New Bitshares API Full-Node in Kansas City, Missouri, USA.

in bitshares •  7 years ago 

I've just launched a new Bitshares API node located in Kansas City Missouri.

wss://kc-us-dex.xeldal.com/ws

You can add the node from any of the reference wallets found at bitshares.org

Within the wallet, click the connection in the bottom right corner to bring up the list of available nodes. Under the top "Active node" there is blue text on the right that says "Add Node". Click this. Give it a name of your choice, paste the above address, and click confirm. The Node will now be in your list and due to a UI bug will probably say "Down" in red. If you want to connect to this node, hover with your mouse and click "Activate". You should now be connected.

I would be interested in anyone who connects to this node if you could share what kind of latency you are seeing and the general location from where you are connecting. If you're using a VPN I'd expect to see much higher latency and may cause some connection issues.

-xel

my thanks to @ihashfury for providing a detailed walk-through for configuring nginx and letsencrypt
https://steemit.com/bitshares/@ihashfury/distributed-access-to-the-bitshares-decentralised-exchange

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Thank you!!! Been asking around for full node requirements as bitshares has been so unreliable lately and I'm losing my mind.

I'm getting 495ms "Medium Latency" from New England USA.

How much ram is the node?

Thanks for the feedback. : )
The Kansas City node is 128GB

Been using it all day, latency dropped down to 312ms, not a single not connected to blockchain message which I get almost daily these days. Still considering setting up a node myself as I use bitshares a lot and been losing my mind.

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Here from Campos dos Goytacazes - RJ - Brazil I'm getting 938 ms, the best one so far. Thank you very much.

Sitting at 474 MS. Thanks @xeldal

Well done mate. Thanks for doing that. Already hearing many positive replies. :)

I connected fine. Current latency is 427 ms. Thanks for providing this service.

At the very beginning I would like to offer my Heartful good luck for your mission of opening up the new bitshare API node. You are so powerful and genius person who has the potential to make things positive and successive, so thank you so much for your great effort which will be become very beneficial for the people to the community. Wish you a very beautiful time ahead friend happy steeming.

There are 2 more nodes in USA,

wss://seattle.bitshares.apasia.tech/ws
wss://us-ny.bitshares.apasia.tech/ws

May I be the ignorant one and ask what you actually did there?

I'm not a expert in this field and it seems I'm lucking some understanding of some basic knowledge.

Would you mind explaining it to me?

I understood it concerns bitshare wallet users. What will be their benefit when they connect to your nod?

Sure. An API node is just a server that connects to the Bitshares blockchain and provides all the data necessary to run a wallet. The users wallet, either through a website or by an app on their computer/phone sends out requests for information like market data, account balances, history etc. as well as requests for placing orders and sending funds. The API node handles these request so the user doesn't need to run a full server themselves.

Bitshares users benefit by having another location to connect to. For a while the only servers you could find were in Germany or China. These few servers were getting over worked and because they were halfway around the world for US users the latency was often so high that the wallet became hard to use or unstable.

Having more nodes means spreading the workload around as well as offering closer connections for lower latency which should provide a more consistent and enjoyable experience.

Okay. Thank you for explaining this to me.
Didn't know in Germany, which is my home country, some people where running those servers.

I guess it is similar to all the nods that keep the Steem blockchain running.

May I also ask what is the benefit of running those nod servers, are you getting a share from the transaction fees for example?

It seems you are doing quit some work there, you surely shouldn't do it all for free!

And can a nod provider abuse the server to get some users information?

It is time to catch some sleep over here in Japan.
I'm looking forward to your reply and I hope you enjoy the rest of the day!!

There's no direct financial benefit for running an API node. No cut of transaction or anything like that. I would say there is an indirect benefit though. By supporting the network and providing a better experience for users it can translate to a higher BTS price which benefits all Bitshares holders. As well, it is a positive mark for someones reputation in the community if they are doing other things like worker proposals or campaigning for a witness position. It's important for those people to be active in their support for the network and to do things that others may be unwilling or unable to do.

As for what a bad malicious node provider could do to harm a user or the network? The worst they can do is either feed the user bad data causing them to make decisions they wouldn't normally have made or blocking the users transactions from entering the blockchain. Both of these attacks from a node provider would be easy to spot and would result fairly quickly in destroying the node providers reputation in the community. If they held any positions of importance they would likely be voted out. It is also easy to switch to another node if you suspect something is wrong.

It's important to note that it's NOT possible for the API node provider to access any users private keys, funds, or other personal information(other than ip address). A wallet provider could though, by injecting malicious java script so if you use a web-wallet you are trusting them not to do that, but a wallet provider and an API node are different things. Best practice is to use the downloadable wallet and hopefully soon we will have transaction signing apps or offline signing separate from the wallet, so even if the wallet provider was bad they couldn't get your keys. @jesta has developed something like this already for STEEM: https://steemit.com/vessel/@jesta/vessel-0-2-0-interact-with-steem-securely-from-any-website

Hello @xeldal

Thank you for taking the time to explain all this to me in detail.

I have just joined the crypto world about 2 months ago but I have already learned a lot. It is good to see that there are some people who aren't just aiming for the fast benefits but trying to build up something others can benefit from as well.

Of course it is just legit to go for your own benefits as well, hopefully running this nod will help you growing your reputation!

Myself I haven't been looking into Bitshares too much yet, still trying to figure out which coins might be useful for myself or which might be even worth some investment for the future. It's an exiting world I entered, I'm glad there are guys like you who can give me some head ups.

The link about the vessel wallet is also very interesting, I still need to re-read it to fully understand everything.

Thank you again, for taking some time to answering my questions!!

terima kasih saya kepada @tjunaidi karena telah memberikan detail walk-through untuk mengonfigurasi nginx dan memungkinkan mengenkripsi.

very informative post :) thank you so much for sharing @xeldal

Nice Extensions @xeldal !!

I just need advice and support for my work and my friends my friend. Thanks for the support.

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Hey @xeldal, apologies for the unrelated comment, but I was not sure how else to contact you. I'll keep it short; I am running a project called the Steemit Success Initiative, which is a project that aims to grow and develop Steemit as a platform. We are aiming to create a "Bloggers' Hub", which will be a physical space in which we teach people how to be succesful on Steemit, by bringing them through our Steemit Success program. I will also be creating guides, a curation trail, and more, as well as focusing on cryptocurrencies for the next few weeks (while I develop a business plan for the SSI in the background).

I would really appreciate any support that you have regarding this project, we are currently looking for Steem Power delegations, upvotes, and general advice on how to develop and fund the project! Apologies again for the unrelated comment.

Great extension @xeldal
Have a look on my post on you if u dont mind then

xeldal

this is a very useful knowledge for steemit users.
thank you for sharing. wish you continued success.

Read it sincerely and carefully.
it carries many impotent thinks.

Happy Steeming.

I hope @xeldal you are active again in steemit as creator of content, because I admit the article you make is very interesting and useful for others.

It's my first time doing a power up, please support me, I really need your support because I'm improving the family economy in Steemit, I beg you

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Nice post.
Thank you @xeldal.
I really expect uvote from you to pay off my debt

Why is this node always listed as being down? It's my favorite because I'm close and you provide a 4hr an 15min time scale on the charts....

It's a UI bug. If you click activate, even though it says down, it will connect.

Thank You for the explanation, much appreciated!