Analysis of the factors of Filecoin extreme mining

Every miner hopes to mine more coins with the same cost and win the competition.

It has two elements: 1. Cost; 2. Benefit

Next, we will introduce FIL storage mining to you based on the actual data before the second phase of the test network went online.

Preface

How to achieve the ultimate mining return (ROI)?

Analyze from three perspectives: mining machine and mining pool functions, and mining strategies

The mining machine includes: CPU/GPU, hard disk storage, memory, power supply, network card;

The mining pool includes six dimensions for analysis: network environment, hardware configuration, mining pool system, and geographical location

Mining strategies: early, mid, late

Mining Machine

CPU/GPU

Filecoin mining has two very core algorithms, Proof of Replication (PoRep) and Proof of Spacetime (PoSt).

It is important to understand that for the security of the entire network, the official team has deliberately increased the computing requirements in these two proof links, and also raised the threshold for hardware equipment. In addition, from the perspective of blockchain network security, it is hoped that the computing power will be decentralized, so there will be a requirement to avoid a single dominant player [refer to the Monero algorithm change incident]. So now, the possibility of low-end hardware for storage mining is almost zero (note, only for storage mining).

When we mention "effective storage", the prerequisite is the storage capacity that meets the computing requirements. That is, only after the computing capacity meets the standards can one be qualified to provide storage. Therefore, it can be said that Filecoin mining has very high requirements for computing. If a timeout occurs during data packaging and verification, then this mining machine is just a pile of scrap metal.

Since the algorithm uses a lot of sha256 algorithms in the precommit process, CPUs with sha extensions will have an advantage in performance. In the AMA on March 5, AMD was also mentioned. Because of the sha extension, AMD will be better under the same cost comparison framework. The figure below shows the bench data of a certain model of AMD under testnet3

As for the GPU acceleration solution that everyone is discussing, GPUs are now mainly used in two stages: Seal Commit stage and PoSt stage. If the SNARK part is optimized, the GPU solution will be improved to a certain extent. But in fact, the Filecoin team is also thinking about the positioning of GPUs. From the answer that day, they are considering turning the computing part of zero-knowledge proof into a service, that is, miners do not need to equip themselves with GPUs, but rent GPU computing power.

Through the first phase of testing, we tell you three important keywords: CPU, high frequency, multi-core

The following figure shows the performance ratio of the server CPU.

The following figure is a screenshot of the data of different CPU/GPU tests conducted by the global technical team including the filcloud team. If you want the complete data, you can leave your email address at the end of the article to obtain it.

Hard disk storage

We mainly discuss storage mining (retrieval mining is not discussed for the time being, and we will introduce it to you later). Effective storage is the core parameter of the probability of a miner winning the right to produce a block, and is proportional to the storage allocated to the miner.

When choosing a hard drive, you need to consider the following points

1. Cost per ton

The costs of hard drives of different specifications are different, and you need to pay attention to calculating the cost in RMB/T. For example, there are 10T, 8T, and 6T capacities to choose from. Now the cost of 8T is the best in the market, but the situation may change in the future, so you need to be aware of this.

2.7*24 hours working

Filecoin mining requires data to be read and written 24 hours a day. If all data is lost due to hard drive quality issues, the pledged Fil will be at risk of being confiscated, so enterprise-level hard drives are the first choice.

3. Support high-frequency erasing and writing

In actual testing, we found such a problem. Since the hard disk needs to be read and written continuously, during the erasing process, some models of hard disks may cause self-protection due to overheating, causing the mining machine to stop working, so it is recommended to choose an enterprise disk without hidden dangers.

To sum up, FIL is a storage project. In theory, the bigger the hard disk, the better. However, this sentence is somewhat ambiguous. A more accurate description should be: the growth rate of hard disk capacity must keep up with the growth of computing power. From the perspective of investment ROI, it should be understood in this way. Of course, the rich can ignore it.

Motherboard

Customized motherboard can bring out the best performance.

It should be able to improve computing performance as much as possible, eliminate unnecessary accessories, and reduce costs again to achieve the ultimate cost-effectiveness.

The research and development of motherboards requires a lot of test data to support it. The requirements of the target must be considered during the design. The main direction of motherboard design is to select the chip platform and consider the performance improvement brought by CPU/GPU stacking. There are also many optimization measures for other parts. Here are some very useful but easily overlooked areas, such as network cards and integrated network cards; such as hard disk expansion cards and onboard; such as hot-swappable design. Don't underestimate these. If you don't participate in actual testing, you may not know their use. The following figure is some reference designs for customized motherboards.

As the official algorithm becomes more stable, there is still room for optimization, and many technical teams are constantly exploring possibilities.

Memory

When the mining machine is reading and writing, the information is mainly temporarily stored in the memory. According to the official 32G sector requirements, the basic memory requirement is 64G or above. However, at present, the memory consumption is relatively large, basically starting from 128G.

What needs to be paid attention to in memory is the parameter adaptation under different architectures.

power supply

Mining machines need to ensure 7*24 uninterrupted working status and require stable and reliable power supply as a basis.

Reasonable power supply capacity design should be based on the expandability of the mining machine in the next 12 months. If based on the current 2U mining machine form, if GPU mining is not used, a capacity of about 800w can be used. If two GPU graphics cards are required, then the power supply design requirement is a capacity of about 1250w.

A good brand with larger capacity (the capacity needs to refer to the motherboard design's support for CPU and GPU) may be a safer choice. Brands such as the Great Wall series are recommended.

Heat dissipation is also an important part of the efficient and energy-saving output of mining machines. The heat generation of Filecoin mining machines should be the smallest among other mining machines, and the solutions in this regard are relatively mature, so we will skip it.

Network Card

Network speed, interface capabilities, I/O read and write performance, these factors will also affect the production capacity of the mining machine.

Think about it, with massive amounts of files being transferred back and forth, 10 Gigabit or even dual 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports would be a basic configuration, and network cables, switches and other equipment must also be adjusted to the 10 Gigabit level.

Of course, this will undoubtedly lead to a substantial increase in networking costs, because the price of a 10G network card is dozens of times that of a 100M network card. However, the speed of file network transmission directly affects the efficiency of the mining machine. Think about it, for the same file, it only takes 3 minutes for others to transmit, but it takes you 30 minutes or even 300 minutes. The consequences of this are extremely painful.

Mining Pools

Mining farm (network environment)

The mining farm needs to provide an excellent networking solution. If there is no reasonable and efficient networking design, functional zoning design, and power supply design, it will directly affect the mining efficiency.

Basic requirements: 1. Stable power supply; 2. Bandwidth (large, stable and cheap)

Location

In theory, since real storage and retrieval services are provided, the closer to the user, the better, so first- and second-tier cities and their surrounding areas are preferred. However, given the particularity of early mining, these factors are not important.

Mining pool system

As with all cryptocurrency mining, competition will eventually lead to miners needing to mine together, so the competitiveness of the mining pool is a key factor.

The official distributed solution has been announced, but there is still a lot of room for optimization in the specific implementation, mainly in two aspects: 1. Data processing part, 2. Low-level optimization part, such as distributed file system, distributed memory system, zero-knowledge proof optimization, etc.

More specifically, for mining activities of different natures (refer to the initial mining period and the stabilization period), different strategies will also bring about different algorithm emphases, which will affect the production capacity of miners.

In addition, security is one of the core factors of a mining pool. The private key of digital currency is the core of asset control. Too many so-called "mining pools" and "wallet" projects have ended up in a mess, leaving investors with nothing. Therefore, when choosing a mining pool, you need to focus on the security of its asset management and let it explain how it ensures that it does not do evil.

Mining strategy

The demand for the network needs to be considered at different stages.

Early

Features: In the order-brushing mode, different strategies have different dependencies on the network and I/O. Some technical teams have achieved extreme abnormality and have low requirements for the overall network, whether it is the intranet or the extranet. Based on such requirements, the mining machine configuration can reduce the cost of the network card, reduce the size of the hard disk, and increase the CPU investment. Manual tuning is required, which is costly.

Role: minier, worker

Mid and late

Features: This stage needs to meet the real storage needs. The size and quality of bandwidth are crucial. The results will vary greatly under different internal and external network conditions. The requirements for backbone networks, end-to-end networks, and relay switching equipment are very high. The corresponding network cards and routers need to be adapted to at least 10G level.

Mining machine roles: minier, worker, storage

At this stage, retrieval and CDN distribution services will be generated, and at least mining forms such as retrieval mining machines will be derived, bringing new revenue, and even CDN distribution. We will explain this part of mining machines and mining to you in a later issue.

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Author: Big Stone

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ETH reward address: 0x963313364dD9887b2986da5abC7e9b2c0efd674d

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