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# Raspberry Pi 3 B/B+ Vertcoin Full Node Installation Guide for Windows

`* anything marked with an asterisk is an optional step`

#### Why a Vertcoin Full node?
>Vertcoin is a digital currency supported by a peer-to-peer network. In order to run efficiently and effectively, it needs peers run by different people... and the more the better. [1]

>This tutorial will describe how to create a Vertcoin “full node” (a Vertcoin server that contains the full blockchain and propagates transactions throughout the Vertcoin network via peers). This system will not mine for Vertcoins... it will play its part to keep the Vertcoin peer-to-peer network healthy and strong. For a detailed explanation for why it is important to have a healthy Vertcoin peer-to-peer network, read this [article](https://medium.com/@lopp/bitcoin-nodes-how-many-is-enough-9b8e8f6fd2cf) about Bitcoin full nodes.

>Also please note this will be a “headless” server... meaning we will not be using a GUI to configure Vertcoin or check to see how things are running. In fact, once the server is set up, you will only interact with it using command line calls over SSH. The idea is to have this full node be simple, low-power, and something that “just runs” in your basement, closet, etc.

#### Why a Raspberry Pi?
>Raspberry Pi is an inexpensive computing hardware platform that generates little heat, draws little power, and can run silently 24 hours a day without having to think about it. [1]

## Table of Contents
1. Parts List
2. *Download and sync Vertcoin Core
3. Format USB Flash Drive
4. Install Raspbian Stretch Lite
5. Copy Blockchain to USB Flash Drive
6. Setup Raspberry Pi
7. Setup USB Flash Drive and Auto-Mount
8. Create vertcoin.conf and soft link to USB Flash Drive
9. Configure firewall to allow Vertcoin Core traffic
10. Congratulations! Your Vertcoin node is up and running


### 1.) Parts List

| Parts                                                        | Price      | Link                                                                            |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 B+                                    | $49.99 USD | https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Power-Supply-Listed/dp/B07BC6WH7V/     |
| Samsung 32GB 95MB/s (U1) MicroSD EVO Select Memory Card      | $12.99 USD | https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-MicroSD-Adapter-MB-ME32GA-AM/dp/B06XWN9Q99/      |
| SanDisk Ultra Fit 128GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive                  | $27.49 USD | https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Ultra-128GB-Flash-Drive/dp/B01BGTG2A0/           |
| Transcend USB 3.0 SDHC / SDXC / microSDHC / SDXC Card Reader | $9.23 USD  | https://www.amazon.com/Transcend-microSDHC-Reader-TS-RDF5K-Black/dp/B009D79VH4/ |
| *OPTIONAL: Zebra Black Ice Case for Raspberry Pi by C4Labs   | $14.95 USD | https://www.amazon.com/Zebra-Black-Case-Raspberry-C4labs/dp/B00M6G9YBM/         |


You may change the USB Flash Drive to match your preference. I highly recommend that a USB Flash Drive (16GB - 128GB) or an External Hard Drive is paired with the Raspberry Pi.

The case in the parts list is a personal preference, it is your choice how you wish to protect your Raspberry Pi. The Zebra Black Ice case was chosen for its cut out on the bottom of the case, allowing for the placement of a heatsink on the RAM of the Raspberry Pi.


## 2.) Download and sync Vertcoin Core

This step is optional but recommended. [Download](https://github.com/vertcoin-project/vertcoin-core/releases) the latest stable release of Vertcoin Core and launch `vertcoin-qt.exe` to begin the syncing process. I use my desktop PC to sync the blockchain first because it has better specs than a $35 Raspberry Pi. The PC will sync headers, download blocks and verify blocks faster than the Raspberry Pi can.

We will use this copy of the blockchain that is syncing to side-load onto our Raspberry Pi later.

`Vertcoin Core Download Link: https://github.com/vertcoin-project/vertcoin-core/releases`
`Default Windows Directory (Vertcoin): C:\Users\%USER%\AppData\Roaming\Vertcoin`


## 3.) Format USB Flash Drive

>The Vertcoin blockchain is about 4GB today (4/23/2018) which means that a 16GB USB Flash Drive will have more than enough space to store everything we need, but you can easily future proof with a 128GB USB Flash Drive.

Insert the USB Flash Drive into your Windows PC. Access the drive with Windows Explorer (Win+E). Right click on the removable drive you wish to format and `Format...`

Format the USB Flash Drive to an `NTFS` File system.

This USB Flash Drive will contain our Vertcoin data directory as well as our swap space file. We will give the Raspberry Pi some extra memory to work with we will ensure a swap file large enough to handle the memory demand to bootstrap the blockchain.

It is worth mentioning that constantly writing data to the MicroSD card can be damaging, in this guide we will configure the swap file to reside off of the MicroSD card.


## 4.) Install Raspbian Stretch Lite

I recommend downloading the latest stable version of [Raspbian Stretch Lite](https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/raspbian/).

We will utilize the software 'Win32 Disk Imager' to format and install Raspbian on the MicroSD card. Please follow the [guide](https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/installation/installing-images/windows.md) below for details on installing the Rasbian image to the MicroSD card.


`Raspberry Pi - Installing Operating System Images Using Windows: https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/installation/installing-images/windows.md`

Once Win32 Disk Imager is finished writing to the MicroSD card please access the 'boot' partition of the MicroSD card with Windows Explorer (Win+E). Create a new empty text file named `ssh` like so...

![MicroSD card - ssh](https://i.imgur.com/m14rGdV.png)
This enables SSH access on the Raspberry Pi's first boot sequence. Please safely remove the USB Card Reader / MicroSD card as to ensure the data is not corrupted.


## 5.) Copy Blockchain to USB Flash Drive
Once Vertcoin Core is finished syncing the blockchain please navigate to the data directory for Vertcoin.

`Default Windows Directory (Vertcoin): C:\Users\%USER%\AppData\Roaming\Vertcoin`

Copy the folders 'blocks' and 'chainstate' to the USB Flash Drive that was formatted as an `NTFS` file system earlier. This will allow us to side-load the Vertcoin blockchain and bootstrap faster than if we had the Raspberry Pi do all the work.

## 6.) Setup Raspberry Pi

Please insert the MicroSD card that was safely removed into the slot located on the bottom of the Raspberry Pi. Connect an Ethernet cable to the Raspberry Pi that has internet access. When you are ready to power on the Pi, plug the power supply in and the Raspberry Pi will immediately begin to boot.

We will access our Raspberry Pi through an SSH session on our Windows PC. I like to use Git Bash which is included in the Windows [download](https://git-scm.com/downloads) of Git.

`Git download link: https://git-scm.com/downloads`

Open a web browser page and navigate to your router page and identify the IP address of the freshly powered on Raspberry Pi. In my case the IP address is `192.168.1.2`, please make note of your Raspberry Pi's IP address as we will need to use it to login via SSH.

Open Git Bash and ...
`~ $ ssh 192.168.1.2 -l pi`
`default password: raspberry`

'# Download and install latest system updates
`pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo apt-get update ; sudo apt-get upgrade -y`


'# Remove orphaned packages and clean apt
`pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo apt-get autoremove ; sudo apt-get autoclean`


'# Initiate `raspi-config` script
`pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo raspi-config`

1. (8) Update
2. (1) Change User Password
3. (4) Localization Options > (I2) Change Timezone
4. (7) Advanced Options > (A1) Expand Filesystem

`<Finish>` and choose to reboot.

'# Wait a minute, then log back in via SSH
`ssh 192.168.1.2 -l pi`

'# Download and install useful software packages
`pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo apt-get install git ntfs-3g`

#####*OPTIONAL: Disable Wireless and Bluetooth
`pi@raspberrypi:~ $ cd /etc/modprobe.d/`

'# Create our blacklist file
`pi@raspberrypi:/etc/modprobe.d $ sudo nano raspi-blacklist.conf`

```
# disable wireless
blacklist brcmfmac
blacklist brcmutil

# disable bluetooth
blacklist btbcm
blacklist hci_uart
```
ctrl+x to save

'# Reboot Raspberry Pi for changes to take effect
`pi@raspberrypi:/etc/modprobe.d $ sudo reboot`

'# Wait a minute, then log back in via SSH
`ssh 192.168.1.2 -l pi`

'# Download latest stable version of vertcoin-core for ARM architecture to Raspberry Pi
`pi@raspberrypi:~ $ wget https://github.com/vertcoin-project/vertcoin-core/releases/download/0.12.0/vertcoin-v0.12.0-linux-arm.zip`

'# Unzip `vertcoin-v0.12.0-linux-arm.zip`
```
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ unzip vertcoin-v0.12.0-linux-arm.zip
Archive:  vertcoin-v0.12.0-linux-arm.zip
  inflating: vertcoin-cli
  inflating: vertcoind
  inflating: vertcoin-tx
```
'# Remove `vertcoin-v0.12.0-linux-arm.zip`
`pi@raspberrypi:~ $ rm *.zip`

'# Move vertcoin-cli, vertcoind, vertcoin-tx to /usr/bin/
`pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo mv vertcoin* /usr/bin/`


## Setup USB Flash Drive and Auto-Mount

Please insert the USB Flash Drive that contains the folders `blocks` and `chainstate` into the Raspberry Pi. We will mount the USB Flash Drive to the Raspberry Pi and configure the device to auto-mount on reboot ensuring the blockchain stays accessible to the vertcoin daemon after reboot.

'# Find your USB Flash Drive
```
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo blkid
/dev/mmcblk0p1: LABEL="boot" UUID="5DB0-971B" TYPE="vfat" PARTUUID="efbdd15e-01"
/dev/mmcblk0p2: LABEL="rootfs" UUID="060b57a8-62bd-4d48-a471-0d28466d1fbb" TYPE="ext4" PARTUUID="efbdd15e-02"
/dev/mmcblk0: PTUUID="efbdd15e" PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sda1: UUID="0DC965316518EB7C" TYPE="ntfs" PARTUUID="00e3d476-01"
```
My USB device appears as /dev/sda1 which shows a filesystem type of `NTFS`, your device may be listed differently. Please take note of the /dev/* information that identifies your USB Flash Drive.

'# Make sure a mount point exists for the USB Flash Drive
```
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo mkdir /mnt
mkdir: cannot create directory ‘/mnt’: File exists
```
'# Give /mnt privileges
`pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo chmod 755 /mnt`

'# Mount USB Flash Drive to mount point
`pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt`

'# Confirm USB Flash Drive was successfully mounted to /mnt
```
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ ls /mnt/
blocks  chainstate  System Volume Information
```
'# Setup fstab file to auto-mount the USB Flash Drive on reboot
```
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo nano /etc/fstab

proc            /proc           proc    defaults          0       0
PARTUUID=efbdd15e-01  /boot           vfat    defaults          0       2
PARTUUID=efbdd15e-02  /               ext4    defaults,noatime  0       1

# replace /dev/sda1 with your USB device, [tab] between each value
/dev/sda1       /mnt    ntfs    defaults        0       0

# a swapfile is not a swap partition, no line here
#   use  dphys-swapfile swap[on|off]  for that
```
ctrl+x to save

'# Reboot to confirm auto-mount is successful
`pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo reboot	`

'# Wait a minute, then log back in via SSH
`ssh 192.168.1.2 -l pi`

'# Confirm USB Flash Drive auto-mounted
```
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ ls /mnt/
blocks  chainstate  System Volume Information
```

## Create vertcoin.conf and soft link to USB Flash Drive

'# Create vertcoin.conf for Vertcoin Core
```
server=1
rpcuser=node
rpcpassword=yoursecurepasswordgoeshere

# disable wallet, we only a node son
disablewallet=1

# makes client run in background
daemon=1

# lopp.net optimizations
dbcache=100
maxorphantx=10
maxmempool=50
maxconnections=40
maxuploadtarget=5000
```
ctrl+x to save
'# *OPTIONAL NOTE: A quick and easy way to generate a random password is taking the md5sum of a file
```
pi@raspberrypi:/mnt $ touch rand
pi@raspberrypi:/mnt $ md5sum rand
d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e  rand
```
'# Change directory back home
```
pi@raspberrypi:/mnt $ cd
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ pwd
/home/pi
```
'# Create soft link (symbolic link) connecting /mnt/ <---> /home/pi/.vertcoin
`pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo ln -s /mnt/ /home/pi/.vertcoin`

'# List all files in home
```
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ ls -a
.  ..  .bash_history  .bash_logout  .bashrc  .config  .profile  .vertcoin  .wget-hsts
```
'# Change directory to /home/pi/.vertcoin, confirm blockchain and vertcoin.conf is there
```
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ cd .vertcoin ; ls
blocks  chainstate  System Volume Information  vertcoin.conf
```

## Create swap file space for Raspberry Pi

Here we ensure that dphys-swapfile is installed and configured to save the swap file in /mnt/swap, allocate 500MB of swap file space, uncomment CONF_SWAPFACTOR and CONF_MAXSWAP lines.

'# Install dphys-swapfile
```
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo apt-get install dphys-swapfile
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
dphys-swapfile is already the newest version (20100506-3).
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 15 not upgraded.
```

'# Configure swap file
```
# /etc/dphys-swapfile - user settings for dphys-swapfile package
# author Neil Franklin, last modification 2010.05.05
# copyright ETH Zuerich Physics Departement
#   use under either modified/non-advertising BSD or GPL license

# this file is sourced with . so full normal sh syntax applies

# the default settings are added as commented out CONF_*=* lines


# reconfigure swapfile to reside on /mnt/swap
CONF_SWAPFILE=/mnt/swap

# set size to absolute value, leaving empty (default) then uses computed value
#   you most likely don't want this, unless you have an special disk situation

# set swapsize to 500
CONF_SWAPSIZE=500

# set size to computed value, this times RAM size, dynamically adapts,
#   guarantees that there is enough swap without wasting disk space on excess
CONF_SWAPFACTOR=2

# restrict size (computed and absolute!) to maximally this limit
#   can be set to empty for no limit, but beware of filled partitions!
#   this is/was a (outdated?) 32bit kernel limit (in MBytes), do not overrun it
#   but is also sensible on 64bit to prevent filling /var or even / partition
CONF_MAXSWAP=2048
```
ctrl+x to save

'# Restart swap file service
```
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo /etc/init.d/dphys-swapfile stop
[ ok ] Stopping dphys-swapfile (via systemctl): dphys-swapfile.service.
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo /etc/init.d/dphys-swapfile start
[ ok ] Starting dphys-swapfile (via systemctl): dphys-swapfile.service.
```

## Setup Vertcoin Core Crontab for auto-start on reboot

Here we will configure the crontab file to start `vertcoind` as a daemon on reboot and on each hour to ensure `vertcoind` always has a process thats alive. If `vertcoind` is already running when the hourly crontab executes it will simply fail to spawn a new process.

'# Configure crontab file to start `vertcoind` on reboot and hourly
```
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ crontab -u pi -e
no crontab for pi - using an empty one

Select an editor.  To change later, run 'select-editor'.
  1. /bin/ed
  2. /bin/nano        <---- easiest
  3. /usr/bin/vim.tiny

Choose 1-3 [2]: 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Edit this file to introduce tasks to be run by cron.
#
# Each task to run has to be defined through a single line
# indicating with different fields when the task will be run
# and what command to run for the task
#
# To define the time you can provide concrete values for
# minute (m), hour (h), day of month (dom), month (mon),
# and day of week (dow) or use '*' in these fields (for 'any').#
# Notice that tasks will be started based on the cron's system
# daemon's notion of time and timezones.
#
# Output of the crontab jobs (including errors) is sent through
# email to the user the crontab file belongs to (unless redirected).
#
# For example, you can run a backup of all your user accounts
# at 5 a.m every week with:
# 0 5 * * 1 tar -zcf /var/backups/home.tgz /home/
#
# For more information see the manual pages of crontab(5) and cron(8)
#
# m h  dom mon dow   command

@reboot vertcoind -daemon
@hourly vertcoind -daemon
```
ctrl+x to save

'# Reboot and confirm vertcoind process spawns on reboot
`pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo reboot	`

'# Wait a minute, then log back in via SSH
`ssh 192.168.1.2 -l pi`
```
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ ps aux | grep vertcoin
pi         406 99.9  9.5 169160 90256 ?        Rsl  22:43   1:46 vertcoind -daemon
pi         530  0.0  0.0   4372   560 pts/0    S+   22:45   0:00 grep --color=auto vertcoin
```

Vertcoin Core is now synchronizing to the side-loaded blockchain located in /mnt/ (linked to /home/pi/.vertcoin). This process can take ~3-5 hours to sync headers and verify all of the downloaded blocks. You can monitor system resources with `htop` or by issuing the following commands:

'# Display output of /home/pi/.vertcoin/debug.log to the screen
`pi@raspberrypi:~ $ tailf .vertcoin/debug.log`

'# Show blockchain information
`pi@raspberrypi:~ $ vertcoin-cli getblockchaininfo`

'# Show current block
`pi@raspberrypi:~ $ vertcoin-cli getblockcount`

## Configure firewall to allow Vertcoin Core traffic

'# Install UFW
`pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo apt-get install ufw`

'# Enter root and configure UFW
```
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo su
root@raspberrypi:/home/pi# ufw default deny incoming
Default incoming policy changed to 'deny'
(be sure to update your rules accordingly)
root@raspberrypi:/home/pi# ufw default allow outgoing
Default outgoing policy changed to 'allow'
(be sure to update your rules accordingly)
root@raspberrypi:/home/pi# ufw allow from 192.168.1.0/24 to any port 22 comment 'allow SSH from local LAN'
Rules updated
root@raspberrypi:/home/pi# ufw allow 5889 comment 'allow vertcoin core'
Rules updated
Rules updated (v6)
root@raspberrypi:/home/pi# ufw enable
Command may disrupt existing ssh connections. Proceed with operation (y|n)? y
Firewall is active and enabled on system startup
root@raspberrypi:/home/pi# systemctl enable ufw
Synchronizing state of ufw.service with SysV service script with /lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install.
Executing: /lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install enable ufw
root@raspberrypi:/home/pi# ufw status
Status: active

To                         Action      From
--                         ------      ----
22                         ALLOW       192.168.1.0/24             # allow SSH from local LAN
5889                       ALLOW       Anywhere                   # allow vertcoin core
5889 (v6)                  ALLOW       Anywhere (v6)              # allow vertcoin core

root@raspberrypi:/home/pi# exit
exit
```
Please note that your IP range may be different than what I have listed above. If your router IP address is `192.168.1.1` then the instructions above require no alterations. If your IP address is something like `192.168.56.1` or `10.0.0.1` then you will need to modify the 'ufw allow from `192.168.1.0/24` to any port 22' to 'ufw allow from `192.168.56.0/24`(...)' or 'ufw allow from `10.0.0.0/24`(...)' respectively.

Please open a browser window and navigate to your router page, from there you can port forward your Raspberry Pi. `TCP/UDP 5889`. This will make your node public and support the health of the Vertcoin network by keeping it decentralized, populated with one more node.


## Congratulations!
You have successfully setup a full Vertcoin Core node on a Raspberry Pi. Thank you for following along and contributing to the Vertcoin network by helping keep it populated with nodes and distributed. You help give meaning to 'the peoples' coin'!
```
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ vertcoin-cli getblockchaininfo
{
  "chain": "main",
  "blocks": 888507,
  "headers": 915979,
  "bestblockhash": "c56f7d9fbddd4073c68d18e901944dd50cad072b3fa39bbd0047e476b5297898",
  "difficulty": 45108.82829895391,
  "mediantime": 1520320068,
  "verificationprogress": 0.9595547815279806,
  "initialblockdownload": true,
  "chainwork": "0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000015f56d79735e934ce",
  "size_on_disk": 3240624105,
  "pruned": false,
  "bip9_softforks": {
    "csv": {
      "status": "active",
      "startTime": 1488326400,
      "timeout": 1519862400,
      "since": 691488
    },
    "segwit": {
      "status": "active",
      "startTime": 1488326400,
      "timeout": 1519862400,
      "since": 713664
    },
    "nversionbips": {
      "status": "active",
      "startTime": 1488326400,
      "timeout": 1519862400,
      "since": 691488
    }
  },
  "warnings": ""
}
```


## References
`[1] How to Create Your Own Bitcoin Full Node With a Raspberry Pi http://www.raspberrypifullnode.com/`

``