Published on: 2012-07-27T19:37:27+00:00
horizon, particularly for those who want to independently build, manage, and trust their own blockchain. The post also includes an advertisement for a Live Security Virtual Conference covering IT security and malware threats.In another message from 2012, a user named grarpamp expresses concern about the time it takes to build a new blockchain and keep up with incoming blocks. They suggest that there may be something wrong with the software stack and that a full sync should only take around an hour. The user acknowledges that there are scalability issues, but believes that regular hardware should still be able to keep up without any major changes to the protocol. It is unclear what specific system or software they were referring to.Michael Grønager claims that he can get a full blockchain from scratch in 45 minutes on his laptop. However, Steve, who has been doing extensive testing in this area, finds it difficult to believe and asks for additional information to help him with testing. Steve mentions that he has an extensive setup of test machines, ranging from e4300 to phenom2x6 to i5's, but it still takes him about 12-24 hours to get the entire chain. As an example, he states that on an amd e-450 with 4GB RAM and approx 3gb/s internet connection, it took him 2 hours to sync the last 5 days. He expresses his curiosity and requests Michael to provide any additional information that can help him with his testing.The conversation begins with a user suggesting that there is something wrong with the software stack of the other person's system. However, the person denies any issues and claims that it is all default install. They also mention that they have documented the platform for anyone who wants to confirm it. The discussion then moves on to the time taken for a full sync, with one person claiming that it takes an hour while the other stating that it takes only 5 seconds on their Cray system. The topic of using Tor is also brought up, with one person guessing that the blockchain download is being run through the tor-proxy. However, the other person claims that Tor is fast enough and can copy the entire 3GiB of the .bitcoin dir in 7 days off a slow hidden service and 0.5 days via exit. Encryption is also discussed, with one person claiming that encrypting the disk will not help much, while the other person argues that encryption is reasonable to expect users of bitcoin to be interested in doing. The discussion then moves on to the storage of a public blockchain and whether it is odd to encrypt it. It is argued that without detachdb, it is somehow tied to the wallet and that encrypting everything is perfectly reasonable. The use of ZFS/BTRFS is also mentioned as they verify the integrity of their data on disk. Gregory Maxwell responded to a message about scalability improvements being needed, stating that there is no need for concern as regular hardware can keep up without a hardforking change to the protocol first. This response was given in the context of a discussion on the Bitcoin-development mailing list and included a link to a live security virtual conference covering endpoint security, mobile security, and malware threats.Overall, the given context discusses various aspects related to the performance and scalability of the Bitcoin blockchain. There are discussions about the time taken for a full sync, the impact of different hardware and software setups, the use of Tor and encryption, and the challenges of scalability for regular hardware. Additionally, Gregory Maxwell provides reassurance that regular hardware can handle the demands of Bitcoin without major changes to the protocol.
Updated on: 2023-08-01T03:49:52.418850+00:00