Satoshi Station

"The computer can be used as a tool to liberate and protect people, rather than to control them."

Hal Finney— March 14, 2003

Lightning Node Maintenance

Regular maintenance of your Lightning node is crucial for ensuring optimal performance, security, and reliability. This section covers key maintenance tasks, performance monitoring, update management, and troubleshooting techniques.

Routine Maintenance Schedule

A consistent maintenance schedule helps prevent issues before they arise and ensures your node remains in optimal condition. Here are recommended maintenance tasks for different time intervals.

Daily Tasks

  • Check Node Status: Verify your node is online and synced with both Bitcoin and Lightning networks.
  • Monitor Channels: Review channel status to identify any inactive or problematic channels.
  • Review Logs: Scan logs for errors, warnings, or unusual activity.
  • Verify Connectivity: Ensure consistent connection to peers.
  • Monitor Disk Space: Confirm sufficient space remains for blockchain and channel data.

Weekly Tasks

  • Update Software: Apply necessary patches and updates to node software.
  • Backup Verification: Verify that channel backups are current and recoverable.
  • Performance Review: Analyze routing performance and adjust fee policies if needed.
  • Channel Assessment: Evaluate channel quality and consider closing underperforming channels.
  • Security Check: Review server access logs for unauthorized access attempts.

Monthly Tasks

  • Channel Strategy Review: Analyze overall channel strategy and update as needed.
  • Full Log Audit: Conduct comprehensive review of all logs.
  • Backup Rotation: Create fresh SCB (Static Channel Backup) files.
  • Fee Policy Assessment: Evaluate and adjust fee structure based on network trends.
  • System Updates: Apply OS and security updates to your node's operating system.

Quarterly Tasks

  • Hardware Check: Inspect physical hardware for issues (if applicable).
  • Database Pruning: Clean up database to prevent bloat (implementation-specific).
  • Major Version Updates: Plan and execute major software version upgrades.
  • Network Strategy Review: Reassess your node's position in the network topology.
  • Disaster Recovery Test: Simulate recovery scenarios to verify procedures.

Performance Monitoring

Effective performance monitoring helps identify issues early and optimize your node's operation. Here are the key metrics to watch and tools to use.

Key Performance Metrics

Channel Health Metrics
  • Balance Distribution: Monitor inbound vs. outbound capacity ratios.
  • Channel Uptime: Track percentage of time channels are active.
  • Peer Reliability: Measure how often peers disconnect.
  • Channel Age: Note which channels have remained stable over time.
System Resource Metrics
  • CPU/Memory Usage: Track resource consumption to avoid bottlenecks.
  • Disk Space: Monitor both free space and I/O performance.
  • Network Bandwidth: Measure inbound and outbound traffic.
  • DB Performance: Check database query times and sizes.
Payment & Routing Metrics
  • Forward Success Rate: Percentage of successful forwards vs. attempts.
  • Payment Volume: Amount of satoshis forwarded over time.
  • Revenue: Track routing fees earned per channel and overall.
  • HTLC Failures: Analyze why forwards fail and categorize failures.
Monitoring Tools
  • Built-in Commands: lncli getnodeinfo, lncli listchannels, lncli fwdinghistory
  • GUI Interfaces: RTL (Ride The Lightning), ThunderHub, LND Connect
  • Advanced Monitoring: Prometheus + Grafana dashboards
  • Alerting: Telegram bots, email alerts, custom scripts
  • Logging: Storing historical metrics to identify trends over time

Updates & Upgrades

Keeping your software up-to-date is essential for security and functionality. However, upgrading Lightning nodes requires careful planning due to the financial risk involved.

Update Planning

  • Update Announcements: Follow official channels (GitHub, Slack, Twitter) for update releases.
  • Research Changes: Review release notes, understand breaking changes.
  • Community Feedback: Wait for community testing/feedback on major upgrades.
  • Timing: Schedule updates during low-activity periods.
  • Backup: Always create fresh backups before updating.

Safe Update Process

  1. Create a full backup (SCB files, channel.db, wallet)
  2. Temporarily disable automatic channel opening
  3. Follow implementation-specific upgrade instructions
  4. Verify node functionality after update
  5. Monitor closely for 24-48 hours after upgrade
  6. Update monitoring/tooling for new features
Rollback Plan

Always have a rollback strategy ready. Know exactly how to revert to the previous version if problems arise. This includes keeping previous version binaries/source available and understanding the database compatibility issues between versions.

Example LND Rollback Process:

  1. Stop LND: systemctl stop lnd
  2. Replace binary with previous version
  3. If DB schema changed, restore from backup
  4. Restart: systemctl start lnd
  5. Verify channels and connectivity

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Even with careful maintenance, issues can arise. Here are solutions to common problems you might encounter.

Connection Problems

  • Unable to connect to peers:
    • Check firewall rules (ports 9735-9737 typically need to be open)
    • Verify router port forwarding if behind NAT
    • Ensure correct node address in connection string
    • Check if peer is online and accepting connections
  • Frequent disconnections:
    • Check for network stability issues
    • Increase connection timeout parameters
    • Consider upgrading bandwidth if saturated

Channel Issues

  • Stuck pending channels:
    • For opening: Check if funding transaction confirmed (may need fee bumping)
    • For closing: Wait for timelock expiry or check for broadcasting issues
  • Inactive channels:
    • Try reconnecting to peer manually
    • Check if peer's node is online
    • Verify network connectivity
  • Force closing issues:
    • Ensure Bitcoin node is synced
    • May need to bump fee on force-close transaction
    • Wait for timelock to expire before funds are available

Software and Performance Issues

  • High CPU/memory usage:
    • Check for zombie HTLCs or pathological routing patterns
    • Consider pruning database if implementation supports it
    • Upgrade hardware if consistently resource-constrained
  • Slow response times:
    • Check disk I/O performance (SSD recommended)
    • Monitor database size and performance
    • Consider reducing logging verbosity
  • Update failures:
    • Check for dependency issues
    • Review logs for specific error messages
    • Follow implementation-specific troubleshooting guides
    • Restore from backup if needed

Node Operations