vExtraTxnForCompact Considered Useful

The conversation highlights a significant yet often overlooked feature in the blockchain community, particularly among those involved with Bitcoin node operation and mining. The feature in question is known as vExtra, a component that plays a crucial role beyond the more commonly discussed mempool. The discussion addresses a misconception prevalent among many in the blockchain space—that transactions rejected by policy are simply discarded. This misunderstanding underscores a broader lack of awareness or acknowledgment of vExtra's functions and its potential benefits for node operators.

The relevance of vExtra comes into sharper focus when considering the diverse and evolving landscape of Bitcoin node operation and block mining. With an increasing number of nodes customizing their policies through clients like Knots and Libre Relay, and more miners taking the initiative to generate their own block templates, the customization of features such as datacarriersize becomes more pertinent. Although the default settings might remain unchanged in Core, the option for node operators to set different values offers a degree of flexibility that could prove beneficial, depending on individual circumstances.

The trade-offs involved in adjusting vExtra settings, such as increased RAM and CPU usage, are decisions that each node operator must make based on their specific situation. However, the anecdotal evidence presented suggests that even modest home setups, which may not boast cutting-edge technology but still possess decent performance capabilities, can derive tangible benefits from utilizing vExtra. For instance, in tests conducted on servers equipped with 4 cores and 16 GB RAM, a non-filtering node was able to extract 6% of its transactions from vExtra, indicating a notable improvement in efficiency for certain operations. This observation points to the potential advantages of paying closer attention to and optimizing vExtra settings for those engaged in node operation and mining activities within the blockchain ecosystem.