<p>Been running a standalone node on the same hardware for some years now. I run this node simply as a supportive node, unlocked bandwidth to facilitate people bootstrapping the blockchain. No settings have changed recently. I noticed in the last week or so that peer count has dropped drastically, from 200+ to less than 40. Peer count used to fluctuate 190-250, now it fluctuates 39-55ish.</p>
<ul>
<li>A reboot of the router and modem did not change peer count
significantly.</li>
<li>I deleted and re-assigned the port-forwarding rule to rule out some
firewall malfunction.</li>
<li>Verified the port is open using a scanner from the internet</li>
<li>Reloaded UFW on the node just to be sure</li>
<li>using <code>bitcoin-cli netinfo 4</code> I'm able to verify there are    30+
incoming connections spread over onion and IPv4</li>
<li>Speedtest on my internet connection is otherwise normal</li>
<li>Server disk/memory/CPU usage all well less than 50%</li>
</ul>
<p>My current bitcoin.conf includes:</p>
<pre><code>maxconnections=256
maxuploadtarget=1000000
server=1
daemon=1
bind=0.0.0.0
onlynet=ipv4
discover=1
</code></pre>
<p>My questions:</p>
<ul>
<li>has anyone else noticed a decrease in connections?</li>
<li>Is it possible my ISP is somehow throttling bitcoind p2p connections?</li>
</ul>
<p>I understand that it doesn't really matter how many nodes I'm connected to, but when there's a sudden, drastic change not due to some configuration change on my part, I start to wonder what's going on and if there is some attack or issue with the p2p network.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-29T13:29:07.730Z
I have not noticed a decrease in peers on my node. Is it possible that your IP address has recently changed and it hasn't fully propagated through the network yet?
Vojtěch Strnad
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-30T00:16:38.960Z
My IP address is essentially static and has been stable for a period of many weeks
Mike
<bitcoind><peers><p2p>
Drastic decrease in peers
Mike
# Drastic decrease in peers

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-06-29)

Been running a standalone node on the same hardware for some years now. I run this node simply as a supportive node, unlocked bandwidth to facilitate people bootstrapping the blockchain. No settings have changed recently. I noticed in the last week or so that peer count has dropped drastically, from 200+ to less than 40. Peer count used to fluctuate 190-250, now it fluctuates 39-55ish.

A reboot of the router and modem did not change peer count
significantly.
I deleted and re-assigned the port-forwarding rule to rule out some
firewall malfunction.
Verified the port is open using a scanner from the internet
Reloaded UFW on the node just to be sure
using bitcoin-cli netinfo 4 I'm able to verify there are    30+
incoming connections spread over onion and IPv4
Speedtest on my internet connection is otherwise normal
Server disk/memory/CPU usage all well less than 50%

My current bitcoin.conf includes:
maxconnections=256
maxuploadtarget=1000000
server=1
daemon=1
bind=0.0.0.0
onlynet=ipv4
discover=1

My questions:

has anyone else noticed a decrease in connections?
Is it possible my ISP is somehow throttling bitcoind p2p connections?

I understand that it doesn't really matter how many nodes I'm connected to, but when there's a sudden, drastic change not due to some configuration change on my part, I start to wonder what's going on and if there is some attack or issue with the p2p network.

**Tags:** bitcoind, peers, p2p

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I have not noticed a decrease in peers on my node. Is it possible that your IP address has recently changed and it hasn't fully propagated through the network yet?  
> **username_0**: My IP address is essentially static and has been stable for a period of many weeks  

---

## 0 answers

