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CH10: update Full Node section

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- Drop everything that says a full node needs a complete copy of the
  blockchain
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David A. Harding 2023-05-11 09:50:39 -10:00
parent cf750ecf4d
commit 7d2ba06209
1 changed files with 15 additions and 26 deletions
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@ -435,44 +435,33 @@ startref="BNextend08")))((("", startref="BNodiscover08")))
=== Full Nodes === Full Nodes
((("Bitcoin network", "full nodes")))((("full-node Full nodes are nodes that verify every transaction in every block on the
clients")))((("blockchain (the)", "full blockchain nodes")))Full nodes valid block chain with the most proof of work.
are nodes that maintain a full blockchain with all transactions. More
accurately, they probably should be called "full blockchain nodes." In
the early years of Bitcoin, all nodes were full nodes and currently the
Bitcoin Core client is a full blockchain node. In the past two years,
however, new forms of Bitcoin clients have been introduced that do not
maintain a full blockchain but run as lightweight clients. We'll examine
these in more detail in the next section.
((("blocks", "genesis block")))((("genesis block")))((("blockchain ((("blocks", "genesis block")))((("genesis block")))((("blockchain
(the)", "genesis block")))Full blockchain nodes maintain a complete and (the)", "genesis block")))Full nodes
up-to-date copy of the Bitcoin blockchain with all the transactions, independently process every block, starting with the very first
which they independently build and verify, starting with the very first
block (genesis block) and building up to the latest known block in the block (genesis block) and building up to the latest known block in the
network. A full blockchain node can independently and authoritatively network. A full node can independently and authoritatively
verify any transaction without recourse or reliance on any other node or verify any transaction without recourse or reliance on any other node or
source of information. The full blockchain node relies on the network to source of information. The full node relies on the network to
receive updates about new blocks of transactions, which it then verifies receive updates about new blocks of transactions, which it then verifies
and incorporates into its local copy of the blockchain. and incorporates into its local view of which scripts control which
Bitcoins, called the set of _unspent transaction outputs_ (UTXOs).
((("Bitcoin nodes", "full nodes")))Running a full blockchain node gives ((("Bitcoin nodes", "full nodes")))Running a full node gives
you the pure Bitcoin experience: independent verification of all you the pure Bitcoin experience: independent verification of all
transactions without the need to rely on, or trust, any other systems. transactions without the need to rely on, or trust, any other systems.
It's easy to tell if you're running a full node because it requires more
than one hundred gigabytes of persistent storage (disk space) to store
the full blockchain. If you need a lot of disk and it takes two to three
days to sync to the network, you are running a full node. That is the
price of complete independence and freedom from central authority.
((("Satoshi client")))There are a few alternative implementations of ((("Satoshi client")))There are a few alternative implementations of
full blockchain Bitcoin clients, built using different programming full nodes, built using different programming
languages and software architectures. However, the most common languages and software architectures, or which made different design
implementation is the reference client Bitcoin Core, also known as the decisions. However, the most common
Satoshi client. More than 75% of the nodes on the Bitcoin network run implementation is Bitcoin Core.
More than 95% of full nodes on the Bitcoin network run
various versions of Bitcoin Core. It is identified as "Satoshi" in the various versions of Bitcoin Core. It is identified as "Satoshi" in the
sub-version string sent in the +version+ message and shown by the sub-version string sent in the +version+ message and shown by the
command +getpeerinfo+ as we saw earlier; for example, +/Satoshi:0.8.6/+. command +getpeerinfo+ as we saw earlier; for example, +/Satoshi:24.0.1/+.
=== Exchanging "Inventory" === Exchanging "Inventory"