Recently, we have noticed an increase in the orphan block rate on the Fractal network. To improve node connectivity and reduce the occurrence of orphan blocks, for miners, we recommend configuring your nodes to connect to a few customized low-latency nodes provided by developers using the addnode method. This will enhance network reliability and prevent your mining efficiency from being affected.
fractald New Release: v0.2.2
Reasons for the Increased Orphan Rate
At present, nodes in the Fractal network (including mining nodes) join the network by searching through DNS seeds. While this method allows nodes to quickly connect to the network, the quality of connected peers varies significantly, especially with slower nodes affecting block propagation. The main reasons for the increased orphan block rate are:
- Uneven quality of connected peers: Mining nodes randomly connect to peers through DNS seeds, and the quality of those peers can vary widely. If a substantial hashrate mining node connects to poor-quality peers, the overall orphan block rate will increase significantly.
- Unstable network connectivity: Slow nodes decrease overall network connectivity. When a mining pool successfully mines a new block, other miners or pools may continue working on an old block due to network delays in synchronizing the new block, leading to orphan blocks.
- Block synchronization delay: Mining nodes may experience different block synchronization speeds, especially when connecting to slow or unstable peers. This delay in block propagation increases the likelihood of orphan blocks.
Customized low-latency Nodes
To address these issues, we have deployed 4 new customized nodes. Miners can choose to connect to 2 or more of these nodes based on their geographical location and network quality. This setup will ensure that mining nodes connect to a sufficient number of high-quality peers, improving network connectivity and reducing the risk of orphan blocks. Please note that these nodes are currently only open to known miners IPs. If you need access, please contact us on Telegram to recognize your IP.
Configuration Method
- Modify the
bitcoin.conffile and add the following configuration lines (it is recommended to add the nearest two of them):
addnode=34.87.61.167:8333 # Singapore
addnode=34.92.14.221:8333 # Hong Kong
addnode=35.235.106.223:8333 # United States
addnode=35.189.95.174:8333 # United Kingdom2. Restart the node for the changes to take effect.
Key Benefits
- Improve mining efficiency: Faster block synchronization reduces orphan block creation, avoiding unnecessary computations and improving overall mining efficiency.
- Increase profits: With fewer orphan blocks, more successfully mined blocks will be submitted, increasing overall mining profitability.
- Improved network stability: Connecting to high-quality nodes will improve the connectivity of the mining network, thereby enhancing the security and stability of the Fractal network, ensuring its healthy operation.
Node Improvements
We have also made several improvements to the nodes and recommend updating to the latest node version (v0.2.2)
- Modified the base value of block download timeout to 30 seconds, which helps improve network connections between nodes
- Improved the calculation logic during block difficulty verification, reducing block verification time
- Removed unnecessary mandatory checks for BIP30, speeding up the block verification process
Latest code changes could be found here:
https://github.com/fractal-bitcoin/fractal/commits/main/
Conclusion
By configuring your nodes to connect to high-quality official nodes, you can significantly improve connectivity with other mining nodes, reduce orphan block production, and enhance mining stability and profitability. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us on Telegram, and we will be happy to assist you.
UniSat Team
2024.10
