Overview

Your Bitping Node runs several different network protocols to perform jobs on the Bitping network. Each protocol is tested at startup to confirm it works on your device. If a protocol fails its startup check, it will show as disabled in the Bitping Desktop app or on the Nodes dashboard.

Having some protocols disabled doesn’t mean your node is broken — it just means your node won’t receive jobs for those specific protocols. However, the more protocols you have enabled, the more jobs your node can accept and the more you can earn.

What Are the Protocols?

Your node checks the following capabilities at startup:

Protocol	What It Does
Ping (ICMP)	Sends ICMP echo requests to measure latency and packet loss
HTTP	Makes HTTP/HTTPS requests to test website availability and response times
DNS	Performs DNS lookups to verify domain name resolution from your location
Video Streaming (HLS)	Downloads HLS video segments to measure streaming performance and bandwidth
Bandwidth Sharing (Proxy)	Routes network traffic through your node as a proxy
WASM Compute	Executes lightweight WebAssembly programs for custom test logic

Common Causes and Fixes

Ping (ICMP) is Disabled

ICMP ping requires elevated privileges because it uses raw network sockets.

Linux:

• If running directly: run the node with sudo, or grant the binary the CAP_NET_RAW capability:

  sudo setcap cap_net_raw+ep $(which bitpingd)

• If running via Docker: ensure the container has the NET_RAW capability (this is included by default in most Docker configurations, but may be dropped if you’re using a restricted security profile)

macOS:

• Run the node with sudo, or use the Bitping Desktop app which requests the necessary permissions at install time

Windows:

• Run the node as Administrator

All platforms:

• Some firewalls or network configurations block outbound ICMP traffic. Check that your firewall allows ICMP echo requests (ping) to external addresses like 1.1.1.1

HTTP is Disabled

HTTP failures at startup are uncommon since this protocol has minimal system requirements. If HTTP is disabled:

• Check your internet connection — the node tests HTTP by making a request to bitping.com at startup
• Check for restrictive firewalls or proxies — corporate firewalls or transparent proxies may block or interfere with outbound HTTPS traffic
• Check for DNS issues — if your node can’t resolve domain names, HTTP requests will also fail. See our Troubleshooting Connectivity guide

DNS is Disabled

DNS capability relies on your system’s DNS resolver configuration.

• Check your system DNS settings — make sure your device has valid DNS servers configured (e.g. 1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8, or your ISP’s DNS servers)
• Check for DNS filtering — DNS-level ad blockers like Pi-hole or AdGuard Home can interfere with DNS resolution. See our Troubleshooting Connectivity guide for details
• Test DNS resolution manually:

  nslookup p2p.bitping.com

  If this fails or returns 0.0.0.0, your DNS configuration needs attention

Video Streaming (HLS) is Disabled

The HLS check downloads a small test manifest from tests.bitping.com. If it fails:

• Check your internet connection — the node needs to reach https://tests.bitping.com over HTTPS
• Check for content filtering — some network firewalls or parental controls block streaming media URLs. Ensure tests.bitping.com is accessible
• Very slow connections — if your connection is extremely slow, the HLS test may time out. This is expected on very low-bandwidth connections

WASM Compute is Disabled

WASM (WebAssembly) support has a known platform limitation:

• 32-bit ARM devices (e.g. older Raspberry Pi models running 32-bit OS) — WASM is not supported on 32-bit ARM architectures. If you’re running a Raspberry Pi, make sure you’re using a 64-bit OS to enable WASM support
• On all other platforms, WASM should be enabled automatically. If it’s not, please contact support

Bandwidth Sharing (Proxy) is Disabled

The proxy capability is generally always enabled. If it shows as disabled:

• Check your internet connection — the proxy requires a working network connection
• Restart the node — this may be a transient startup issue

General Troubleshooting Steps

If multiple protocols are disabled or you’re seeing unexpected failures:

1. Restart your node — some capability checks can fail due to transient network issues at startup. A restart will re-run all checks
2. Check your internet connection — make sure you have a stable connection. Try loading a website in your browser
3. Update your node — make sure you’re running the latest version. Older versions may have bugs that affect capability detection
4. Check your firewall — overly restrictive firewalls can block outbound traffic. Bitping doesn’t require any inbound ports, but it does need outbound access to the internet on standard ports (80, 443)
5. Check your DNS — many protocol failures stem from DNS resolution problems. See our Troubleshooting Connectivity guide

Reading the Capabilities Display

In the Bitping Desktop app and on the Nodes dashboard at app.bitping.com/nodes, each protocol is shown as an icon:

• Bright icon — protocol is enabled and working
• Dimmed icon — protocol is disabled or failed its startup check
• Hover/tap the icon — if a protocol is disabled, the tooltip will show the error message explaining why

If you see an error message you don’t understand, include it when contacting support — it helps us diagnose the issue faster.

Need More Help?

If you’ve tried the steps above and still have protocols disabled, reach out to our support team at [email protected] or join our Telegram group with:

• Your Bitping Node version
• Your operating system and architecture (e.g. Ubuntu 24.04 x86_64, Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit)
• Which protocols are disabled and any error messages shown
• The output of bitpingd run (the first few lines showing capability checks)