IPFS Filecoin Mining: Professional Mining Machine Configuration Cheats

The IPFS Filecoin mainnet is about to be launched, and those who are preparing to mine are actively choosing their favorite mining machines. Of course, some miner friends say that IPFS Filecoin mining can be done with any computer, isn’t it just hard drive mining? You can assemble your own computer to mine. We won’t talk about assembling your own computer. Today we are mainly talking about professional IPFS mining machines. Recently, many brand manufacturers’ products claiming to be professional IPFS mining machines have appeared on the market, which dazzles us. So how do we choose a professional IPFS mining machine? What are the specific selection criteria?

Today, we will talk specifically about the tips for choosing professional mining machines (with a focus on home mining machines). It’s all practical stuff!

Hard disk capacity

01. Number of hard disks

Important index: ★★★★★

IPFS mining is simply hard disk mining. The larger the hard disk capacity, the greater the mining potential and capacity. The maximum number of hard disks that can be accommodated is the most critical performance indicator of the IPFS mining machine.

02. Is it hot-swappable?

Important index: ★★★★★

Hot-swap means that the mining system supports plugging and unplugging hard disks with power on. Hot-swap technology will not damage the hard disk and data. The initial installation and subsequent maintenance of the hard disk are the most labor-intensive and important tasks during the operation of the mining machine. The ability to easily replace the hard disk can greatly improve work efficiency, reduce the probability of damage to the mining machine equipment, increase the effective mining time of the mining machine, and increase the mining machine's unit time rate of return. Whether or not the hard disk can be hot-swapped is also one of the most critical performance indicators of the IPFS mining machine.

03. Hard disk placement

Important index: ★★★☆☆

How is the hard disk placed inside the mining machine? Is it horizontally placed or sideways? Different mining machines are designed with different placement methods, and the details are very detailed. Professional storage device manufacturers will definitely design the hard disk to be placed sideways. Because compared with horizontal placement, sideways placement can effectively reduce the damage to the disk caused by the deadweight of the mechanical hard disk mechanical arm, and can effectively extend the service life of the hard disk. The longer the effective service life of the hard disk, the higher our input-output ratio. The placement of the hard disk is an important but non-critical performance indicator of the IPFS mining machine.

04. Hard disk compatibility

Important index: ★★★☆☆

If the mining machine can install multiple hard disks at the same time, then the compatibility design between the hard disks is very important. Compatibility refers to whether hard disks of different brands, different capacities and different performances can coexist and share effectively and harmoniously. This is also a professional technical issue. If they can be effectively compatible and the mining machine is not picky about disks, then the difficulty of later maintenance for miners will be greatly reduced, the utilization rate of hard disks will be greatly increased, and the work efficiency of miners in the later period will be greatly improved. Hard disk compatibility is also an important non-critical performance indicator of IPFS mining machines.

05. Can SSD be used?

Important index: ★★★☆☆

There are two forms of SSD hard disks, one is a 3.5-inch hard disk form, and the other is a memory strip form. Can an SSD hard disk be installed in the position where an ordinary mechanical hard disk is installed inside the mining machine? Or is there a reserved position for installing a strip SSD hard disk in the design of the mining machine motherboard? This is a detail that tests the professionalism of the IPFS mining machine manufacturer. Non-professional mining machine designers tend to overlook this detail. Whether or not an SSD hard disk can be used is also an important but non-critical performance indicator of the IPFS mining machine.

06. Hard disk status display

Important index: ★★★☆☆

Does the mining machine have a hard disk working status display? If there is a status display, we can clearly confirm whether the current hard disk is in the reading and writing working state, the normal power-on state, or the fault state. In this way, when the hard disk fails, it can be discovered in time and replaced in time without affecting the effective mining work of the mining machine. If the mining machine does not have a hard disk status display, it will take a lot of effort to identify and replace the hard disk when it fails. The hard disk status display is also an important but non-critical performance indicator of the IPFS mining machine.

07. Hard disk installation method

Important index: ★★☆☆☆

After buying an empty hard disk, you need to install it on the hard disk rack of the mining machine. So how to install it? What is the installation method? Is it the traditional installation method that requires a special screwdriver tool to tighten the screws, or the tool-free pure manual clip-on installation method? This is a place where the mining machine manufacturer's humanized design professionalism is tested. Ordinary manufacturers don't pay attention to this detail. When performing large-scale operations on hard disk installation and maintenance, you can find that tool-free pure manual installation of hard disks can greatly improve work efficiency. The installation method of the hard disk is a non-critical performance indicator of the IPFS mining machine.

I/O performance:

08. CPU architecture design

Important index: ★★★☆☆

The CPU architecture design is absolutely important in the overall design of traditional mining machines, but it is not so important in IPFS mining machines. This is a big difference. Because the essence of IPFS mining machines is storage servers, the focus is on the I/O performance of storage, and the computing performance requirements of the whole machine are not high. Common CPUs use Intel chips or AMD chips of the X86 system, which generally run the Windows operating system. There are also CPUs that use embedded ARM system chips. This chip has the advantages of direct internal instruction passthrough and low energy consumption. It is mostly used in mobile (such as mobile phones) electronic devices, and generally runs Linux operating system or Android operating system. Any CPU chip can meet the basic performance requirements of mining machines.

09. Standard memory capacity, operating system

Important index: ★★★★★

Standard memory capacity is one of the most critical performance indicators of IPFS mining machines. Because when the mining machine is reading and writing, the information is mainly temporarily stored in the memory, and the size of the memory capacity directly affects the reading and writing performance and overall mining performance of the mining machine. According to predictions, it is appropriate for mining machines using Windows operating systems to have at least 4G memory (because the Windows operating system itself takes up 1-2G), and it is appropriate for mining machines using Linux operating systems to have at least 2G memory. Of course, the larger the memory, the better (but the overall price of the mining machine is also high).

10. Standard network interface

Important index: ★★★★☆

The standard network interface is one of the key performance indicators of the IPFS mining machine. Because the overall performance of the mining machine is mainly reflected in I/O reading and writing, low network interface performance or a small number of interfaces will seriously affect the operation of the mining machine. Home mining machines must have at least one Gigabit Ethernet port (RJ45 interface) as standard, and two Gigabit Ethernet ports are of course the best. If it is a 10 Gigabit Ethernet port, of course it is good, but it is a bit wasteful, because the internal network transmission of the LAN is still at most Gigabit, and the investment in switches from 10 Gigabit to the desktop is still very high. Of course, large mining machines used in large mining pools in data centers must be equipped with 10 Gigabit network ports as standard, and fiber optic ports must also be standard.

Body design

11. Maximum power consumption

Important index: ★★☆☆☆

The maximum power consumption indicates the maximum amount of electricity consumed by the mining machine per unit time. The lower the power consumption, the better, saving electricity costs. Overall, IPFS mining machines do not consume a lot of electricity, but for long-term mining operations, electricity expenditures can still be saved. Home mining machines generally use a power consumption of 30W as a reference.

12. Heat dissipation design

Important index: ★★☆☆☆

Heat dissipation design is also very important in IPFS mining machines, mainly focusing on three points: fans, air ducts, and chassis. Is there one fan or more? Where are the fans located? Multiple fans with large fans have good heat dissipation effects, while small fans have poor heat dissipation effects. Does the air duct design make the air flow from front to back? Or from the side to the back? Or is there no air duct? Is the air flow direction inside the chassis smooth or curved? The air duct design reflects the professionalism of the mining machine manufacturer. Finally, look at the chassis. If it is an iron metal chassis, the heat dissipation effect is good, and the heat dissipation effect of a non-metallic chassis is slightly worse. Whether the heat dissipation design is reasonable should be evaluated based on the overall power consumption of the mining machine.

13. Quiet design

Important index: ★★☆☆☆

The silent design of BTC mining machines is not easy to make, and the noise decibel value during operation is relatively high. The silent design of IPFS mining machines has higher requirements, because the environment where home mining machines are placed is at home, usually in the living room, and they run 24 hours a day. If there is a continuous sound of more than 30 decibels at night, you will feel irritated after a long time.

14. Dust-proof design

Important index: ★☆☆☆☆

The dustproof design and heat dissipation design are a bit twisted. If the heat dissipation is good, it is difficult to take into account the dustproof; if the dustproof is good, the heat dissipation effect will be discounted. This is a link that makes designers burn their brains. Due to the special nature of mechanical hard drives, dustproof must be done well. If the heat dissipation is done well, dustproof is also good. This detail shows the professionalism of the mining machine manufacturer.

15. Shockproof design

Important index: ★☆☆☆☆

During the operation of the mining machine, the mechanical parts such as fans will cause the equipment to vibrate slightly. This is not a big deal for a single device, but if multiple devices are placed on the mining machine rack, resonance will occur, which will cause the mining machine itself to vibrate too much. Hard disks are most afraid of vibration, so shockproof design is very important. Professional manufacturers will make special foot pads at the bottom of the mining machine to reduce the occurrence of vibration.

16. Mechanism design

Important index: ★☆☆☆☆

The mechanism design refers to the skeleton design inside the mining machine. Generally, everyone will ignore this. Even if you open the chassis of the mining machine, you will not notice this mechanism part. If you really see a product with a very simple and rough mechanism part, you will only think that the material of this product is a bit thin. Professional mechanism design generally adopts the one-time molding method of steel material. The whole body will be particularly stable, and there will be no burrs on the edge of the mechanism. A good mechanism design can fully ensure the stability of the hard disk position without deformation.

17. Anti-theft design

Important index: ★☆☆☆☆

The anti-theft design is not very important in the design of the mining machine, but it is also a technical point that needs to be considered. It is a plus point in the design of the mining machine. Is there an anti-theft design for the whole body of the mining machine? Is there an anti-theft design for the hot-swappable hard disk? The lack of anti-theft design does not affect the overall performance of the mining machine. But with the anti-theft design, the operation of the mining machine can be guaranteed to be safer. It is better to be safe than sorry.

18. Anti-power-off design

Important index: ★★☆☆☆

Power failure is a possibility during the operation of the mining machine. Because the essence of IPFS mining machine is data storage server, power failure will instantly cause data loss of mining machine and damage the hard disk head. Professional servers or large data centers must have professional UPS uninterruptible power supply as supporting equipment. It is difficult for a single small device to be equipped with a power failure protection module. Generally, manufacturers will not consider this detail. If a UPS module is designed to prevent power failure, it is definitely a reflection of the manufacturer's professionalism and deserves extra points.

Application Management

19. Boot configuration management

Important index: ★★★☆☆

Mining machine products with good startup configuration management functions can best reflect the ease of use of the equipment. Many of our novice miners really don't understand technology, and it's a bit difficult for them to do a bunch of extremely difficult startup configuration operations. Fool-style operation, clear at a glance, simple and easy to use, and can work when connected to the Internet, this is what novice miners like most. The ease of use of startup configuration management is completely proportional to the technical expertise of the mining machine manufacturer.

20. Network cluster management

Important index: ★★★☆☆

The benefits of the network cluster management function are not reflected when a single machine or a small number of mining machines are running. When a mining farm has a large number of mining machines that need to be centrally managed, it can show its superiority. Before purchasing an IPFS mining machine, we must ask clearly whether the mining machine you are interested in supports network cluster management, how is the specific network cluster management function operated, is it easy to use? Are the functions complete? Before placing an order, it is good to ask more questions and try more.

The 20 items listed above are all tips for choosing professional IPFS Filecoin miners (especially home miners). They are all practical tips, right? I sincerely hope that they can help miners choose their favorite miners.

Author: Imlingdu
Link: https://www.jianshu.com/p/854a113e1c36
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