Quote from: Antotena on Today at 12:48:21 PM

Table of Contents

Introduction
Airtel smart box
Node set up
Personal reviews on Airtel Smartbox and the unlimited internet plan

Introduction

I have always wanted to run Bitcoin node and have my node to support the Bitcoin network, wanted to see how personal node works and I decided to give Bitcoin core node a try but the initial block download required a huge internet to be able to downnload and verified all the blocks from genesis to the current block which can take a minimal of 600GB disk space and this has always been the problem of many, the internet subscription in Nigeria is very expensive, the cost is expensive and it doesn't last enough to be able to download anything you want.

Node initial block download needs at least 600GB, and data bundle plans are expensive, mtn yearly plan of 800GB is ₦125k, that's too expensive on the long term. I kepts looking for cheap way to get one until I came across reviews of airtel unlimited internet bundle. I decided to give it a try with just ₦35k I was able to run the node and it took me 6 days and 17 hours to finish download all the blocks and fully synced.

Airtel Smart box

After watching different reviews about Airtel unlimited data subscription on online, there were mixed reactions from different people, the good, the bad and the neutral but I decided to do it anyways. On the month of July, I walked into Airtel office in my state to get Airtel router, I was offered 2 different options, the 4G unlimited router and Airtel unlimited smart box but I was recommend the smart box since the battery last long when there is no light and has better stable network connection and it comes with 14 days free first use.

The smart box is powered by androidtv that can be connected to a tv to use smart features, comes with a remote, a battery, Hdmi cable and Avi cable. I didn't see the need but it can be of help to some people as it has android apps like Netflix, Youtube and 4k display

Node set up
Bitcoin core node is very easy to set up but you need to have some requirements if you want you initial block download to be faster.

Requirement:
A good PC with: 8gb ram or more
: SSD capacity; you need big space if you are running full node but this tutorial is limited to prune node; with small SSD space, you can run prune Bitcoin core node.

- Go to https://bitcoin.org/en/download and download the latest version of Bitcoin core, you can verify the file using PGP signature
- Install the Bitcoin core and make a desktop shortcut
- Open the Bitcoin core and head down to settings, click on options. You should see "prune block storage to". By default you should see 2GB, you can change it to your choice, the block storage you want to keep; I used 5GB; you can as well change the "size of database cache" to 4000 or above and save.
I used '6000' which is equibalent to 6GB since I have 8GB of ram. I'm literally telling the Bitcore to use 6GB of ram during intial block download, it will speed up the download .
- You can also do this on Bitcoin configuration(Bitcoin.conf) and save but it's the same as the above:

Code:

prune=5000
dbcache=6000

- Note: anytime you change settings on your Bitcoin core, you need to restart your Bitcoin core before the settings will take effect.

When you restart your Bitcoin core, it will quickly download the block headers which will take some minutes before it will start to download the blocks, blocks takes time so you have to be patient. I used 6 days and some hours to fully sync my node and that's it.

My personal review on the Airtel unlimited

- Test your network area before you buy the smart box/router as some areas have very poor airtel network.
- Don't buy the router outside Airtel office, outside marketers do increase the price. I bought mine for just ₦35,000
- The internet plan isn't about Network generation, don't buy the 5G router if your home doesn't cover Airtel 5G. My area has very strong 4G that's why I bought the smart box and since it came with unlimited plan(20mbps), I was having between 17mbps and 19mbps speed.

- Each device comes with 14 days unlimited while 5G is 30 days but there is alot of complaints about the 5G device, I don't recommend it.
- The smartbox comes with inbuilt battery and can last you upto 7 hours or more but you can support it with a power bank that has 12V dc cable. I have another router device power bank I used support mine and it can last me until when there is power.

- After the 14 days free unlimited, the 20mbs plan goes for ₦30,000 while the 50mbs plan goes for ₦50k, the more you pay the more speed you are going to have but in my honesty, the 20mbs is what I have been using and I am downloading gygaytes of things I don't really need because I have a good Airtel network coverage area.

That is awesome Running your own Bitcoin Core node is a big step toward truly supporting the network and verifying transactions yourself. The initial block download is definitely the biggest hurdle both in storage and internet costs so finding a cheaper unlimited bundle like Airtel’s was a smart move. Six days and 17 hours for a full sync is pretty good considering the size of the blockchain. Now you have got a fully independent node, which means you’re not relying on anyone else’s version of the Bitcoin ledger. Respect for making it happen despite the high data costs in Nigeria.