Bitcoin mining is a lucrative, yet difficult venture that has become exceedingly popular with the emergence of various cryptocurrencies. Although Bitcoin is the largest and most valuable digital asset that can be mined, other cryptocurrencies require it as well such as Litecoin.
Unfortunately, while the general protocol of Bitcoin states that anyone is free to mine the cryptocurrency, the costs of power and the devices and software used, are high. The process is also extremely competitive. This is why there is a continuous evolution in Bitcoin mining hardware and software used for the process, to make it easier for miners to work. There are several popular devices associated with mining, such as ASICs and GPUs, but their software counterparts are often overlooked.
The main function of these software programs is to run the algorithms that help miners to solve the complex puzzles needed for mining. While several great ones exist, BFGMiner is one of the best and most popular mining software. To fully understand how BFGMiner works, it is essential to understand what Bitcoin mining is and how exactly it is done.
WHAT IS BITCOIN MINING?
Bitcoin mining is a mechanism used to confirm new Bitcoin transactions as well as introduce new BTC into the network through rewards that miners are paid. Through mining, certain groups of users are also incentivized to ensure the security of the system.
The technology that powers Bitcoin is known as blockchain, a decentralized ledger containing the records of all transactions on the Bitcoin network. As the name suggests, a blockchain is made up of a “chain of blocks” which serve as batches for the transactions entered into the ledger. To update this ledger, new blocks containing new transactions must be appended to the existing blockchain.
This process ensures that these transactions are confirmed, and pending payments go through. The idea behind this technology is to ensure a trustless, permissionless, transparent value system that is independent of central authorities. However, for a system to be truly trustless and transparent, its users need a way to verify that transactions have indeed occurred.
They also have to accurately account for the additions and deductions to the balances of the nodes on the network. To ensure this, consensus occurs on every single node, no matter how many there are. When every node has agreed on which version of the blockchain is accurate, that version is appended to the existing copy that each user has.
This may seem a bit complex and even confusing because while consensus may be easy to achieve in a small network, it sounds nearly impossible on a network with almost 10,000 active nodes at any given time. Fortunately, there is a consensus protocol in place, known as the proof-of-work mechanism that ensures accurate validation of transactions and this is where miners come in.
This form of consensus is intentionally designed to be difficult, so as to stabilize the number of blocks that are added to the blockchain each day. Each block must contain the proof-of-work, verified by other nodes on the Bitcoin network before it can be validated.
WHAT IS PROOF-OF-WORK?
A proof-of-work is a piece of data that shows that a node has successfully carried out the work necessary to add new data to the system. It is mostly used to deter spam attacks, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks and other malicious invasions. Although the term was first coined in 1999, it was only adapted to financial use in 2004 by Hal Finney. In 2009, the mechanism was adopted by Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator of Bitcoin, for use as its official consensus protocol. Subsequently, other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum adopted the proof-of-work consensus protocol for use on their platforms.
On the Bitcoin network, every new block has an SHA-256 hash value which acts as its unique identifier. The hash of each block must begin with a certain number of zeros and miners are tasked with calculating it. The difficulty of this task varies with each block as miners must go through several billion nonces to find the solution. To achieve this, miners turn to the use of ASIC devices along with software like CGminer and BFGMiner.
BITCOIN MINING SOFTWARE
Although the process of Bitcoin mining is carried out using powerful mining devices, mining software connects miners to the blockchain and mining pools. It also facilitates work delivery to the miners as well as the blockchain’s receival of completed work. This input and output monitoring is a critical part of the mining process. Without this feedback, miners cannot communicate with their mining pool and the blockchain even after solving the proof-of-work. Mining software also displays statistics such as fan speed, hashrate, temperature and miner average speed. While there are several excellent Bitcoin mining software available, BFGMiner is considered one of the best.
BFGMiner is a software which is used to mine Bitcoin on several platforms including Windows, Linux, and Mac. It is very similar to CGminer but focuses mainly on use alongside ASIC devices, a more profitable union than the use of a GPU. The software is written in C and functions as a modular ASIC, GPU, CPU and FPGA miner which supports OpenWrt-compatible routers.
BFGMiner has made many lists as a top mining software for its efficiency, ease-of-use and unique features. Some of its unique features are highlighted below:
- The software supports ADL device reordering using the PCI bus ID, mining with free mesa/LLVM OpenCL, fan control and integrated overclocking.
- BFGMiner allows users to mine several cryptocurrencies simultaneously, using various pool strategies like load-balance and balance. It achieves this by enabling multi-pooling and tracking pools on the same network as well as independent tracking for pools on different networks.
- The BFGMiner software supports the use of multiple algorithms like SHA-256 used by Bitcoin and Scryptused by Litecoin. The software also allows users to run these multiple algorithms at the same time. Users can also assign the algorithm based on their own mining goals. This feature also works in balancing strategies; however, only CPU, OpenCL, and Proxy drivers currently support multiple concurrent algorithms.
- The Stratum extensions on BFGMiner allow users to share control of mining algorithms with the mining pool, according to mining goals.
Bitcoin mining is a profitable, resource-intensive activity which is necessary for the sustenance of the Bitcoin network. For mining to be successful, a combination of efficient Bitcoin mining hardware and software must be used. Regarding mining hardware, ASICs have proven themselves time and again as the most powerful mining devices.
Software, on the other hand, offers more options, making it more difficult to pick the best one. However, there are some mining software that are considered among the best and BFGMiner is one such application. In addition to the unique features of BFGMiner, it saves miners resources by eliminating connections to unreachable pools. It is also easy to use and shares some similarities with CGMiner like the text-based interface with clearly laid out options. As time goes on, there may be better BTC mining software on the market, leading to even better results for miners.
“This article was originally published at MintDice”
Uchimbaji wa Bitcoin ni biashara ya faida, lakini ngumu ambayo imekuwa maarufu sana na kuibuka kwa sarafu mbalimbali za sarafu. Bitcoin ni mali kubwa zaidi ya dijiti ambayo inaweza kuchimbwa, lakini ina thamani kubwa zaidi ya cryptocurrency kama Litecoin. Kwa bahati mbaya, wakati itifaki ya jumla ya Bitcoin inasema kwamba mtu yeyote ni huru kuchimba cryptocurrency, gharama za nguvu na vifaa na programu zinazotumiwa ni kubwa. Utaratibu huo pia ni wa ushindani sana. Hii ni kwa nini kuna maendeleo ya kuendelea katika vifaa vya uchimbaji wa Bitcoin na programu zinazotumiwa kwa mchakato, ili kuifanya iwe rahisi kwa wachimbaji kufanya kazi. Kuna vifaa kadhaa maarufu kuhusishwa na madini, kama vile ASICs na GPUs, lakini wenzao programu ni mara nyingi overlooked. Kazi kuu ya programu hizi ni kuendesha algorithms ambayo kusaidia wachimbaji kutatua puzzles tata zinahitajika kwa ajili ya uchimbaji. Ingawa kuna programu kadhaa za madini, BFGMiner ni moja ya bora na maarufu zaidi. Ili kuelewa jinsi BGMiner inavyofanya kazi, ni muhimu kuelewa nini uchimbaji wa Bitcoin na jinsi inavyofanywa. Uchimbaji wa Bitcoin ni Nini? Uchimbaji wa Bitcoin ni utaratibu unaotumiwa kuthibitisha shughuli mpya za Bitcoin na pia kuanzisha BTC mpya kwenye mtandao kupitia thawabu ambazo wachimbaji hulipwa. Kupitia uchimbaji madini, vikundi fulani vya watumiaji pia huchochewa kuhakikisha usalama wa mfumo. Teknolojia inayotumia Bitcoin inajulikana kama blockchain, kitabu cha kugawanyika kilicho na rekodi za shughuli zote kwenye mtandao wa Bitcoin. Kama jina linavyopendekeza, blockchain ni alifanya juu ya <unk>mnyororo wa vitalu<unk> ambayo kutumika kama kundi kwa ajili ya shughuli aliingia katika ledger. Ili kusasisha kitabu hiki, vitalu vipya vyenye shughuli mpya vinapaswa kuongezwa kwa blockchain iliyopo. Utaratibu huu inahakikisha kwamba shughuli hizi ni kuthibitishwa, na malipo kusubiri kwenda kupitia. Wazo la teknolojia hii ni kuhakikisha mfumo wa thamani usio na uaminifu, usio na ruhusa, wazi ambao ni huru kutoka kwa mamlaka kuu. Hata hivyo, kwa mfumo kuwa kweli trustless na uwazi, watumiaji wake haja ya njia ya kuthibitisha kwamba shughuli kweli wametokea. Pia wanahitaji kwa usahihi akaunti kwa ajili ya nyongeza na deductions kwa mabaki ya nodes juu ya mtandao. Ili kuhakikisha hili, makubaliano hutokea juu ya kila node moja, bila kujali jinsi wengi kuna. Wakati kila node imekubaliana juu ya toleo gani la blockchain ni sahihi, toleo hilo linaongezwa kwa nakala iliyopo ambayo kila mtumiaji ana. Hii inaweza kuonekana ngumu na hata kuchanganyikiwa, kwa sababu wakati makubaliano yanaweza kupatikana kwa urahisi katika mtandao mdogo, inaonekana karibu haiwezekani kwenye mtandao na karibu 10,000 nodes kazi wakati wowote. Kwa bahati nzuri, kuna itifaki ya makubaliano, inayojulikana kama utaratibu wa uthibitisho wa kazi, ambayo inahakikisha uthibitisho sahihi wa shughuli, na hapa ndipo wachimbaji wanapoingia. Hii aina ya makubaliano ni makusudi iliyoundwa kuwa vigumu, ili kuimarisha idadi ya vitalu kwamba ni aliongeza kwa blockchain kila siku. Kila block lazima kuwa na uthibitisho wa kazi, kuthibitishwa na nodes nyingine kwenye mtandao Bitcoin kabla ya kuwa kuthibitishwa. Ni nini uthibitisho wa kazi? Uthibitisho wa kazi ni kipande cha data ambayo inaonyesha kwamba node imefanikiwa kutekeleza kazi muhimu ya kuongeza data mpya kwa mfumo. Inatumika hasa kuzuia mashambulizi ya spam, mashambulizi ya Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) na uvamizi mwingine mbaya. Ingawa neno hilo lilitumiwa kwa mara ya kwanza mnamo 1999, lilibadilishwa kwa matumizi ya kifedha mnamo 2004 na Hal Finney. Mnamo 2009, utaratibu huo ulikubaliwa na Satoshi Nakamoto, muundaji asiyejulikana wa Bitcoin, kwa matumizi kama itifaki yake rasmi ya makubaliano. Baadaye, sarafu nyingine kama Ethereum ilichukua itifaki ya makubaliano ya uthibitisho wa kazi kwa matumizi kwenye majukwaa yao. Katika mtandao wa Bitcoin, kila block mpya ina thamani ya hash ya SHA-256 ambayo hufanya kazi kama kitambulisho chake cha kipekee. Hash ya kila block lazima kuanza na idadi fulani ya sifuri na wachimbaji ni kazi ya kuhesabu. Ugumu wa kazi hii hutofautiana na kila block kama wachimbaji lazima kwenda kupitia mabilioni kadhaa ya nonces kupata suluhisho. Kwa hivyo, kwa sababu ya hali hii, wachimbaji wa madini wanahitaji kutumia vifaa vya ASIC pamoja na programu kama vile CGminer na BFGMiner. Bitcoin Mining Software (BMS) ni programu ya madini ya Bitcoin ambayo hutumia vifaa vya nguvu vya madini, na inaunganisha madini na blockchain na madini. Pia kuwezesha utoaji wa kazi kwa wachimbaji kama vile blockchain ya kupokea kazi kukamilika. Hii ufuatiliaji wa pembejeo na pato ni sehemu muhimu ya mchakato wa madini. Bila maoni haya, wachimbaji hawawezi kuwasiliana na dimbwi lao la uchimbaji na blockchain hata baada ya kutatua uthibitisho wa kazi. Programu ya madini pia inaonyesha takwimu kama vile kasi ya shabiki, hashrate, joto na wastani wa kasi ya mchimbaji. Ingawa kuna programu kadhaa bora za uchimbaji wa Bitcoin, BFGMiner inachukuliwa kuwa moja ya bora. BGMiner ni programu ambayo hutumiwa kuchimba Bitcoin kwenye majukwaa kadhaa ikiwa ni pamoja na Windows, Linux, na Mac. Ni sawa na Cgminer lakini inazingatia hasa matumizi pamoja na vifaa vya ASIC, muungano wenye faida zaidi kuliko matumizi ya GPU. Programu imeandikwa katika C na kazi kama modular ASIC, GPU, CPU na FPGA mchimbaji ambayo inasaidia OpenWrt-kuendana routers. BGMiner imekuwa moja ya programu bora za madini kwa ufanisi wake, urahisi wa matumizi na sifa za kipekee. Programu hii inasaidia kuagiza upya kifaa cha ADL kwa kutumia ID ya basi ya PCI, uchimbaji kwa bure na OpenCLVM, kudhibiti shabiki na overclocking iliyounganishwa. BGMiner inaruhusu watumiaji kuchimba sarafu kadhaa kwa wakati mmoja, kwa kutumia mikakati mbalimbali ya dimbwi kama vile mzigo-msawa na usawa. Hii hutimizwa kwa kuwezesha multi-pooling na kufuatilia vikundi juu ya mtandao huo na pia kufuatilia huru kwa ajili ya vikundi juu ya mitandao tofauti. Programu ya BFGMiner inasaidia matumizi ya algorithms nyingi kama vile SHA-256 inayotumiwa na Bitcoin na Scryptused na Litecoin. Programu pia inaruhusu watumiaji kuendesha hizi algorithms nyingi kwa wakati mmoja. Watumiaji pia wanaweza kugawa algorithm kulingana na malengo yao wenyewe ya uchimbaji. Kipengele hiki pia kazi katika mikakati ya kusawazisha; hata hivyo, tu CPU, OpenCL, na madereva Proxy kwa sasa kusaidia algorithms nyingi wakati huo huo. Stratum Extensions - Stratum Extensions kwenye BFGMiner inaruhusu watumiaji kushiriki udhibiti wa algorithms madini na madini dimbwi, kulingana na malengo madini. Uchimbaji wa Bitcoin ni shughuli yenye faida, inayohitaji rasilimali nyingi ambayo ni muhimu kwa uhifadhi wa mtandao wa Bitcoin. Kwa ajili ya madini kuwa na mafanikio, mchanganyiko wa ufanisi Bitcoin madini vifaa na programu lazima kutumika. Kwa upande wa vifaa vya madini, ASICs zimejithibitisha mara kwa mara kama vifaa vya madini vyenye nguvu zaidi. Kwa upande mwingine, programu hutoa chaguzi nyingi zaidi, na hivyo kufanya iwe vigumu kuchagua chaguo bora zaidi. Hata hivyo, kuna baadhi ya programu ya madini ambayo ni kuchukuliwa miongoni mwa bora na BFGMiner ni moja ya maombi hayo. Kwa kuongezea sifa za kipekee za BFGMiner, inaokoa rasilimali za wachimbaji kwa kuondoa uhusiano na dimbwi lisiloweza kufikiwa. Ni rahisi kutumia na inashiriki baadhi ya kufanana na CGMiner kama interface maandishi-msingi na wazi kuweka nje chaguzi. Wakati unapopita, kunaweza kuwa na programu bora ya uchimbaji wa BTC kwenye soko, na kusababisha matokeo bora zaidi kwa wachimbaji. <unk>Habari hii ilichapishwa awali katika MintDice<unk>