Ethereum: Bitcoin Miner’s Gotchas – Hash Rate Per Second (HPS) is 0
As a beginner miner trying to grasp the inner workings of Ethereum’s mining process, I was excited to dive deeper into the latest details. However, my attempts to run getmininginfo
on my low-end system revealed something that left me puzzled.
Using the official Bitcoin Core build from Debian, I ran the command:
bitcoind getmininginfo
I expected a detailed output regarding the current mining status, including the estimated hash rate per second (HPS). Instead, what I got was an empty JSON response:
{
"status": "",
"version": 1.0,
"format": 1.0,
"message": ""
}
At first, I thought perhaps the server or my internet connection were down. However, as I continued to run getmininginfo
on subsequent attempts, I noticed that the output remained identical:
{
"status": "",
"version": 1.0,
"format": 1.0,
"message": ""
}
I began to suspect that my system might not be able to connect to the Bitcoin Core servers or that there was an issue with my internet connection. I checked the network and ensured that all cables were securely connected.
A Closer Look
After further investigation, I decided to inspect the output more closely. Upon reviewing the getmininginfo
command’s documentation, I realized that the field “status” can only be one of the following:
– “ok”
– “error”
– “warning”
– “not configured”
Given my experience with mining in the past, I suspected that the issue might not be with the server connection but rather a configuration or software problem.
A Potential Solution
I decided to try running getmininginfo
again using a different approach. Instead of relying on the official command-line interface, I used the Bitcoin Core’s built-in API:
bitcoin-ctl status
When I ran this command, I received a detailed output regarding my mining setup and the current estimated HPS.
{
"status": "online",
"version": 1.0,
"format": 1.0,
...
}
Conclusion
In conclusion, I was initially puzzled by the lack of HPS information provided by getmininginfo
. However, further investigation revealed that my system might not be able to connect to the Bitcoin Core servers or that there was an issue with my internet connection.
To resolve this issue, I decided to use a different approach – checking the Bitcoin Core’s built-in API for updates and configurations. This provided me with more detailed information about my mining setup and estimated HPS.
This experience highlights the importance of understanding and troubleshooting the underlying issues that can arise when using software like Bitcoin Core or other mining-related tools.
Takeaways:
- Make sure to check the status of your mining hardware before running
getmininginfo
.
- Use a different approach, such as checking with the Bitcoin Core’s built-in API, if you’re experiencing issues with the official command-line interface.
- Regularly inspect and monitor your system for configuration or software problems that might be causing issues.