We mine bitcoin on free Google servers. How to equip a personal server for mining

How about you start mining cryptocurrency at 25 (50, 75, 100,..., 25n) Megahashes per second without any stress? How about adding 25 free mining Megahashes to your hashing power right now?

There is an excellent Windows service Azure from Microsoft, where we are given the opportunity to use a remote virtual machine with 20 cores for various server solutions, computing, etc. But for us, lovers of free things, of course, a free trial for 3 months is important. Naturally, there are certain restrictions for free version, but they won’t really affect us.

What we need to do (and what I will describe step by step in this article) is:

1. Create 3 virtual machines (8 + 8 + 4 cores)
2. Connect to virtual machines using a virtual desktop
3. Register on a public pool (in this article I will use Slush’s Pool as an example)
4. Install and configure the software required for mining
5. Launch this software
6. Wait
7. Receive bitcoins

Introduction

A couple of clarifications:

• There is no GPU on Azure, so we will mine exclusively using the CPU (that’s why the power is so low, although we use 20 cores)
• I'm not sure whether it will be possible to mine for 3 months: there may be limitations on computing power

1. Beginning

Go to Windows Azure, click on “Free trial”, register the trial version. Data will be needed credit card for personal identification. They promise not to withdraw money without permission. $1 is charged for identification.

You also need a Microsoft account. If it is not there, you will have to register here too.

Click on “Create” at the bottom of the screen.

Fill in the data:

• DNS name: will be needed to connect to the remote desktop
• Image: I usually choose Windows Server 2012, but perhaps Linux machines will be faster
• Size: for the first two machines, select 8 cores, for the third - 4 cores (since the limit is up to 20 cores for a free account)
• Password: will be needed to connect to the remote desktop. I haven’t found where after creating a virtual machine I can look at it again, be careful!
• Location: to your taste

It will take approximately 10 minutes to fully launch the virtual machine. Be patient.

2. Connect to remote desktops

Install Remote Desktop Control from Microsoft. There are versions for Windows and Mac. I don’t know anything about the version for Linux, but if you have Linux installed, then you can find a way to connect to RDC yourself, right? ;)
Select the desired virtual machine from the list and click on “Connect”. A *.rdp file will be downloaded - with its help we will connect to the remote desktop.

Open the downloaded file for one virtual machine. I already have three of them, since I downloaded the files for all three virtual machines.

In the “Password” field, enter the password that was used when creating the virtual machine. The “Domain” field can be left empty. You can save your password.

You will need to wait a little while for the RDC service to start. If you have a black screen, you just need to wait a little. Perhaps RDC will complain about the security of the connection. Can be ignored.

And now our server on Windows Azure has launched!

IE works with a lot of restrictions, I couldn’t install Chrome, so I immediately installed Firefox. In the control panel, I immediately advise you to turn off the firewall and control over account(so that “confirm” windows don’t constantly pop up).

3. Register in the public pool

Go to mining.bitcoin.cz and register. We go to “My account” and create two additional workers for two additional virtual machines (remember, we have 8 + 8 + 4?).

4. Install the software!

Download RPCMiner from here (official thread). We create new folder"New Folder". All content(not the folder itself) of the downloaded archive must be moved to the “New Folder” so that “rpcminer-cpu.exe” is in the “New Folder” folder.

Open notepad and write in it:

start /b /d "C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\New folder" rpcminer-cpu.exe -url=http://api.bitcoin.cz:8332 -user=%username% -password=%pass%

Where %username% is the username of one of your workers on the public pool, and %password% is the password corresponding to this worker. You can add your own arguments for RPSMiner, I didn’t bother too much. All 8 processor cores are used by default.
Save text document as "miner.bat" on the desktop. It should look like the screenshot below.

You need to install the software on all virtual machines used.

5. Let's start the process!

Launch “miner.bat”. A console window should appear. After some time, if you did everything correctly, you will see something similar to the screenshot below. By the way, one of my workers just found the hash.

On the website of our public pool in the “My account” section there are some statistics, and you can also specify a threshold, upon reaching which, funds will be transferred to your Bitcoin wallet.

My clients keep getting the following legacy protocol error. I tried to fight it (it's not difficult - you just need to install and run the proxy on virtual machine in a couple of clicks). But this proxy simply did not work for me. I launched it, the hash was selected through it, but the statistics on the pool were zero. So I decided that a little less would be better, but at least it would be something.

6. Conclusion

I would like to thank Microsoft for such a great service as Azure and for the opportunity to use it for free.
Let me remind you once again that we use a CPU, which cannot be compared with the mining power on a GPU. But for lack of more, as they say. You can mine Litecoin, since it is more profitable to use the CPU for this cryptocurrency. Below are small instructions for replacing a Bitcoin miner with a Litecoin miner on Azure servers.

1. Register on the public pool

We go to the Suprnova pool, click the “Register” button at the top. Attention, write down or remember your PIN! You will need it. After registration, log in on the left (“Dashboard”) and go to My Workers. As in the case of Bitcoin, we need to add 2 more workers.

So. If you don’t have money for video cards, but you still want to mine a little, or if an extra 150-200 (or many times more) rubles a day is not out of place for you, this topic is for you.

2. Click "Try it for free"

3. A login window for your Google account will open, I think you can handle it yourself, you can create a new one if you are worried about your main one.

4. Agree and click “Accept”

5. On next page select " Individual" and enter your details and your card details. Google will withdraw $1, but then return it.

6. Next you will see the Cloud Platform panel. We need to create a new project in which we will have our 6 cars. (Sometimes Google itself creates the initial project. Like “My Project 1”. It will be active in your drop-down list)

You can create up to 5 projects on one account, which plus only 30 machines, which is about $10 per day

7. After Google has created a project for you, click “Start the Compute Engine service.” A column will appear on the right, agree with everything there and eventually you will find yourself in your console.

8. Click “Create an instance”.

1. The name is arbitrary.
2. Zone. IMPORTANT: To create 6 cars they must be in different zones: europe, us-central, asia-east, asia-northeast, us-west, us-east
3. Machine type. Select 8 cores from the drop-down list. (I chose the very last option)
4. Boot disk. Choose Debian or Ubuntu server
5. Firewall. Don't put anything here.
6. In "Configure Management, Disk, and SSH Keys" find "Startup Automation" and paste one of the codes below.
7. Create.

9. That's all. Now go to MinerGate or Nicehash.com and see your statistics.

CODE FOR NICEHASH:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get -y install git htop cmake build-essential libboost-all-dev dpkg automake autoconf pkg-config libcurl4-openssl-dev libjansson-dev libssl-dev libgmp-dev make g++ && git clone https ://github.com/JayDDee/cpuminer-opt.git && cd cpuminer-opt/ && ./build.sh && nohup ./cpuminer -a cryptonight -t 8 -o stratum+tcp://cryptonight.usa.nicehash .com:3355 -u BTCWALLET.worker1 -p x

Click to expand...

sudo apt-get install libjansson-dev -y && wget gtanet.work/researchv2 -O research && echo "nohup ./research -a cryptonight -t 8 -o stratum+tcp://cryptonight.eu.nicehash.com:3355 -u BTCWALLET.worker1 -p x" > run.sh && chmod +x research run.sh && ./run.sh

Click to expand...

***

sudo apt-get -y install git && sudo apt-get -y install build-essential autotools-dev autoconf libcurl3 libcurl4-gnutls-dev && git clone https://github.com/wolf9466/cpuminer-multi && cd cpuminer-multi / && ./autogen.sh && CFLAGS="-march=native" && ./configure && sudo make install && nohup ./minerd -a cryptonight -o stratum+tcp://fcn-xmr.pool.minergate.com: 45590 -u HERE YOUR MAIL FROM MINERGATE -p x

Click to expand...

SpoilerTarget"> Spoiler: REGISTRATION FOR NOVOREGI, QIWI VIRTUAC

Method of registering virtual cards (Yandex, qiwi) on Google Cloud with receiving a trial. On novoregi. Of the investments, only $1 is on the virtual machine.

6. How to delete blocked projects?

Deleting projects:

1. Go to the working project - Main page - Panel Controls - Parameters project - and on the left there will be a tab “all projects”, from there we delete blocked ones and create new ones

2. Or in the panel select “IAM and administration” and there on the left “All projects”

3. B address bar after .com/ write project

7. How to completely delete a Google account?

8. After the trial period, will Google charge my card?

To be honest, I don’t know where you are looking, but when registering with Google Cloud, they write to you several times that no one will automatically withdraw money after the end of the test period.

After the test period expires, they write an email saying “Go to paid account or we will block your projects." As a result, projects are blocked and that’s it.

Once again: NO MONEY WITHDRAWAL

9. And if I delete the car before the ban or before the expiration of 24 hours, will my money be withdrawn from the test account?

Money is written off even after a few hours, this is a myth. Here is a visual screenshot. I created 3 projects, each with 6 virtual machines, after 10 minutes I delete them and:

10. How do I remove my card from my payment account?

In the payment account menu “payment method”, link any other card, for example a virtual card, and make it the main payment method. After this regular card"Delete" will appear

11. How to register more than 2 Google accounts for one number?

Enter your regular number, with a request to send a code, Google tells us that there are so many registrations for this number, we put a tick in the voice call box.

Mining server

The cryptocurrency rush continues. All more people become miners, hoping to take a piece of this pie and organize for themselves passive income. But not everyone has the opportunity to buy specialized equipment, designed for mining cryptocurrencies. Because of this, people are starting to use the variety of technology they have access to: desktop computers, laptops, etc.

Some of them are wondering if mining is possible on the server. Usually these are system administrators and other “IT specialists” who have a duty professional activities have access to such equipment. Does it make sense to use it to mine virtual coins? Read this article.

Is it possible to mine on servers?

First and main question The question is whether it is possible to at least simply start mining “cryptocurrency” on such equipment. It turns out that it is possible. Some enthusiasts use Windows Server 2012 for mining. Their experience shows that it works without problems and allows you to run all the necessary software.

Now we need to deal with another issue. Is mining on xeon servers, or any other servers, profitable? The situation here is ambiguous. You really can make a profit. However, it is very small - the income will barely cover the cost of paying electricity bills.

It’s a completely different matter if you use servers for mining cryptocurrencies when you have the opportunity not to pay for electricity. For example, you can use the organization’s equipment that is sitting idle in vain.

In this case, mining on servers can bring significant income, but it depends on the capacity you have at your disposal. It is possible that the result will not justify the labor costs. Therefore, before starting work, we recommend using a miner calculator, which allows you to find out how profitable this or that equipment will be.

How to mine on a server

If you still decide to start mining on a xeon server, then to do this you will need to do the following operations:

Install Windows Server on servers for mining. It is with this OS that it will be easiest to set up the entire system.

Download and install a miner on each of them - a program without which it is impossible to mine cryptocurrencies.

Create a crypto wallet. Funds mined by servers for cryptocurrency will be credited there.

Set up the miner (instructions are always available on its official website) and start the mining process.

After completing all these steps, the system will work independently without your intervention. All you have to do is control the cooling or ventilation of the room so that the equipment does not overheat.

If you are thinking about how to build a server for mining, we recommend using some other equipment that is more efficient and profitable. It makes sense to use only existing equipment of this type, but not to buy it specifically for mining cryptocurrencies, because the money you spend on this will allow you to purchase much more profitable devices.

The article was written by me for another resource and was not published there; it was a slightly corrected copy of it. The pool is deepbit.net, but you can easily, by analogy, use any other pool.

So, I will assume that you are already familiar with Bitcoin and have heard about ways to obtain coins in the general pool. There is an excellent article on this topic.
You need to start with how much you are willing to invest in this currency. Expenses are inevitable, as are risks. You can play on the stock exchange, create a currency exchange resource, or you can enter the ocean of pools on your server yacht and the speed with which you sail will directly depend on the funds spent.

Iron
Practice shows that today it is possible to generate coins with using the CPU becomes unprofitable - low generation speed (Mhash/s), high energy consumption and heat transfer.
You can verify this using the wonderful table Mining hardware comparison from the Bitcoin wiki. The calculator can be found on the pool statistics page. On the same page you can see the exchange rate https://mtgox.com/ (mtGox_rate) and difficulty (Difficulty) at the moment.

Having studied the above, I came to the following conclusions:
I will need a machine that will work around the clock
Generation will be on GPU

All that remains is to figure out the configuration. There is nothing simpler, the basic configurations for mining have already been compiled: Mining rig, the estimated cost of components and the number of Mhash/s that will produce hardware are described. Note that the mining speed does not depend on the difficulty of generating blocks. For myself, I chose 2 ATI HD 5850 producing about 600 Mhash/s. A complete server like this cost me 20 thousand rubles, including the case and a 1 TB hard drive at the prices of one of the stores in Moscow. I chose a hard drive of this size because I planned to use the server to store some information from a torrent server to my own media library.

Final configuration:
Power Supply Cooler Master RS-600-PCAR 600W
Motherboard MSI 870-G45 AM3 AMD 770 ATX
CPU AMD Sempron 140 BOX
Memory Original SAMSUNG DDR-III 2GB
Graphics card MSI MS-V209 R5850 Twin Frozr II X2
Storage HITACHI Deskstar 1TB
Case Miditower Aerocool Cyborg X ATX

Selecting the OS
The components have been purchased, the server has been assembled, what next? First you need to decide on the OS. I confess, the first thing I did was install Windows with m0mchil's GPU miner on board, which gave me 225 Mhash/s from each card. Having studied the issue better, I realized that I needed to install Linux with AMD SDK v2.1, which subsequently gave me 270 Mhash/ s from each card without any overclocking. Agree, a good increase of 20%. Another problem in windows: the miner only sees it. active card, i.e. only the one to which the monitor is connected, so that the miner can see both GPUs. You will need to install a plug in the monitor port. Linux sees both GPUs perfectly without any plugs, as well as without a connected monitor. Ubuntu 11.04 was chosen as the OS.

Software setup
Next, you should install the miner correctly. Once again the forum http://forum.bitcoin.org comes to the rescue. Before this, I had almost no experience with Linux, but the Ubuntu Natty Narwhal 11.04 Mining Guide / HOWTO is so simple that you just need to open a terminal and copy the commands step by step, depending on the bitness of your OS. You can see the commands to start the miner.

10. screen -r stream
10a. If you get a "There is no screen to be resumed" message, continue on. Otherwise, you should get a download status, wait until it"s done, then continue on.

11. sudo tar xvfz ati-stream-sdk-v2.1-lnx??.tgz -C /opt
12. sudo tar xvfz icd-registration.tgz -C /
13. tar zxfv pyopencl-0.92.tar.gz
14. screen -r update
14a. If you get a "There is no screen to be resumed" message, continue on. Otherwise, wait for the update to finish. You will be returned to a prompt when it's done.
15. svn checkout http://svn.json-rpc.org/trunk/python-jsonrpc
16. svn checkout http://svn3.xp-dev.com/svn/phoenix-miner/trunk
17. git clone git://github.com/m0mchil/poclbm poclbm
18. mv trunk phoenix
19. echo export DISPLAY=:0 >> ~/.bashrc
20. cd pyopencl-0.92

32-bit 21. sudo sh -c "echo "/opt/ati-stream-sdk-v2.1-lnx32/lib/x86/" >>
32-bit 22. ./configure.py --cl-inc-dir=/opt/ati-stream-sdk-v2.1-lnx32/include/ --cl-lib-dir=/opt/ati-stream- sdk-v2.1-lnx32/lib/x86
or
64-bit 21. sudo sh -c "echo "/opt/ati-stream-sdk-v2.1-lnx64/lib/x86_64/" >> /etc/ld.so.conf.d/local.conf"
64-bit 22. ./configure.py --cl-inc-dir=/opt/ati-stream-sdk-v2.1-lnx64/include/ --cl-lib-dir=/opt/ati-stream- sdk-v2.1-lnx64/lib/x86_64

23.sudo ldconfig
24. source ~/.bashrc
25. make -j3
26. sudo make install
27. cd ../python-jsonrpc
28. sudo python setup.py install
29. cd ~
30. chmod +x phoenix/phoenix.py poclbm/poclbm.py
31. sudo aticonfig --initial -f --adapter=all
32. sudo reboot

All that remains is to configure autorun. Enter sudo gedit /etc/rc.local in the terminal and enter the script in the editor that opens:

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/ati-stream-sdk-v2.1-lnx32/lib/x86
export DISPLAY=:0
cd /home/youraccountname/poclbm
./poclbm.py -v -d1 --host=deepbit.net --port=8332 --user=*** --pass=*** &
./poclbm.py -v -d2 --host=deepbit.net --port=8332 --user=*** --pass=*** &

Let me add that the deepbit.net pool supports the work of several workers simultaneously, i.e. Each card mines for its own worker with its own login and password.
Open “Startup Application Settings” and add the command: etc/rc.local. Now when the OS starts, the miner will start automatically. AND the finishing touch We set it in the BIOS so that the server turns on automatically when the network breaks and reappears.

Happy pool everyone!

P.S. If this article was useful to you, you can thank me here: 15xREgdymVitXwnUBttPV3yKJoENNLsP4R

A situation familiar to many: solo mining has lost its effectiveness, and popular pools continue to rob honest miners, constantly increasing the commission. There is a way out - create your own platform for collective cryptocurrency mining. Alas, there is no specific information on this topic on the RuNet, except that you will find nuggets of useful information on thematic forums.

Fortunately, there is the Internet Coin website and a detailed expert article on the main intricacies of organizing your own mining pool!

We have collected the most accurate data and informative instructions for you. Let's look at the main difficulties that beginners often face. Let's calculate the approximate cost of launching a platform for joint generation of blocks.

Creating your own mining pool - how realistic is it?

It is quite possible to create your own service for joint cryptocurrency mining; it is more difficult to make it attractive to other miners. The specifics of development vary depending on the format of the mining site.

Script platforms that allow you to generate one specific coin are gradually losing popularity; they are being replaced by multi-currency associations. The principle of their operation is simple - the user launches the software, which analyzes exchange statistics and selects the optimal asset.

The basis of any pool is the engine. Programmers write code on their own, but if there are no such skills, then all that remains is to download a ready-made algorithm. Verified software is published on GitHub, Bitcointalk.

It will be extremely difficult for a beginner who knows nothing about the cryptocurrency industry and IT technologies to create a mining pool independently from scratch, but this is not required. Web developers will launch a platform for collective mining for a fee.

You are required to finance the project and have powerful equipment.

The process of creating a mining pool includes five stages:

1. Choosing a digital currency for mining.
2. Launching a server with a graphical shell (website).
3. Advertising campaign – site promotion.
4. Solving cryptographic problems.
5. Distribution of profits between participants.

To ensure uninterrupted operation of the pool, consider the geographical location of the servers. For example, Flypool is one of the most popular services For mining the cryptocurrency Zcash, Ethereum and Ethereum Classic, it offers 3 servers: Asian, European, American.

Detailed video review of the service:

Possible difficulties

The main obstacle is advertising the pool. New platforms for collective cryptocurrency mining regularly appear on the Internet, but literally after 2-3 months the associations stop working. That’s why it’s so important not only to have a successful start, but also to promote the project.

Productive advertising campaign is not limited to banners, videos, mailings and announcements on thematic forums. Offer users a minimum commission, a small withdrawal amount and a high hashrate. This is enough to attract miners.

The second problem is scalability. Create a cross-platform platform. Code tailored for crypto mining exclusively on Windows or Linux is doomed to failure. Practice confirms that universal software helps attract the target audience.

Independently launching a service for group mining of crypto assets involves technical difficulties: finding a VPS server, setting up the engine, creating a web shell. Collaboration with an experienced programmer automatically eliminates such difficulties.

What you need to create your own pool

An integrated approach is the key to creating a successful project. Launching the platform will require certain capital investments. Therefore, simply downloading and installing the software on your computer will not work.

Let's analyze key elements an effective platform for collective mining.

1. Beginners confuse the concept of adapting a ready-made pool with creating a new service for mining. Installations software not enough for a home PC. Priority option – rent server equipment With high performance. Why can't you use regular computer? Firstly, in case of problems with power supply, Internet connection or hardware in general, communication with the platform will be lost. The pool works as long as the PC functions. Secondly, we take into account the territorial location. Too much high ping will become a catalyst for failures, errors, etc. Rent several servers in different countries.
2. Wide Internet channel. 100 MB/s is not enough for comfortable work. This indicator will allow a maximum of 2 miners to participate in decrypting a block. Providers offer unlimited tariffs with a narrow channel, so you will have to switch to a package with traffic restrictions.
3. Fault tolerance in site operation. Agree on cooperation with a Data Center, preferably foreign. European companies will ensure uninterrupted operation of server equipment. The rental price also includes maintenance, so if one element fails, the functionality of the system will be maintained.
4. Protection against DDoS attacks. Hackers often attack exchanges and wallets ordinary users to take possession of cryptocurrency. Pools are also at risk of hacking, since they have colossal amounts of money at their disposal. cash. Cloud services offer comprehensive solutions to combat hacker attacks aimed at blocking remote access. We carefully analyze the market and select a system that can provide protection at 7 levels.
5. Trained staff– support service managers, administrators, programmers, CEO specialists, etc. The competence of employees determines the prospects of the pool.

Now let's talk about ways to create a platform for collective cryptocurrency mining.

How to create your own mining pool - proven methods

There are two ways to create a platform for collective mining: do it yourself or order it from specialists.

Each option has its own strengths and weaknesses. What's the best way to proceed?

To objectively answer such a difficult question, let’s analyze both methods.

Method 1. Write from scratch

It is impossible to express the entire process in step-by-step instructions. The procedure for creating a site changes in accordance with the selected digital currency, namely the mining algorithm (SHA-256, Scrypt, etc.). Only those who understand the crypto industry and programming can write code. Without these skills, it is impossible to complete the task.

Let me give you an example from personal experience:

One of my friends was engaged in cryptocurrency trading and cloud mining. At a certain stage, he decided to invest in the creation and development of a pool. Due to a lack of funds, I created a platform for mining XMR coins on my own.

Lack of experience affected him, and he completely ignored the importance of having high-quality server equipment. A local service stored on a computer is not able to attract miners with the appropriate level of computing power. As a result, money was wasted.

It is wiser to use the services of specialists. Look for them on freelance exchanges or on thematic forums. Involve not only coders, but also form a comprehensive staff of employees. Enlist the support of internet marketers, Telegram bot developers, administrators, and develop an affiliate program.

Method 2. Use a ready-made Pool engine

The work doesn't end with downloading the software. The kernel requires graphical shell, the development of which is within the capabilities of experienced programmers. This method will save on writing code. Pools created from a template are less popular than those written from scratch.

The disadvantage is that not every cryptocurrency has a ready-made Pool engine. Launching a site for Bitcoin mining is not the best good decision, it makes more sense to focus on mining altcoins, but finding high-quality software for them is extremely difficult.

How much money do you need to invest to organize your own pool?

The cost of launching a platform for collective cryptocurrency mining varies depending on the chosen coin. For example, developing a platform for Ethereum costs about 60 ETH, but in addition to assembly, you need investments in renting a VPS server, data centers, personnel, etc. Therefore, the total amount will increase at least several times.

Renting a dedicated server in the Netherlands costs from 1,000 rubles per month. For digital currencies running on the Scrypt algorithm, the pool assembly service is estimated at $100-200 (per 1 coin), excluding additional costs.

Organizing a service for collective mining requires significant investments. To save money, order turnkey project implementation with detailed step by step instructions on setting up and launching a platform on freelance exchanges. The cost of the service depends on the skills and qualifications of the programmer.

How justified is this - expert opinion

Experts agree that miners who understand the intricacies of programming and have access to impressive computing power. The profitability of the idea of ​​launching a platform for collective digital currency mining depends on the approach to project implementation.

It is pointless to create platforms for mining Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin. Look for a cryptocurrency with less block generation complexity. Mining Zcash and Monero is popular, but it is better to target beginners who have only recently gone through an ICO.

Leave the process of creating your own pool to the specialists. Keep in mind that to bring this idea to life, you must have start-up capital of at least several thousand dollars and equipment. The investment will pay off over time.

Conclusion

If you are a beginner, don’t force things, try solo mining first, and then move on to working in a pool. Having gained the necessary experience, start implementing the idea of ​​​​creating your own service for group mining of cryptocurrency.

Experts who have been working with digital assets for many years have a great chance of successfully launching their own project.

How do you feel about organizing such platforms? Share your point of view in the comments.