Plotting coming to a standstill

Chia Plotting
1

Problem: Plotting comes to a standstill on my #1 nvme. Bucket uniform sort stops. I have been running a bash script from Build a Budget Chia Cryptocurrency Plotting Rig - Chia Decentral This same script was very successful until adding the -c pool address argument. That has been the only change. I was getting around 16 plots per day when previously running this script. Now I get about 3 in 24 hrs before plotting comes to a halt.

Ubuntu Rig:
Processor:I-9 10900k 3.7 ghz
Mobo: Asus Tuff Gaming Plus Z590
NVME 1: 2 TB Samsung Evo 970 Plus
NVME 2: Sandisk 1 TB (drives are not Raided together)
64 gigs of RAM

2

I don;t know if it is the same problem, but I had my plotter stop regularly in phase 3.

After reformatting the drive (slow format, overwrite data) and then created a partition with f2fs file system, never had a problem again.
Makes no sense, but Iā€™m happy :slight_smile:

3

Could it be that the temp drive is not getting trimmed regularly?

4

I could also be that the new plotter requires both -f and -c to be specified, in that script I don;t see -f specified (farmer public key).

In any case, better switch to madmax plotter :wink:

5

I dont have the 128 gigs of ram needed :stuck_out_tongue:

6

Not sure what you mean by trimmed regularly, I started this script again today with freshly erased and reformatted temp drives with the same result

7

interesting, I guess Ill give it a go

8

You can just use 2x nvme, Iā€™m using that as well.

the fastest as temp2 (-2) the other one as temp1 (-t)

9

Thx for your replies, Iā€™m not entirely sure what youre suggesting. Iā€™m plotting with both nvmes, what do you mean by 2x nvme?

10

Think of Trim as the SSD equivalent of Defraging a HDD. Trim is also ā€œgarbage collectionā€.

11

Not a trim problem then if reformatted. Search trim on forum anyway, unless NVME drives donā€™t require it like SSDs. Someone else will know.

12

I started with a fresh reformat and disk erase, is there really more I can do?

13

In the Chia app (I GUI plot), there is an option for:

image
image775Ɨ352 12.9 KB

You in theory can have a super fast NVME as temp-1 and a not so fast NVME (ore a really fast HDD like a hybrid or fusion drive) as drive -2.

14

You donā€™t need it for mad max. I use it with only a single 480GB SSD.

15

how much ram are you running?

16

Me? Just 8GB. Iā€™m plotting slowly on old gear. Without mad max, about 8.5 hours per plot, with mad max, about 3.5 hours.

17

To be clear, Iā€™m using SSD for temp not ramdisk. Madmax doesnā€™t ā€˜requireā€™ ramdisk for temp files if you donā€™t have enough RAM is what I should have said.

18

This method of plotting seems a little outdated now. I think a lot of people have switched to madmax.

It isnā€™t a requirement. If you donā€™t have a ramdisk just donā€™t set the -2 directory, by default itā€™ll just do all the plotting on your -t nvme drive. Or, you can set -2 to your other nvme drive. Your choice.

Did you add the -c to all the plot create commands?

The modified script should look something like this:

#!/bin/bash
screen -d -m -S chia1 bash -c 'cd /home/user/chia-blockchain && . ./activate && sleep 0h && chia plots create -k 32 -b 4000 -e -r 4 -u 128 -n 16 -c POOL_CONTRACT_ADRESS -t /mnt/ssd/temp1 -2 /mnt/ssd -d /mnt/hdd |tee /home/user/chialogs/chia1_1_.log'
screen -d -m -S chia2 bash -c 'cd /home/user/chia-blockchain && . ./activate && sleep 1h && chia plots create -k 32 -b 4000 -e -r 4 -u 128 -n 16 -c POOL_CONTRACT_ADRESS -t /mnt/ssd/temp2 -2 /mnt/ssd -d /mnt/hdd |tee /home/user/chialogs/chia2_1_.log'
screen -d -m -S chia3 bash -c 'cd /home/user/chia-blockchain && . ./activate && sleep 2h && chia plots create -k 32 -b 4000 -e -r 4 -u 128 -n 16 -c POOL_CONTRACT_ADRESS -t /mnt/ssd/temp3 -2 /mnt/ssd -d /mnt/hdd |tee /home/user/chialogs/chia3_1_.log'
screen -d -m -S chia4 bash -c 'cd /home/user/chia-blockchain && . ./activate && sleep 3h && chia plots create -k 32 -b 4000 -e -r 4 -u 128 -n 16 -c POOL_CONTRACT_ADRESS -t /mnt/ssd/temp4 -2 /mnt/ssd -d /mnt/hdd |tee /home/user/chialogs/chia4_1_.log'
screen -d -m -S chia5 bash -c 'cd /home/user/chia-blockchain && . ./activate && sleep 4h && chia plots create -k 32 -b 4000 -e -r 4 -u 128 -n 16 -c POOL_CONTRACT_ADRESS -t /mnt/ssd/temp5 -2 /mnt/ssd -d /mnt/hdd |tee /home/user/chialogs/chia5_1_.log'
screen -d -m -S chia6 bash -c 'cd /home/user/chia-blockchain && . ./activate && sleep 5h && chia plots create -k 32 -b 4000 -e -r 4 -u 128 -n 16 -c POOL_CONTRACT_ADRESS -t /mnt/ssd/temp6 -2 /mnt/ssd -d /mnt/hdd |tee /home/user/chialogs/chia6_2_.log'
screen -d -m -S chia7 bash -c 'cd /home/user/chia-blockchain && . ./activate && sleep 6h && chia plots create -k 32 -b 4000 -e -r 4 -u 128 -n 16 -c POOL_CONTRACT_ADRESS -t /mnt/ssd/temp7 -2 /mnt/ssd -d /mnt/hdd |tee /home/user/chialogs/chia7_2_.log'
screen -d -m -S chia8 bash -c 'cd /home/user/chia-blockchain && . ./activate && sleep 7h && chia plots create -k 32 -b 4000 -e -r 4 -u 128 -n 16 -c POOL_CONTRACT_ADRESS -t /mnt/ssd/temp8 -2 /mnt/ssd -d /mnt/hdd |tee /home/user/chialogs/chia8_2_.log'

Replacing POOL_CONTRACT_ADDRESS with your pool details from chia plotnft show (pool contract address for plotting), or however you find it in the gui.

If you only changed the first line, it would explain why your plotting rate dropped to fraction of what it was.

I should also point out, one of the benefits of plotting with madmax is that you donā€™t have to wait 6-12 hours to see if your script is working. :wink:

19

Thank you for your detailed response! Yes I added the -c argument to each command, I am looking into the madmax plotter right now and will reference your post while I set it up. Thanks!

1 Like
20

Ahh, I was sure this was the problem lol.

No problem, sorry I wasnā€™t of more help. Good luck.