address of your server.

Register your server. I also set the Alerts so I receive email messages when the status of the server changes. It may take a few days before the server is online and caught up with 100% of the blockchain.

Good luck, and I will be glad to help if anyone has questions. More so, I'd love to learn how I can do this better or cheaper!

Submitted January 25, 2016 at 06:25AM by mouwe http://bit.ly/1nt1qmU