version: 2.4
FinMiner is a program product developed by the Finom company to create structural cryptocurrency units on the framework of the Ethash, CryptoNight and RandomHash algorithms. The present version of FinMiner was made to work with every cryptocurrency based on these algorithms, including Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Monero, PascalCoin and many others. This version of FinMiner runs on Windows or Linux with AMD or Nvidia graphics cards (for Ethash and CryptoNight algorithms). The RandomHash algorithm is supported only on CPU.
In order to begin mining Ethereum with FinMiner, it's enough to simply input your wallet in the configuration file.
Testing on FinMiner demonstrated high performance working with Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Monero, PascalCoin and other currencies. As a result of the research carried out, it was found that FinMiner performs on par with, and sometimes better than, competing program products. Independently of this, FinMiner stands out with its high stability and simple setup.
Payment for the use of FinMiner takes the form of a commission from mining. The commission is 1% of total mining time: every hour at random FinMiner switches the mining to its wallets for 36 seconds.
At launch FinMiner reads the config.ini setup file from the program's current directory. In order to assign a specific name to the config file, it should be written as the first argument in the command line. For example:
finminer.exe config_etc.ini
When launching with the -d command line option (e.g. finminer.exe -d) the miner displays a list of the devices it detects, including their PCI addresses and their amount of memory. In order to use this function on Windows the program must be launched from the command prompt (cmd).
FinMiner does not require any pools to be specified in the config file. If a pool (or list of pools) is not specified, FinMiner will automatically use the pools on nanopool.org corresponding to the chosen cryptocurrency.
When FinMiner starts up it displays the main work information in the console log, including the program’s current version, the name of the rig, the number and type of graphics cards installed and the program’s current settings.
The event log function on FinMiner is automatically activated each time the program starts up. The log files that are created contain all the information displayed on the console while the miner is running. By default, the log files are saved in the logs folder of the program's current directory. Deactivating event logging, as well as assigning a random catalogue for recording log files, can be done by using the corresponding configuration parameters (see the examples in the Parameters section of this file).
FinMiner supports the network API program EthMan for rig monitoring. By default it opens port 3333 in “read-only” mode without the ability to restart the miner or rig through the network. In the program's config file, the port can be configured and the API function can be deactived with the mport function. The config file also lets you set a password for monitoring with the ethmanPassword option.
With default settings, FinMiner will automatically restart if it encounters critical errors in the GPU or lag. (These errors usually arise due to hardware problems or overclocking the GPU.) The automatic restart function can be deactivated using the watchdog parameter.
Likewise, the minHashrate (minimum hashrate) parameter allows the user to set the value of the minimum hashrate which, if exceeded, will cause the miner to restart. This function uses the average hashrate over the last ten minutes, as displayed in blue in the console log. If the average hashrate over 10 minutes is lower than the set value, the miner will restart. With default settings the minimum hashrate is not set.
Another function on FinMiner that improves the miner's automatic functioning is handled by the restarts parameter.It sets the number of times the miner restarts before rebooting the worker (rig). By default the miner will only restart itself.
More detailed information on using these functions can be found in the Parameters section of this file.
The settings for FinMiner can be found in the configuration file with the *.ini extension (config.ini by default) in the .ini format as parameter=value logic pairs. This file permits the presence of empty lines and comments. Comment lines should begin with a ";" (semicolon). The parameters and values are not case-sensitive, which means it makes no difference to the program whether you type ETH, eth or Eth, or whether you type wallet or Wallet. If an incorrect value is set for a parameter, the default value will be used instead (note that this rule does not apply to the wallet parameter).
What follows is a list of the parameters that can be set on FinMiner.
Mandatory parameter. This is the user's wallet, where funds will be deposited.
Optional parameter, can be defined for wallets created on an exchange where the user has a personal payment number in addition to their wallet.
Optional parameter, which can be defined as “Ethash”, “CryptoNightv8”, “CryptoNightv7”, “CryptoNight” or “RandomHash”. If this parameter is not specified, FinMiner will determine the algorithm on the basis of the cryptocurrency used or the format of the wallet specified.
Optional parameter. This chooses the default coin for the pool. The default pool is nanopool.org. The coin parameter accepts one of three values: ETH (or Ethereum), ETC (or Ethereum Classic) and XMR (or Monero). When a coin is specified and equals one of the values mentioned above, FinMiner automatically determines the pool necessary for it to function if none have been provided in a separate parameter. If a coin is specified but FinMiner cannot recognize it, then the name of the coin is used only for logging. If a coin is not specified, FinMiner will use the default coin for the corresponding algorithm (Ethereum or Monero). Moreover, if nanopool.org is specified in the configuration file for Ethereum, Ethereum Classic or Monero, FinMiner will determine the coin from the pool's settings.
Important: when using FinMiner to mine Ethereum Classic on the default pool, it is necessary to define the coin (coin=ETC). In that case the pools will be determined automatically.
If the pools are clearly defined with the aid of the pool1, pool2, ..., parameters, then FinMiner will function according to the tasks it receives from those pools.
Optional parameter. This is the name of the rig (computer/worker). It will be displayed in the pool's statistics. If this parameter is not set, the program will generate a unique name and provide it to the pool.
Optional parameter. This is the user’s e-mail address. It is provided to the pool where the rig will be operating. The pool can use it when sending out service notifications.
Optional parameter. This defines the set of mining pools used. Values must be given in the format url:port (e.g. pool1=eth-eu1.nanopool.org:9999). The parameters should be defined in ascending, sequential order, from pool1 to poolN (for example: pool1, pool2, pool3). The pool will be chosen automatically from the list in accordance with the maximum connection speed. If the pool (or list of pools) is not defined, FinMiner will automatically use the pools on nanopool.org that correspond to the chosen cryptocurrency.
Optional parameter. The password for the rig (or worker). It may be necessary when working with pools that require registration and setting a rig password.
Optional parameter. This parameter manages the miner's restart function when running into critical GPU errors or lag. It accepts the values true or false. By default, true – automatic restart - is activated.
Optional parameter. This is the minimum acceptable hashrate. This function keeps track of the rig's total hashrate and compares it with this parameter. If five minutes after the miner is launched the set minimum is not reached, FinMiner will automatically restart. Likewise, the miner will restart if for any reason the average hashrate over a ten-minute period falls below the set value. This value can be set with an optional modifier letter that represents a thousand for kilohash or a million for megahash per second. For example, setting the value to 100 megahashes per second can be written as 100M, 100.0M, 100m, 100000k, 100000K or 100000000. If this parameter is not defined, the miner will not restart (with the exception of the situations described in the watchdog section).
Optional paramter. These are the graphics cards that will be used by the miner. If you do not want to launch the miner on all available GPUs but only on some of them, their numbers can be provided in the devices parameter separated by a comma. FinMiner numbers the GPUs starting from zero in ascending order of their PCI addresses. You can see a list of available GPUs and the order in which they're in by launching FinMiner with the -d command line option:
finminer -d
For example, if there are four GPUs in the system (0, 1, 2, 3) and all but the second-to-last one (indexed as 2) must be set to mine, then the devices option must be set in the following manner:
devices=0,1,3
The order of devices determines the order of displayed hashrate. For example, if it is set as
devices=3,1,0
then the hashrate line will first display GPU3, then GPU1 and finally GPU0.
Optional parameter. This parameter sets the number of times the miner will restart before rebooting the rig. In case of GPU problems like hardware errors or lag, or in case of hashrate degradation (if the minhashrate option is used), FinMiner will restart. However, certain errors cannot be fixed by restarting the program. In such cases it is necessary to reboot the rig. To reboot, the miner loads the reboot.bat script from the current directory if running on Windows or reboot.sh if on Linux:
reboot
The typical content of the reboot.bat script for Windows:
shutdown /r /t 5 /f
The script must be written by the user.
Optional parameter. This parameter accepts the values true or false (the default is false). If this parameter is set to true then no log files will be recorded onto the hard drive.
Optional parameter. This parameter can either be used to set the name of the folder in which log files will be created (e.g. logPath=logfolder/), or to specify a path to single file, which will be used for all logs (e.g. logPath=logs/log.txt, logPath=/var/log/finminer/log.txt, logPath=C:\logs\log.txt). Both relative and absolute paths work. Default value for this parameter is logs/.
Optional parameter. This is the network port for remote monitoring and program management through EthMan or other programs that use a similar API protocol format. The program supports all API functions, including restarting the miner and rig(s). You can block miner management through API (in which case the miner will only display the statistics and won't respond to any commands). To enable this function, a "minus" (-) sign must be written before the port number. And you can completely deactivate remote monitoring. To do this, the port number must be set to "0" (zero). Default value: -3333 (This means that the miner blocks management through API and displays statistics on port 3333).
Optional parameter. Your password for monitoring with EthMan and other utilities that support the same network API.
Optional parameter for CPU mining. Specifies the number of concurrent CPU threads to use for mining. All threads are used by default.
Optional parameter. Can be used to set the pool protocol to stratum. If not specified, FinMiner will try to detect the pool protocol automatically.
The minimum configuration file for Ethereum may contain only a wallet:
wallet=<wallet>
FinMiner will automatically use Ethereum pools.
To work with Ethereum Classic, the coin must be specified:
wallet=<wallet>
coin=ETC
In this case FinMiner will use pools corresponding to Ethereum Classic.
For coins that run on the Ethash algorithm but are not supported by nanopool.org, you must specify a wallet and pools (pool1...). In this case FinMiner will function as if it were working with Ethereum, but the results of its operations will be determined by tasks from the corresponding pools specified in the configuration file.
Example of a configuration file for Ethereum:
wallet = 0xffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
rigName = rig1
email = someemail@org
pool1 = eth-eu1.nanopool.org:9999
pool2 = eth-eu2.nanopool.org:9999
pool3 = eth-us-east1.nanopool.org:9999
pool4 = eth-us-west1.nanopool.org:9999
pool5 = eth-asia1.nanopool.org:9999
pool6 = eth-jp1.nanopool.org:9999
pool7 = eth-au1.nanopool.org:9999
Example of an equivalent file for Ethereum:
wallet = 0xffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
rigName = rig1
email = someemail@org
Example of a minimum file for Ethereum:
wallet=0xffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
Example of a configuration file for Ethereum Classic:
wallet = 0xffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
coin=Etc
rigName = rig1
email = someemail@org
pool1 = etc-eu1.nanopool.org:19999
pool2 = etc-eu2.nanopool.org:19999
pool3 = etc-us-east1.nanopool.org:19999
pool4 = etc-us-west1.nanopool.org:19999
pool5 = etc-asia1.nanopool.org:19999
pool6 = etc-jp1.nanopool.org:19999
pool7 = etc-au1.nanopool.org:19999
Example of an equivalent file for Ethereum Classic:
wallet = 0xffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
coin=Etc
rigName = rig1
email = someemail@org
Example of a minimum file for Ethereum Classic:
wallet=0xffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
coin=Etc
Example of a complete file for Monero:
wallet = fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
paymentId = ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
algorithm = CryptoNightv8
rigName = rig1
email = someemail@org
pool1 = xmr-eu1.nanopool.org:14433
pool2 = xmr-eu2.nanopool.org:14433
pool3 = xmr-us-east1.nanopool.org:14433
pool4 = xmr-us-west1.nanopool.org:14433
pool5 = xmr-asia1.nanopool.org:14433
Example of an equivalent file for Monero:
wallet = fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
paymentId = ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
rigName = rig1
email = someemail@org
Example of a minimum file for Monero:
wallet = fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
Example of a complete file for PascalCoin:
wallet = 123456-77
paymentId = ffffffffffffffff
algorithm = RandomHash
rigName = rig1
email = someemail@org
pool1 = pasc-eu1.nanopool.org:15555
pool2 = pasc-eu2.nanopool.org:15555
pool3 = pasc-us-east1.nanopool.org:15555
pool4 = pasc-us-west1.nanopool.org:15555
pool5 = pasc-asia1.nanopool.org:15555
Example of an equivalent file for PascalCoin:
wallet = 123456-77
paymentId = ffffffffffffffff
rigName = rig1
email = someemail@org
Example of a minimum file for PascalCoin:
wallet = 123456-77
To mine PascalCoin in a solo mode please provide ip and port of Pascal Coin Wallet software. The wallet number filled in config does not matter in such case. Block payload would be "Miner Name" set up in Pascal Coin Wallet followed by FinMiner version. Example of a file for solo mining PascalCoin using local wallet software:
wallet = 0
pool1 = 127.0.0.1:4009
