I have a Raspberry Pi 4. I'm going to get a 1tb hard drive to plug in to it.
I want to run a BTC and/or LN node.
Someone on Stacker suggested Start9. Yet I've only ever heard of Umbrel.
I want something that is, in order:
1) Easy to use. Not overly technical.
2) As minimal trust as possible.
Thoughts, comments?
#AskNostr #RaspberryPi #Nodes #SelfHosting #Server
I use an umbrel with that same setup. Very easy to use and set up. Never used start 9 but big fan of umbrel.
Ok sweet. This is a newb question, but do you constantly sync the Bitcoin Blockchain block by block, or do you do it on a specified schedule like once a day? Do node runners have a preference?
It takes a long time to sync from the beginning of the chain but after that just updates on own as new blocks are mined while you have it on. If you do a lightning node it will use your bitcoin node (umbrel uses core).
You really don’t have to do anything as far as the bitcoin node after you install on umbrel and sync. Will do everything automatically after that.
+1 to nostr:npub126ntw5mnermmj0znhjhgdk8lh2af72sm8qfzq48umdlnhaj9kuns3le9ll
I’ve run both Start9 and Umbrel but settled on Start9. Start9 is no frills, simple and dead on reliable. Their support team is amazing.
Umbrel has a lot more apps and a bigger community, but I found much of the additional apps to be a distraction.
Ultimately, you cannot go wrong with either.
Probably easiest setup would be Umbrel.
The plot thickens. K thanks
I will say I’ve been interested in Start9. But you have the pick list of what’s needed from the Umbrel site, their instructions are step by step, there’s plenty of YouTube videos to help, and there’s a larger Telegram support group. I’d say I’d it’s your first, go Umbrel.
Umbrel was an easier setup for me than start9, but I was always troubleshooting connection issues, and failures. I set up my Start9 once, hooked it up to my Sparrow wallet on my computer and Blue wallet on my mobile and haven’t had to mess with it once. For me, definitely Start9. They have excellent customer service as well on their telegram channel.
i am running nostr:npub126ntw5mnermmj0znhjhgdk8lh2af72sm8qfzq48umdlnhaj9kuns3le9ll and recommend it. ive tried nostr:npub1aghreq2dpz3h3799hrawev5gf5zc2kt4ch9ykhp9utt0jd3gdu2qtlmhct but didnt like it as much. Start9 seems more secure vs Umbrel which offers more software. Advice: be mindful of what you run on your Bitcoin node
Can you clarify what you mean by "be careful what you rub on your bitcoin node"?
a lightning node is a hot wallet and you don't want bad actors accessing your those funds. sometimes software has vulnerabilities that can give bad actors remote access to your system so be careful about what other software you install beyond node stuff
Woah. Thinking about this.
So some Lightning wallets are centralized and custodial (like Wallet Of Satoshi).
Some are web based and custodial like Alby.
Some are non custodial like Phoneix but use their Acinq node, which is a hot Wallet ultimately? I don't understand Lightning at this level lol.
Lightning nodes are all hot. I want to know moar!
hmm not sure what's the best resource but there's a lot of info on nostr:npub1hkuk45c6c6h3y0rks0z4wa0wyyud5ru0qy0rn9x4dgnjwrnfy46s5a432p bitcoinops.org and https://docs.lightning.engineering (thats lightning labs, the OGs)
also, consider MyNode and Raspiblitz
was talking about this with someone on here the other day, if you want to look at my replies to see that thread.
I've heard good things about start9, seems very similar to umbrel.
I wouldn't recommend running a lightning routing node on an rpi4, mine usually needs to be rebooted every week/every other week.
if you want to run a node and run a mempool instance, I'd say go for it! if you want to route LN or just a more reliable node, I'd suggest a slightly more powerful PC. like a dell optiplex or an optiplex thin client, or a middle 2010s laptop.
