How to Create a Raspberry Pi 3 full node

[rogerver]

I recently purchased a Raspberry Pi 3 using Bitcoin on Purse.io with the intention of running a full Bitcoin Classic node with it.
Today I got around to having some time to configure it all, so I thought I would make a tutorial as I went.

Here are the results:

Step #1, Buy the hardware.
I bought the following:
Raspberry Pi 3
Clear Case
200GB Sandisk Micro SD card (Will be enough to store the blockchain for at least a few more years)


The total price using Purse.io with a 25% discount was about $100 USD

Step #2
You will need to download the Raspbian OS from here.
They have direct downloads as well as a torrent link.

Step #3
Once the image is downloaded you can follow the instructions here on how to install the OS onto your Micro SD card.
In my case I'll be following the OSX instructions.

Step #4
Insert your micro SD card into the SD card adapter, then insert it into your Mac.


Step #5
Open Terminal from your Utilities folder


Step #6
At the command prompt type "diskutil list" to show a list of your disk drives.
Find the one that is your Micro SD card, and take note of the disk number.


Step #7
At the command prompt type "diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk3" (Make sure to use your own disk number)
It may take quite a few seconds before you will see the confirmation message of "Unmount of all volumes on disk3 was successful"


Step #8
To copy the Raspbian OS image to the SD card,
at the command prompt type "sudo dd bs=1m if=/Users/your-own/file-path/goes-here/2016-03-18-raspbian-jessie.img of=/dev/rdisk3"
Enter your password, and wait several minutes.


Step #9
To safely eject the disk, type "sudo diskutil eject /dev/rdisk3" at the command prompt, and enter your password.
Once prompted, it is safe to physically remove the disk and insert it into the Raspberry Pi.


Step #10
Plug in the HDMI cable to the Raspberry Pi, the Keyboard and mouse (or in my case the wireless keyboard and trackpad combo)
When ready, plug in the micro USB port to power it all on.


Step #11
You then need to expand the file system to take up the whole SD card.
Open the Raspberry PI Configuration tool.


Click on the "Expand Filesystem" button


Once it is done, click "OK" and reboot your system.


Step #12
Once the Raspberry is done booting, click on the Network icon to configure the Wifi.
Choose your network, and enter your password.


Step #13
Once you have connected, mouse over the network icon to find out the IP address that has been assigned to your Raspberry Pi, and make a note of it.


Step #14
Now go back to the Terminal window on your original computer and type "ssh pi@10.0.1.5"
Make sure to use the IP address of your own Raspberry Pi
When prompted if you are sure you want to continue connecting type "yes"
The password is "raspberry"


Step #15
Make sure everything is up to date on your Raspberry Pi by typing: "sudo apt-get update"


Then type ""sudo apt-get upgrade -y"


Step #16
Then install the other packages that are needed to run Bitcoin by typing:
"sudo apt-get install autoconf libtool libssl-dev libboost-all-dev libminiupnpc-dev qt4-dev-tools libprotobuf-dev protobuf-compiler libqrencode-dev -y"


Step #17
If you want to be able to run a wallet in addition to just being a node, we need to install the Berkley Database package.
Do that by typing the following commands:
"mkdir ~/bin"
"cd ~/bin"
"wget http://download.oracle.com/berkeley-db/ ... .NC.tar.gz"


Then tenter the following commands:
"tar -xzvf db-4.8.30.NC.tar.gz"


And then these:
"cd db-4.8.30.NC/build_unix/"
"../dist/configure --enable-cxx"


Next enter:
"make -j4"


And finally:
"sudo make install"


Step #18
Now it is time to actually install the Bitcoin software.
To make the directory for it all type:
"cd ~/bin/"
"mkdir bitcoin"
"cd bitcoin"


Step #19
Visit bitcoinclassic.com and find the downloads:


Step #20
Locate the binary for ARM processors like the one in your Raspberry Pi and copy the URL to your clipboard


Step #21
Type: "wget <The URL for the Bitcoin software>"


Step #22
Extract everything using the "tar -xzvf" command.


This is as far as I've gotten today.
I'd love some more help finishing it off.
I think I'm almost there.
(Big thanks to raspnode.com and Google for helping me get this far)

[rogerver]

I didn't document the rest of the commands properly, but I have things up and running now. (As of 10:30PM March 24th)

I'll let everyone know how many hours it takes to fully catch up with the current state of the Blockchain.

[rogerver]

After about 48 hours of syncing, it is up to block 340,000 out of ~400,000

[Devilcn]

Thanks so much for sharing. I am planning to play a little bit with my Pi 3, but I only have a 16GB Micro SD card and a 128GB USB3.0 Flash drive, can I use 16GB Micro SD to boot and use 128GB USB3.0 Flash drive to store blocks? If it is YES, please guide me if possible. Thanks in advance.

[miffman]

This is a great guide. I have no experience with a raspberry pi, but I am looking to get one and this is something I am interested in doing.

Thank you!

[Lilypanama24]

Do you think a Raspberry Pi 1 Model A would be powerful enough to run a node? I still have this thing from when it was first launched.

[Decoded]

Raspbian is a debian-based distro, if I'm not mistaken. I'm going to install archlinux on my little rbp when it comes. Anyone familiar with archlinux?

I'm guessing I'll have to follow the same procedure, except using "yaourt" to install the Bitcoin daemon. I wonder if there's an existing AUR for classic or unlimited?

Edit - Mac

[Rmcdermott927]

I tried about a year ago on a Pi 2. Once it got to about block 300k, the sync became too much for it to handle and it would simply stop syncing. Did you have any issues like that?

[Decoded]

I tried about a year ago on a Pi 2. Once it got to about block 300k, the sync became too much for it to handle and it would simply stop syncing. Did you have any issues like that?

It doesn't make much sense to me. A pi is basically the same as any old computer. My only guess is a corrupted sync, losing connection to the internet, or running out of storage. Tell me, was it nearing the SD card's capacity?

[Windowly]

I haven't used a raspberry pi 3 -- but is there a way to attach a couple terrabyte harddrive? (Just thinking of future proofing for when we really scale).

[klaaas]

Cool tut. thanks. If i bumb on a 128+ gig usb/sd stick/card i will turn a raspi3 in a node.

[cxxtxxc]

Can you make one of these for ether mining?

[rogerver]

Can you make one of these for ether mining?

No.

[edin]

very useful, thank you