Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

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(Moved "lets get personal" above "balance of satoshis" for simpler concepts to be nearer to the top. Removed dedicated "UPS" section and added UPS link in "node hygiene" section)
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[[Node Hardening]]
[[Node Hardening]]
[[UPS]] (Uninterrupted Power Supply)
== Let’s Get Personal ==
[[Setting a node alias]]


== Upgrades ==
== Upgrades ==
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Installation: process for [[Umbrel - Installing BoS]]. Includes instructions for setting up BoS telegram bot.
Installation: process for [[Umbrel - Installing BoS]]. Includes instructions for setting up BoS telegram bot.
== UPS ==
[[UPS]]
== Let’s Get Personal ==
[[Setting a node alias]]


== LND Configuration Settings Overview ==
== LND Configuration Settings Overview ==

Revision as of 04:33, 21 September 2021

PLEBNET for plebs

Welcome to the Plebnet! We've outlined the main 'guide' on this page. Follow the articles here in order to gain a better understanding of the steps required to join the PlebNet, and getting your node up & running. If you'd like to simply browse around, you can view all our pages Special:AllPages.

FAQ

A selection of questions frequently asked in plebnet groups. FAQ

Welcome to Plebnet

Welcome to Plebnet

 	Hopefully this can be a guide for people wondering where to start, and what really is plebnet? 

First, plebnet, this crazy awesome community, was started by a group of selfless, generous plebs working together to onboard people to the bitcoin lightning network! Constantly evolving, the goal remains: bring people together to understand and support the lightning network, learn from each other the basics of running a node or using a lightning wallet, and bridge the gap that remains between the tech/cyber world and the everyday user.

More on the plebnet infrastructure will be addressed below, but first I will attempt to answer some of the common questions people pose to the group when first joining, as well with some important tips.

  • pleb tips that everyone should know**

TRUST NO ONE

THERE ARE RISKS WITH RUNNING A LIGHTNING NODE

DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH

LEARN FROM MISTAKES AND HELP OTHERS

RUNNING A NODE IS NOT THE SAME AS MINING BITCOIN


  • How did I get here? - I am unable to answer that question for you, but maybe you clicked on one of our links on twitter? You may have also typed in kycjelly.com after hearing Walton’s wonderful voice proclaim it on Clubhouse... but really that is for you to figure out.
  • Can I become a node operator? - I can speak with experience here - anyone can learn to operate a lightning node. This does not mean that anyone can do it with ease, or that you will be able to run your node successfully and without risk. You must be able to do your own research and actually do your own work. Instead of posing questions like the one I am responding to here, maybe try asking: Can someone point me to the best resources for someone interested in lightning, or interested in running a lightning node?
  • How much money can I make running a lightning node? How much are you making weekly? - Questions along these lines are tricky to answer and depend on too many variables for it to get a response. Many of us running nodes are not currently profitable. Our main purpose is learning, supporting the network, and refining ways to operate a healthy node not at a loss. If you see a future on a bitcoin standard, there is a good chance everyone will be transacting on lightning. Some people see their good channels and connections as an investment for years in the future. There is no guarantee though that any node will be profitable now or at another time. This answer is not meant to deter anyone, and we do have node runners that have become profitable recently, but they have put a serious amount of time, accounting, strategy, and capital in their nodes to get to where they are. Instead of looking at how much money you can make, you must understand your costs and income. To operate a node your costs are
    • Capital Expense of purchasing hardware. You should probably write it off over the useful life of that hardware. Remember as you get hooked you will spend on upgrades, redundant infrastructure and so on.
    • Operating Costs outside your control
      • Cost of internet bandwidth and electricity (minimal but still there is a cost)
      • Cost of opening and closing a channel. These depend on the on-chain mining costs at that time. It is possible to open a channel at 1 sat/vb at times but the price on-chain can change in future.
      • Cost of rebalancing if you need to do. Ideally, if you operate a good node there will be two-way traffic but still rebalancing is something one has to do once in a while and the cost is variable and determined by the network.
      • Cost of buying inbound liquidity if you cannot source it from plebs.
      • Cost of loop out and other services you might use to operate your node.

You need to balance these costs against the only source of income which is your routing fees. You can set them very high but maybe no one will route through you. You can set them very low and you will not cover your cost(s). So this is a tight rope 3D chess you will play when you operate a node. It may not rain sats but it would sure be fun!

  • Can I open a channel with someone for X amount of sats? OR what is the best amount of sats to open a channel with? - The answer to this question is... it's a moving bar. It also depends on what kind of node you want to operate, what amount of funds you have, and who you want to connect to. I think there are ~3 broad categories of nodes in the lightning network

1) profitable routing nodes: those that require a lot of management, capital, and skill

2) middle ground nodes: a less defined group, nodes with a handful of decent-sized channels, good peers, and are great for supporting and expanding the network

3) personal use nodes: nodes for people who want to have 1-2 good connections, the experience of understanding lightning and node running, and the ability to route personal transactions in or out of their node.

So after understanding these different node groups, the answer for a good channel size for a profitable routing node is different than a node with a different use case. As of now many of the bigger routing nodes have set channel size minimums from around 2 million sats and up (some have minimums of 10 million sats!). If you are just starting out, some plebnet nodes that are great to connect to are Turgidson & GirthMavic, any size channel 20k sats and up will work to connect with them.


Now back to the best parts of plebnet: the resources shared, the pleb connections made, and the magic of the lightning network! A lot of questions people ask may be answered, and resources can be found with a quick look at the pinned posts, the plebnet wikis, or in the plebnet telegram:

https://plebnet.wiki https://library.plebnet.org

  • Please contribute if you are able! Plebs just like you are volunteering their time and expertise to help the next pleb. This is probably my favorite thing about plebnet - seeing someone who joined a week ago jump in to help out a new pleb and answer their questions is really amazing. The three links above will most likely lead you to anything you are looking for, including a list of lightning related telegram groups (support chats for raspiblitz, bos, and umbrel for example), and many more gems of knowledge. If you are still stumped and want to ask in plebnet, we are lucky to have the entire range of lightning user: literally, plebs that are developing on lightning, to a pleb with a fashion design background, oh and some pretty well known champions of bitcoin as well 😉. I am fairly confident in saying that, at this time, it is the best hub of connections and resources for the lightning network.

Plebnet infrastructure: as plebnet has grown, we have evolved, and adjusted, and reinvented into what we are today. Currently we have 4 different tiers of telegram groups for different purposes:

  • PLEBNET - LIGHTNING 101: https://t.me/CHLNgroup this group is fantastic with onboarding users to custodial lightning, and helping people make their first transactions on the lightning network. People may get their minds blown by the speed and cheap fees that are a product of the lightning network.
  • PLEBNET: https://t.me/plebnet this is the place. The largest plebnet group, with a super amazing graph/web of plebs, where resources flow and friends are made!
  • PLEBNET // NODERUNNERS: This group is a little smaller and focused on those who have gotten their node up and running and have a few channels, aka have made the steps beyond the initial setting up a node, and are ready to talk a little more serious about node running. If you think you are ready, give a shoutout to @AEHW1 to add you over to this group. Checklist 1. Use telegram user id 2. Claim your node with @CheeseRobot 3. Announce the node in Plebnet. 4. Enable Group Invite in your TG settings.
  • PLEBNET ADVANCED: This group is specifically focused on development of the network and tools for routing and network optimization. Think super technical mumbojumbo and people creating and troubleshooting tools that could one day we could all be using for our nodes, who knows!

Getting Started

Are you brand new and perhaps don't quite understand lightning? Do you not have your own node yet? Are you not yet in the Plebnet telegram group?

Please see the Getting started page.

Claim your node

For telegram, DM @cheeserobot and then /claim your node (follow the instructions, you will need to sign a message with your node to prove you are owner of the node).

Then, in the plebnet group announce your node with /node. If you see your own node, success. Repeat in other groups which support CheeseRobot with /node.


Additionally, Amboss.space is one of the best websites for looking up nodes and their basic information. People may go to Amboss to browse your node's info. You can claim your node on Amboss which will allow you personalize your node's profile and add additional information. Use these instructions: Claim on Amboss

Opening Channels

The first question which a pleb has after (or even before) the node is synced "who should I open channel with"

I would say - with a mentor who is willing to spend time with you, teach you the ropes, mentor and guide you to be a better node runner

Of course in the age of google, internet, and instant gratification, this thought can be frowned upon but there is no replacement for a mentor in your journey as node runner.

Opening channels

Maintaining Proper Node Hygiene

Maintaining node hygiene

Node Hardware

Node Hardening

UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply)

Let’s Get Personal

Setting a node alias

Upgrades

Upgrading Umbrel Node

Balance of Satoshis

Balance of Satoshis, or BoS, is a set of commands for working with LND balances. It can do similar things as interfaces like ThunderHub or RideTheLightning. However, your options are much wider with BoS, and you will need it if you want to set up a telegram bot with your node (to get notifications whenever channels are opened/closed, whenever you forward a payment, whenever your node goes down, and to get automatic channel backups for security).

For more information, and command BoS commands see: Balance of Satoshis.

Installation: process for Umbrel - Installing BoS. Includes instructions for setting up BoS telegram bot.

LND Configuration Settings Overview

LND Configuration Settings

Running A Profitable Routing Node

The profitability of a routing node is like for any business - revenue minus costs. Revenue consists of fees that your node collects when routing transactions. Costs consist of channel close/open fees, costs to move sats to your node, channel rebalance costs, and loop in/outs. Therefore, your node is profitable as long as revenue minus costs is positive. Tracking nodes's p&l on a weekly basis may give you a good idea of how your node is progressing towards profitability. It is important to have KPIs for your node which you can measure before you can improve it.

Profitability is an important objective to keep in mind, but it takes time to get there. So when beginning your Lightning journey, it's essential to keep an open mind and be prepared to learn. There is no right or wrong way to develop your node, so it comes down to the strategy that you opt to follow. Allocate your capital strategically and be mindful of the costs (channel open/close, rebalancing, etc) and they do add up.

We talk about channel girth (size in sats) quite a bit, but the quality of your peer is more important than girth. In other words, you can have a very liquid 2mil sats channel and an illiquid 10mil channel. With that being said, a girthier channel to a quality peer is better.

A quality peer is a well-maintained active node that can help you get more traffic. One metric that you can look at when selecting a peer is centrality - how close your node is to the center of the graph as opposed to being on the outside. In addition, here are some of the tools that can help optimize your node's centrality: lnnodeinsight - has a channel simulator to test centrality before establishing a channel with a node; gridflare - provides node recommendations to improve centrality.

Your node will have a mix of channels of different sizes. In general, it does not make sense to keep liquidity in channels with inactive peers. You'd want to re-allocate your inactive liquidity either through circular rebalancing or through closing inactive channels and utilizing the freed-up liquidity elsewhere. You will incur fees either way, so it comes down to weighing pros/cost of the options. Based on our experience, mixing small channels with big channels does not impact a node's routing ability.

Terminal Web classifies nodes into good and pending and assigns a score. Based on our experience, the score does not materially affect routing, even though it helps attract other nodes to connect to yours (sort of like a marketing tool). You can use the Terminal Score Debugger tool to debug and optimize your node's score.

Balance of Satoshis is an excellent tool to help you optimize channel rebalancing. It'll show you routing hops along with fees for each hop. You can then further optimize rebalancing cost by excluding expensive nodes.

The following section discuss strategies and options you have available to run a profitable routing node.


Fees And Profitability

Balancing Nodes

Help! I do not see any routing through my node

Help! My sats are only moving in one direction

Playground / Sandbox

Plebnet Playground Logo

Backup/Recovery

Backup/Recovery


Resources

Resources

All Pages