This article will show you the various pitfalls of IPFS mining machines

Straight to the point, the author is a loyal fan of blockchain technology. I believe that blockchain technology is not only a trend and a hot spot, but will also penetrate all walks of life and rebuild the trust mechanism of society. At the same time, it will make society better and increase the overall wealth of human society.

After talking about the metaphysical, I am naturally concerned about the IPFS mining that has been hyped up recently. To be honest, if I had become a big shot with big capital, I would definitely participate in the election of EOS super nodes. Unfortunately, I am not financially free yet, so I am more concerned about how to enter this hot industry in the most stable (profitable) way. After a lot of research, I found that mining is more stable than currency speculation, so I am naturally concerned about what to mine. Graphics card mining seems to have cooled down. After all, it is unknown when the long bear market will end, so let's go for the most popular IPFS.

Okay, let’s go straight to the next question, which mining machine is reliable? The author is a detail-obsessed person. Before buying anything, he likes to compare prices from three different stores. Although he is occasionally attracted by gorgeous and exaggerated advertising slogans, after getting excited, rational thinking prevails. Naturally, he has to take a look at the mining machines on the market. The goal is simple, which is to find a mining machine with excellent technology.

Let me first state the conclusion. What makes me feel disappointed is that the mining machine manufacturers on the market are all flashy and superficial. The fancy words and packaging cannot withstand the scrutiny of technical details. Or they are sold on the so-called big V and big IP platforms. Are such mining machines really reliable?

Here are a few things that puzzled me:

For example, whether there is hot-swap function, the author has roughly collected some information. Currently, there are only four other mining machine manufacturers on the market that claim that the home version of the mining machine has hard disk hot-swap technology. Even the high-end version (may be called server version, enterprise version, hosting version, etc., in short, the more expensive version) does not have hot-swap function.

Why do we need hot-swap?

The following is Baidu's interpretation: Hot-plugging (hot-plugging or hot swap) means plugging and unplugging while powered on. The hot-plugging function allows users to remove and replace damaged hard disks, power supplies, or boards without shutting down the system or cutting off the power, thereby improving the system's ability to recover from disasters in a timely manner, scalability, and flexibility. Hot-plugging first appeared in the server field and was proposed to improve the usability of servers. The computers we usually use generally have USB interfaces, which can achieve hot-plugging. If there is no hot-plugging function, even if the disk is damaged and data will not be lost, the user still needs to temporarily shut down the system in order to replace the hard disk. With hot-plugging technology, you can directly remove the hard disk by simply turning on the connection switch or turning the handle, and the system can still run normally without interruption.

So even ordinary computers have hot-swap, but the so-called professional IPFS mining machine does not have it?! It is unreasonable. How can a mining machine without hot-swap ensure stable operation 24/7 without bugs? How can it maximize mining revenue? The author is puzzled.

For example, the operating system of the IPFS mining machine. People who know the industry know that more than 90% of the professional server market uses the Linux system, including Google, Alibaba, Tencent, etc. Similarly, the IPFS mining machine requires a professional storage server system. If an IPFS mining machine is equipped with a Windows system, its technical level can be doubted: Did Microsoft authorize you? Or are you using a "pirated" version?

Why Linux?

It's very simple, Linux is safe and stable. The most important thing about IPFS mining machines is safety and stability. The Filecoin mining mortgage mechanism requires mining machines to work 24/7 without any downtime or bugs, otherwise the mortgaged FIL will be punished. It is generally recognized that the Linux system is more secure and stable than the Windows system. At the same time, IPFS mining requires frequent upgrades of mining software, security upgrades of system patches, and monitoring of system and hard disk status at any time. If there is an attack, it comes with a good firewall. Does Windows need to install antivirus software?

Therefore, the IPFS mining machine is equipped with Windows system. Miners, please seriously question its security and stability!

For example, the capacity of the hard disk.

Anyone who knows a little about the Filecoin mechanism knows that the income from IPFS mining is not only related to the hard disk capacity, but also to the bandwidth, especially the uplink bandwidth. The hard disk capacity of the hosted IPFS mining machine can certainly be larger. However, for a certain brand of community home/hosting center dual-use mining machine, are you sure that the income will really be higher if the hard disk capacity of the home version mining machine is so high (48T)? The bandwidth of an average household is at most 100 megabytes, and a hard disk with such a large capacity cannot be fully stored. In short, it is a waste of the hard disk. To put it bluntly, the payback period is very long. The larger the hard disk, the more expensive it is. Your mining machine is almost 20,000. Thinking of this, the author feels that there are pitfalls everywhere on the road of IPFS mining.

For example, CPU. Because Filecoin mining is not about computing power, the general CPU processing power can handle it. However, a certain IPFS mining machine is also equipped with a GPU: RX570 (it is highlighted below the mining machine picture on the official website). What's more, it is equipped with ASIC chips? It's just a hard disk server, but it also has a whole GPU and ASIC chips. Is it going to split itself across chains to mine BTC or ETH? Are you sure it's not a slow-selling graphics card mining machine disguised as an IPFS mining machine with a new shell? The author visited his company, and the motherboard of the machine has not been developed yet, but they found a mold and started selling "air". What else is real? The author is terrified when he thinks about it.

For example, some technology companies have very unclear descriptions of technical details in their publicity, official websites, public accounts, and even hosting agreements.

A certain mining machine claims in the promotional picture that it has a Linux customized IPFS multi-currency mining system, kidding me? Is IPFS a currency? Or does IPFS have other incentive layers besides Filecoin that I don’t know about? Or the custody agreement of a well-known mining machine, the custody fee settlement statement is "the bottom fee is calculated based on the IPFS/RMB exchange rate at the time, and the corresponding part of the tokens are sold to pay the mining cost." When has IPFS been listed on the exchange? Is IPFS a token? Can it be settled with IPFS?

For example, the detailed configuration of a mining machine on the official website is different from that on the official account? Is it hot-swappable? The official website does not have the words "hot-swappable", but the official account does; and the power supply on the official website is 800Plus, and on the official account it is 80Plus. Don't bully me because I don't know what these units are, but at least I know that the difference is 10 times. The information released is not unified. Who can I complain to if the mining machine I got does not have hot-swappable function?

It may be that the author is ignorant, but there are really too many mining machine manufacturers in the market who are talking nonsense. If a technology company fails to clearly explain the most basic concepts such as IPFS and Filecoin, and even releases the most important parameters of the mining machine at will, can their mining machines and their technology be trusted? Please make your own judgment, miner friends.

For example, a big V's own mining machine, why does your mining machine look the same as another company's (which has been heavily promoted recently)? Although the color of the home version in the latest promotional picture has changed from black to silver, are you really not from the same company? Are you the legendary long-lost brother and sister? Or is it "Oh, what a coincidence, the designer just happened to work part-time at another company to make extra money"?

Technologists may say that you don’t need to care about these details, but a technology company that truly upholds the spirit of craftsmanship, not a technology company that is looking to make quick money, will not do this. If even the design is copied (do they have no money to hire a designer?), can the technology be guaranteed?

In my opinion, many mining machine manufacturers do not even have a proper official website. They just throw out an H5 or a promotional leaflet to fool people into paying. Who do they pay? To an individual?

For example, this (unknown) mining machine sold on Taobao, just find an industrial control chassis, find a mold that costs 300 yuan, put a logo on it, and spray it with color, and then sell it at a premium of 10 times. It also emphasizes that it is a dedicated graphics card. Does IPFS mining have high-definition and uncensored pictures to enjoy? The author's three views have been subverted and shattered.

The author is very scared. Nine out of ten of them are "air machines". They all claim to be the most professional, with top performance. The number of hard disks is so large that you will be dazzled. They even boast about outer space! Although IPFS is an interstellar file system, it cannot support this group of unreliable manufacturers. It may only take a few minutes for them to collect money and leave. By then, there will be no one left to complain.

As an old leeks who has been in the cryptocurrency circle for a long time, the author is very familiar with the pyramid schemes in the cryptocurrency circle. When I came to the mining circle, I saw that it was also very good. The author, who was disappointed, really wanted to shout to the sky, please give me a mining machine manufacturer with strong technology, professional and reliable. I really want to participate in IPFS mining, not for anything else, but just very optimistic about IPFS, to be a node to contribute a little bit, and earn some Filecoin to make a living. I sincerely hope that there will be a clear stream in the IPFS mining industry, which can really consolidate the technology and provide a conscientious IPFS mining machine for the majority of interstellar miners.