> Luke Jr's pool supports it, but [`getwork` is] obviously not required.

@instagibbs I was under the impression that `getblocktemplate` was effectively required for pools these days.  Here's some back-of-the-envelope math regarding the deprecated `getwork`:

* Current network hashrate: 50,000,000 gigahash per second (GH/s) ([source](http://bitcoinwatch.com/)) or 30,000,000,000 GH per block. To generate just 1% of all blocks thus requires 300,000,000 GH/s.

* `getwork` provides a single header with a single 4-byte nonce---allowing the generation of a maximum of 4 gigahashes.

* Dividing the 300,000,000 GH/s by the 4 gigahashes available in each request results in a minimum of 75,000,000 `getwork` requests a second. Even if it was possible to generate that many, each `getwork` request consumes 1 KiB of bandwidth ([source](http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/360/what-are-the-bandwidth-requirements-of-a-mining-rig)), so that's 600 gigabits per second of bandwidth.

* Hacks like nRollTime can reduce the number of `getwork` requests by up to 1,000-fold (if everyone uses it---nRollTime is *more* effective the fewer miners who use it). That still leaves you with 75,000 `getwork` requests a second and 600 megabits per second of bandwidth, which is an awfully big expense for a 1% to 5% commission on generating an average of 1.44 blocks per day. And with hashrates incleasing at 10% or more a month, it's just unsustainable.

On the other hand, `getblocktemplate` can theoretically result in as few as a single request per block per miner (regardless of hash power), but more realistically one 5 to 50 KiB request every 10 to 30 seconds per miner.

Anyway, that's why I ignored `getwork` in the section.  However, I'm happy to change it if I've made an error.