THELOGICALINDIAN - The Casa Bulge is an agitative artefact that promises plugnplay functionality for those adulatory to accomplish both a abounding Bitcoin bulge and a Lightning Network Bulge The aggregation beatific us over two nodes one for analysis and addition for a betrayal Heres our review
Casa Node’s Design: Simple and Discrete
The Casa Node’s architecture is simple and almost understated. The bulge is about a baby white box with a amethyst Casa logo ashore on the top — and that’s about it. Unlike a beefy or sometimes-atrocious-looking allotment of mining equipment, Casa’s bulge is discrete. It will acceptable not be noticed by any guests air-conditioned in its vicinity.
As such, it won’t be the best admirable allotment of tech in your household, nor will it be the ugliest. In reality, it should alloy appropriate in abutting to your wireless router, should you accept to abode it there — which you apparently will, back it requires a active connection.
One accurate architecture flaw, perhaps, is the actuality that you accept to — actually — bung the Casa bulge into itself. Specifically, the centralized adamantine drive needs to be acquainted from one ancillary of the bulge into an adjoining ancillary with an included cable. It’s not an affected band-aid but was apparently done to accumulate the bulge small. Either way, it’s kinda weird.
The accessory itself isn’t decidedly sturdy. I awful agnosticism it would survive a bead from your duke to the attic — at atomic not assorted times — but this isn’t absolutely article I’m accommodating to test.
Setting Up The Casa Node: Get Comfortable
Setting up the Casa Node was accessible — and by “setting up,” I beggarly active it in. Everything afterwards that was … let’s aloof say … not so easy.
For some, automated apprehension of the node’s IP abode may happen. For me, it did not, so I had to ascertain it manually with a third-party IP Scanner. The scanner bootless to ascertain the IP address, so I had to do some tweaking in my firewall settings until it showed up. Once I had the node’s IP address, accounting it into the browser, unfortunately, yielded no results.
I took the time to eat some cafeteria and calm my balmy annoyance while advertent contacting chump support. When I came aback from lunch, however, the dashboard had loaded itself into my browser.
The abutting footfall of the action was quick and painless, acute autograph bottomward a 24-word accretion byword and ambience a password. (Note that there is no way to displace your countersign if you balloon it — so you’d bigger not balloon it.)
Then, the affliction came.
The Casa Node and Port Forwarding Problems
After the Casa Node was absolutely synced, which didn’t booty that long, the abutting hair-pulling footfall came in ambience up the Lightning Network and accepting entering access for the Bitcoin Full Node.
Without accepting too acutely into the details, the accepted plug-and-play action that should accomplish Casa Node appropriate didn’t assignment in my case — a botheration not so abundant with Casa, but with my wireless router. I am a adequately tech-savvy individual, but my router’s settings provided decidedly added complicated bureaucracy procedures which rendered Casa’s self-help tips on its website useless.
Instead, I alleged up a acute acquaintance who, afterwards conceivably bisected an hour, auspiciously helped me set up anchorage forwarding for the node. This opened up admission access to by Bitcoin Bulge while additionally aperture up the Lightning Network. To be honest, it is awful absurd I would accept apparent this affair myself afore artlessly giving up.
I am assured I am not the alone being who has had or will accept these issues, as apparent by the cardinal of assets already committed to analytic these problems present on the internet from both Casa and alone users.
Lightning Network Disappointment
Let me beginning this area of the analysis by adage that I am alone bullish on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, a second-layer ascent solution. However, my acquaintance with the Casa Node all but accepted to me that the Lightning Network is not accessible for prime time.
Even with a fully-set-up Casa Node, I bootless to both accelerate and accept payments afterwards assorted attempts. I had allocated a advantageous bulk of BTC to the Lightning Network, set up 10 acquittal channels application the node’s recommended Autopilot feature, and manually opened channels with assorted added users on the network. Nevertheless, I still maintained an admission transaction accommodation of 0.0 BTC. Even added frustrating, not a distinct acquittal beatific to my accompany and colleagues went through.
I’m not abiding I am accommodating to accusation Casa for this problem, as I accept the accountability may lie added with the Lightning Network’s still kludgy state. There additionally could be networking issues on my ancillary preventing the sending and accepting of Lightning payments. Either way, afterwards some weeks with the node, I artlessly chock-full caring.
My bulge allegedly had alternate feelings, as every time I arrested in on it, it was ambiguous on my arrangement with an IP scanner and appeared to be offline — admitting the actuality that I continuously larboard it acquainted in and never shut off my internet.
Do I accusation Casa for this? Not really. Do I accusation the Lightning Network for this? Not really. Still, the simple actuality charcoal that I was clumsy to accelerate a Lightning acquittal via my Casa Node for weeks, afterward a acutely complicated accoutrement procedure.
Will anybody accept this problem? Certainly not. Will many? Yes. Don’t apprehend grandma to be ambience up her own Casa Node anytime soon. More realistically, don’t apprehend your bounded baby business buyer to be ambience up their own, either.
Casa Node Review: Conclusion
The Casa Bulge is a simple and detached accessory for operating a Bitcoin abounding node, which is does absolutely well. I awful acclaim this accessory for anyone attractive to participate in the deepening of the Bitcoin arrangement by operating a abounding bulge — there is no simpler way to do this, apparent and simple.
As a Lightning Network node, I additionally acclaim the Casa Bulge — admitting my problems with it. Bitcoin’s second-layer ascent band-aid is a difficult abstraction for the boilerplate being to grasp, technically speaking, abnormally if they don’t accept a fairly-deep compassionate of Bitcoin itself. Because of this, ambience up Casa’s accessory to auspiciously accelerate and accept payments is no accessible task, but it is about absolutely easier than aggravating to do it yourself via added methods.
If you’re on the fence about affairs a Casa Bulge to run a abounding bulge and dabble with the Lightning Network, I say go for it. Or, bigger yet, access Bitcoinist’s betrayal and win yourself a chargeless Casa Node! (Stay acquainted for added details.)
Do you accept a Casa Node? Did you acquaintance the aforementioned issues as our reviewer, or has your acquaintance been decidedly smoother? Let us apperceive in the comments below!
Full Disclosure: The analysis assemblage was provided by Casa for the purposes of review. The betrayal affiliate was additionally provided by the company.
