Mining
Yesterday we now have revealed our First Palms-On Expertise with the Jasminer X4 1U Ethash-Etchash ASIC Miner and immediately we’re persevering with with some helpful details about the system for anybody that may personal it already or plans to get a Jasminer X4 to play with. As we’ve already talked about this ASIC miner for Ethash and ETChash is sort of straightforward to work with each by way of {hardware} and by way of software program because it just about modular by way of {hardware} and with open root SSH entry to the software program data on the system. So, immediately it is going to be extra in regards to the software program and what you are able to do to be able to tweak or mess around with the miner to optimize it extra, or perhaps overcome some missing characteristic and so forth.
The Jasminer X4 1U Ethash-Etchash ASIC miner comes with two choices for configuring and working the miner – a web-based interface and a software program software for Home windows solely. Each characteristic fairly primary settings solely – mining pool settings (as much as 3), what algorithm/coin to mine (ETH/ETC) in addition to the working frequency of the miner (200 or 225 MHz). The remainder is dealt with robotically or set to a predefined worth, thus sort of limiting what’s consumer accessible and making you consider some workarounds if you happen to want one thing particular. We really had a couple of to work with and have discovered an answer, although it could have been nicer if there was a bit extra consumer management obtainable… a complicated settings web page within the internet interface perhaps. Oh, wait, there really is one, however it’s hidden and never totally functioning (superior.html) within the newest firmware.
Within the superior management web page in addition to the 200 and 225 MHz working frequency there may be additionally an choice to allow 250 MHz as properly, then there may be additionally an possibility for fan management obtainable (Auto and Handbook modes) and there may be additionally an “Operation Mode” that may be both Excessive-efficiency, Steadiness or Excessive-performance (unsure what these really do). However even if you happen to work round these settings making an attempt to set them doesn’t work apparently as there are different measures set to sort of restrict your entry or the options won’t be correctly applied in any respect… unsure which one it’s. We’ll get again to those in a second with some extra particulars.
The sl_miner management software program that’s solely obtainable for Home windows working methods has just about the identical settings for the miner, plus a straightforward choice to scan an IP vary to see what’s the IP deal with of your miner generated by the DHCP server, so that you could entry its internet interface. This software program makes it straightforward to configure and monitor your miner from a single window and what it does higher than the Net-based management panel is making it simpler to manage a number of Jasminer X4 miners that you simply may need. With the sl_miner software program you don’t must open completely different web-based management interfaces for every of the miners when you have a couple of that’s.
Now, take into consideration that after you boot up the Jasminer X4 miner it might appear to be idle and never working for some time or in any respect. You will have to have some endurance because the system wants about 20 minutes of time to be able to generate the DAG file earlier than it could actually really begin mining, so be straightforward on the reboots or config modifications that can require you to restart the miner. The excellent news is that altering pool settings and working frequency of the miner doesn’t want a reboot of the system, altering the algorithm you utilize nevertheless does.
If you’re feeling adventurous you may login onto the Jasminer X4 management board over SSH with putty or one other such shopper and discover the system on the software program aspect. The default username is root and the password can also be root and you might be prepared to start out wanting round. The miner software program is named Jasminer and is model 2.05 within the newest firmware and to make issues a bit simpler for you we now have proven the listing of instructions supported by the miner. A lot of the issues right here will not be a lot of an curiosity, aside from the choice to set the fan velocity and to alter the working frequency of the system. Discover that on the screenshot it says JasMiner-Brick 2.05 and there’s a cause for that though we’re utilizing the Jasminer X4 1U right here, however extra on that in a second.
Do notice that the jasminer miner software program is executed and operating as quickly because the system begins and there’s a monitoring script that can restart it if it senses that the miner has stopped for some cause. So, simply issuing a “killall -9 jasminer || true” command will cease the miner for a second after which it is going to begin again once more, you have to additionally cease the monitoring script to be able to manually run jasminer with your individual settings.
By default, the miner runs with a config file that’s being created and adjusted from the net interface or the sl_miner software program, the precise command line that’s used to start out it’s as follows:
jasminer --version-file /and so forth/machine --config /media/configs/jasminer.json --syslog
Contained in the config file you solely have the pool data, the algorithm and working frequency together with some API information. There isn’t any choice to manually management the fan velocity from the config file, you have to run the miner with the “--fan_speed
So, handbook fan management may be robust challenge to cope with the Jasminer X4. The automated mode lively by default apparently follows the temperature and adjusts, however you would possibly simply wish to have the followers operating at one hundred pc on a regular basis as an example. Otherwise you would possibly wish to modify the miner with extra highly effective followers and run them at decrease RPM to make them silent whereas nonetheless offering greater than sufficient cooling for the ASIC chips. There are some potential workarounds right here that may aid you do issues like that, however they are going to probably not be everlasting and can should be reapplied after a reboot as a result of approach the system operates.
One factor you can completely do to be able to have the followers operating at most RPM is to go away solely the facility pins of the cooling followers linked to the miner’s management board. That nevertheless will current you with one other challenge – no reporting of FAN RPM to the software program and this may set off a security measure that can forestall the system from mining. It’s going to nonetheless run and calculate a DAG, however as quickly because it wants to start out hashing it is going to simply not begin as it is going to assume that the followers will not be working and it’ll overheat if it begins mining. You’ll find yourself in the identical scenario in case you are interested by some different cooling strategies as properly resembling immersion cooling the place you won’t want to attach any cooling followers in any respect. Getting followers reported at zero RPM will set off a failsafe mechanism that can forestall the miner from beginning to hash… there may be a straightforward answer for that as properly.
We’ve got remembered that there’s a smaller Jasminer X4 Brick miner that has a decrease hashrate and is totally passively cooled, so why not flash the firmware of that miner (sure, it is going to work on the X4 1U as properly) and do away with the annoying fan security measure. Keep in mind that this miner doesn’t have followers, so no an alarm firing when followers are reporting zero RPM… they do it anyway as no followers are linked there within the first place. The miner will nevertheless run any followers linked to the management board simply wonderful, it is going to simply not forestall you from mining as there is no such thing as a fan failure detecting mechanism obtainable on this model of the miner.
There’s a small catch nevertheless, by default the web-based interface for firmware upgrades will refuse you to flash the firmware for the X4 Brick, the one factor you have to do is simply rename the unique file you obtain from the Jasminer’s web site from JasMiner-X4-Brick-20220726-183045.tar.gz to JasMiner-X4-20220726-183045.tar.gz after which it is possible for you to to flash the X4 Brick firmware onto your X4 1U simply wonderful. Efficiency and have clever we see no distinction with the X4 Brick firmware in comparison with the unique X4 1U one aside from the shortage of fan failure mechanism in place and the truth that only a single working temperature is being reported by the system and never a spread.
To this point, so good. However what about operating the miner at the next frequency to be able to improve the mining efficiency? By default, you have got solely 200 MHz and 225 MHz obtainable, however you too can make the miner run completely at 250 MHz with a little bit taking part in round. You simply have to SSH to the miner, go to the /media/configs folder and edit the jasminer.json configuration file altering the freq setting to 250. Be aware that it is a semi-permanent setting change, which means that it’ll stay in place after rebooting the miner, however will probably be overwritten as quickly as you alter the mining pool as an example. You’ll merely have to redo the change once more to be able to have the miner boot at 250 MHz working frequency.
It appears that evidently this setting is perhaps eliminated as an obtainable possibility because of the truth that it may be an issue for lots of even all the Jasminer X4 to function correctly at that setting with their default setup. In our case the system does produce approach too many errors and in consequence solely about 50 MH/s hashrate is being reported as an alternative of getting greater than 10 instances larger efficiency. You might be welcome to try to report if it really works for you any higher or not and if it does what hashrate are you getting. It is perhaps an issue of correct cooling, or the 300W energy provide not being sufficient or just because the chips will not be Comfortable with the upper frequency.
Anyway, under you will discover a fast listing of the three working frequencies of the miner with the facility utilization measured on the wall and a hashrate that’s anticipated at that setting. Do notice that the facility utilization reported is with our silent modification to the miner utilized and that lowers the precise energy used as in comparison with the unique cooling setup:
200 MHz – 237W – 450 MH/s+
225 MHz – 265W – 520 MH/s+
250 MHz – 294W – ~50 MH/s
The Jasminer X4 1U does handle to work simply wonderful at 225 MHz producing over 520 MH/s of hashrate steady and drawback free, so that’s the really useful working frequency of the system to be able to maximize efficiency. If the 250 MHz setting works for you issues is perhaps higher, however not all or any would possibly do. If not working correctly on the larger working frequency you may be getting a lot decrease hashrate than anticipated with larger energy utilization because the miner is definitely working, however producing loads of errors and never correctly hashing more often than not.
Few extra issues that we already talked about within the earlier article, however that should be talked about right here as properly for those that do not see each posts. The entire lineup of Jasminer X4 ASIC miners comes outfitted with 5 Gigavbytes of reminiscence, so in addition to the system not usable for Ethereum mining anymore (as a result of latest change from PoW to PoS for that one), you will be unable to mine ETHF or ETHW or every other fork that cut up off Ethereum on the Merge that occurred final month. These have already got handed a DAG measurement that may match contained in the reminiscence (you might mine them with a decrease hashrate for some time), so take into consideration mining youthful Ethash cash with smaller DAG measurement than 5GB or ETChash ones resembling Ethereum Basic.
Additionally, at the moment the Jasminer X4 product lineup doesn’t help dual-mining of ETC/ETC coin with ZIL, one thing that would improve the profitability of the mining {hardware} simply with 30-40%. Sadly, not supported for the second and the identical goes for utilizing the Jasminer X4 on the Nicehash mining platform the place you might additionally intention for larger revenue than simply mining ETC. Nicehash will not be at the moment supported and the miner will not be connecting to any of the swimming pools on the platform in the meanwhile, although a future compatibility replace including help for these two issues can be a pleasant addition.
We do hope that this further data and ideas may be of use and aid you get extra out of your Jasminer X4 1U ASI miner and if you happen to do have some questions be at liberty to ask. We’re going to proceed taking part in with this miner for some time for certain and can report extra about it in a while, hopefully together with excellent news concerning improved or added options. In the meantime subsequent we’re going to goal our consideration to a competitor of Jasminer X4 – the iPollo vary of ASIC miners which have been on our radar for some time now too.
