Getting started with ASIC mining : Awesome Miner

This article describes how to get started with management and monitoring of ASIC miners using Awesome Miner.

Prerequisites

A Windows computer where the Awesome Miner software can be installed
A compatible ASIC miner connected to the same network as the computer running the Awesome Miner software.
- In case the ASIC miners are located on a different network, please see the article about Connect to ASIC miners on a remote location instead.
- All popular ASIC miners are supported, including but not limited to Bitmain Antminer, Canaan Avalon, Innosilicon, Goldshell and MicroBT Whatsminer
- See the complete list of all supported ASIC mining hardware
To get access to all features and to manage more than two ASIC miners, you need an active subscription for Awesome Miner.

1) Install Awesome Miner

Download and install Awesome Miner on a Windows computer. The Awesome Miner Installer can be downloaded via the Awesome Miner web site.

2) Optional: Enter license details

Awesome Miner can be used for up to two miners without a license. In case you have a license for Awesome Miner, please enter the license details in the Awesome Miner Options dialog, Registration section. Click Verify to verify and apply the license.

To get a license, please sign up for an Awesome Miner subscription.

3) Optional: Remote Proxy

This is an advanced topic that can be skipped for most deployments. The Remote Proxy can be used for large and distributed deployments. To setup a Remote Proxy, install the Remote Agent application on either a Windows computer or Linux computer. Configure it as a Remote Proxy based on the Configuration section in the guide for Remote Proxy for distributing load.

4) Scan for ASIC miners

To add ASIC miners to Awesome Miner, please follow the guide below where miners either can be added one at a time by specifying the IP address of the miner or all miners at once by running a network scan for miners on the network.

The recommended method is to scan the network for ASIC miners. See the guide Add External Miners using the Wizard.

Optional: In case the Remote Proxy concept is being used the Automatic network discovery feature can be activated and the step of manually initiating a network scan is no longer needed.

5) Next steps

After completing the steps above, all ASIC miners will show up in Awesome Miner with details including hashrate and temperature.

Possible next steps to get more out of Awesome Miner:

To display the predicted mining income, Awesome Miner must know the coin of the current mining pool. Right click on a miner and select Define coin for pool. Select for example Bitcoin or Litecoin, depending on the coin of the current mining pool.
To use the Awesome Miner Cloud Services web interface, please create a new account using the same e-mail address as used for the Awesome Miner license. For more details about the setup of Cloud Services, see the guide for Awesome Miner with Cloud Services.

Advanced: Additional details for specific ASIC miners

Baikal

One limitation on the Baikal miner is that change of both pool and algorithm over the management interface (API) isn't supported. This limitation is not in Awesome Miner, but in the Baikal miner itself.

Bitmain Antminer

Older Antminers where SSH is available (example: earlier versions of Antminer S9 and L3+)
- Antminers are by default running in Restricted mode. Awesome Miner can automatically reconfigure them to run in Privileged mode. See Automatic setup of API access for Antminer.
- To change to privileged API access or change default pools on an Antminer, Awesome Miner will make a SSH connection (port 22) to the Antminer.
- The default SSH username and password is: root / admin
- Note that the SSH password isn't related to the password for the Antminer web interface
Recent Antminers where SSH isn't available (example: S15, S17, S19 and more recent S9)
- See Control Antminer without SSH access
Use the optimized Awesome Miner Antminer firmware to get significant hashrate improvements and more features.

Canaan Avalon

The settings for privileged API access can be found in the configuration interface via: Status -> CGMiner Configuration.

Halong DragonMint

For DragonMint miners, the SSH password isn't known and without SSH access, the miners will always be in Restricted API mode
DragonMint miners have a specific feature for setting the default pools that Awesome Miner supports. The feature is available via the toolbar Tools -> ASIC Tools -> [Innosilicon / DragonMint] Default Pools.
Default username and password for setting default pools: admin / dragonadmin

iBeLink

ASIC miners in general are using the port 4028 for API access, but most iBeLink miners are using port 4029 by default. Awesome Miner must manually be specified to connect to this port by not only specifying IP address but also the port - for example 192.168.0.140:4029 in the Properties of an External Miner.

Innosilicon

The API on the Innosilicon miners is by default disabled and must be manually enabled. See Configure API access for Innosilicon ASIC miners.

MicroBT Whatsminer

The control Whatsminer ASIC miners please enable API access in the Whatsminer Tool. See Whatsminer API access

Obelisk

Obelisk miners have the API disabled for external access by default. In order to enable, use SSH to connect to the miner and update the property api-allow in the configuration file: /root/.cgminer/cgminer.conf or /var/etc/ob2/cgminer.conf depending on miner type.