Published on: 2014-05-08T11:22:46+00:00
In a discussion about implementing clients, Nelson Castillo suggests using SNMP due to the availability of existing tools. However, Wladimir expresses concern about the complexity of implementing SNMP on client devices and registering custom OIDs. He questions the added value of using SNMP, as there are other ways of collecting statistics supported by monitoring tools.The conversation between Mike Hearn and Wladimir focuses on the similarities and differences between Bitcoin DNS seeds and Tor directory authorities. Both aim to find stable nodes, but Tor directory authorities are authenticated while DNS seeds are not. Bitcoin prioritizes decentralization more than Tor. They also discuss the possibility of having authenticated "directory authorities" in the Bitcoin source code and making stats public or private/authenticated to parties configured by the node owner.Gregory Maxwell explains the workings of the Tor network in an email. The network operates on a centralized but theoretically federated trusted directory service. Semi-trusted bandwidth authorities generate data by measuring node performance back to the directory authorities. This process is more extensive and involves third-party testing on nodes.Mike Hearn suggests exporting stats over regular TCP in order to make them public for any node. Wladimir mentions that the Tor network already does this and provides a link to torstatus.blutmagie.de. However, it is unclear what technology or tools Tor uses for submitting and gathering statistics.Charlie Shrem shares his guide for installing a full node in a universal way. Jameson Lopp and Wladimir discuss the possibility of including statistics with the installer for running a wallet-less node as an OS background service. They consider using Graphite and StatsD for stats aggregation and chart rendering, with Python being necessary for the stats service. They agree that the tool should be external, not part of bitcoind itself.Jameson Lopp chooses StatsD for sending stats via UDP to avoid affecting the node's performance. Wladimir suggests including statistics as part of the installer, but emphasizes the need for Python and external tools. The chart rendering happens client-side, so the web service only needs to collect and provide data.Mike Hearn and Wladimir discuss different ways to simplify the setup of components for Bitcoin Core stats aggregation and chart rendering. They consider exporting stats over TCP to make them public or having a site crawling nodes to trigger alerts based on chain heights by version. They agree that monitoring and analysis appeals more to certain types of people. Python is deemed necessary for the stats service, and the tool should be external, not part of bitcoind itself.Jameson Lopp and Wladimir discuss offering statistics with the Bitcoin Core installer. Jameson mentions dependencies on other software for stats aggregation and chart rendering. Wladimir agrees that including some statistics would be worth extra download size, but implementing web services in C++ is unrealistic. They decide that the tool should be external and suggest using SNMP as an option.The discussion explores ways to simplify the installation of Graphite components. Exporting stats over TCP and making them public is considered, as well as using community StatsD and Graphite instances. Monitoring and analysis are seen as appealing to certain types of people. Implementing web services in C++ is not realistic, so Python is necessary. The web service collects and provides data.Charlie Shrem expresses excitement about installing new software on his full node. Mike Hearn and Wladimir discuss simplifying the setup process for monitored bitcoind systems. They consider running a community StatsD and Graphite instance. Jameson Lopp raises concerns about trust if StatsD is run outside of highly secure infrastructure. He suggests packaging other software along with the installer. They discuss the possibility of offering public graphs.Jameson Lopp creates a Bitcoin Core fork that outputs statistics to StatsD for gaining insight into node processing. Wladimir sees potential in including this feature in Bitcoin Core node-only installers. Jameson mentions dependencies on other software and suggests packaging it with the installer. He also proposes offering public graphs.Jameson Lopp's Bitcoin Core fork provides statistics to StatsD for monitoring node processing. Pavol Rusnak asks about merging the feature into the mainline. The conversation highlights the need for an operations team and the complexity of setting up a monitored bitcoind system.Mike Hearn praises a proposal to simplify setting up monitored bitcoind systems. Jameson Lopp agrees that the current setup is difficult for most users. They discuss running a community StatsD and Graphite instance. Jameson notes the issue of trust if StatsD is not run on highly secure infrastructure.
Updated on: 2023-08-01T09:12:33.007041+00:00