BitcoinTalk

Number of connections?

13
Satoshi-only
BitcoinTalk
#1
From:
RogerRabbit
Subject:
Number of connections?
Date:
What exactly does the number of connections do for me? Do I generate more coins with more connections, or is it equivalent no matter what?

It seems that from time to time, Tor gets tied up and can go for a few hours with 3 or 4 connections. Then, when I restart bitcoin or restart Tor to refresh my connections, I can get 7,8, or even more (9 currently).
I haven't really been able to tell if coins generate slower or not with less connections, but I was curious if it does correlate. If not, how exactly will having more connections help me out compared to less?
BitcoinTalk
#2
From:
satoshi
Subject:
Re: Number of connections?
Date:
Coins generate at the same speed with any number of connections >= 1.

More connections just add redundancy.  If you only had one connection, what if that node is slow or busy, or only connected to you?  Having several connections increases the certainty that you're well connected to the network.  That hasn't been a problem in practice, the network is very thoroughly connected.  If you have 2 or 3 connections, you're fine.