Summarized in one sentence:
The IPFS ( The InterPlanetary File System ) interplanetary file storage system is a point-to-point distributed file system, and the computing devices it connects all have the same file management mode. In a sense the concept is similar to the original idea of the web , but in reality IPFS is more like a group of individual Bittorrent users forwarding Git goals to each other. IPFS has the quality to become an internet subsystem, and it can complete or even replace HTTP through reasonable configuration .
Technical Features:
HTTP has the problem of hypercentralization. Let 's analyze how IPFS solves these problems. IPFS fundamentally changes the way lookups are done, and this is its most important feature. With HTTP we look for locations, with IPFS we look for content.
For example: There is a file http://www.chainstack.io/code/helloworld.js running on the server, and the browser will first look up the location ( IP address) of the server according to the HTTP protocol , and then ask the server for the path of the file. The location of files in this system is up to the server administrator, and the user can only hope that the file has not been moved and the server has not been shut down .
The approach of IPFS is that it no longer cares about the location of the central server, nor does it consider the name and path of the file, and only pays attention to the content that may appear in the file . I put the file helloworld.js just now on the IPFS node , it will get a new name QmXGTaGWTT1uUtfSb2sBAvArMEVLK4rQEcQg5bv7wwdzwU ( see this is a bit familiar :) The opposite is like the address of Bitcoin or Ethereum ) , which is calculated from the content of the file Cryptographic hash value. The hash value directly reflects the content of the file. Even if only 1 bit is modified, the hash value will be completely different. When IPFS is asked for a file hash, it uses a distributed hash table to find the node where the file is located, retrieve the file and verify the file data. .
IPFS is a general-purpose infrastructure with basically no storage limitations . Large files are split into smaller chunks, which can be downloaded from multiple servers simultaneously. The network of IPFS is a non-fixed, fine-grained and distributed network, which can be well adapted to the requirements of Content Delivery Network ( CD N ). Such a design can share all kinds of data well, including images, video streams, distributed databases, entire operating systems, module chains, backups of 8 -inch floppy disks, and most importantly - static websites.
IPFS files can also be abstracted into a special IPFS directory, so as to mark a readable file name (transparently mapped to the IPFS hash), and get a directory index like HTTP when accessing. The process of building a website on IPFS is the same as in the past, and the command to add a website to an IPFS node only requires one command: ipfs add -r yoursitedirectory . The connection between web pages no longer needs to be maintained by humans, and the search that comes with IPFS can be solved.
IPFS does not require every node to store all the content, the owner of the node is free to choose the data that he wants to maintain. This is like a bookmark, in addition to backing up its own website, it voluntarily provides services for other concerned content , the difference is that this bookmark will not eventually become invalid as before.
Copying, storage and website support between IPFS nodes is easy, just use one command and the hash of the website, eg: ipfs pin add -r QmcKi2ae3uGb1kBg1yBpsuwoVqfmcByNdMiZ2pukxyLWD8 , and IPFS will do the rest .
If IPFS is popularized and the number of nodes reaches a certain scale, even if each node only stores a little content, the accumulated space, bandwidth and reliability will far exceed what HTTP can provide . With it, the distributed Web will become the fastest, most reliable, and largest data warehouse on the planet, human knowledge will never be annihilated, and the Library of Alexandria will never collapse.
Since IPFS/IPNS hash values are long and difficult to remember strings, IPFS is compatible with the existing Domain Name System ( DNS ), and IPFS/IPNS content can be accessed through readable links . The way to use it is to create a text record on the nameserver and insert the hash of the website.
IPFS also intends to support Namecoin in the future . Namecoin fully realizes the decentralization of the distributed Web in theory, and no centralized authorization is required for the overall operation. IPFS supporting Namecoin no longer requires ICANN , a central server, no political interference, and no authorization certificate. It sounds incredible, but it's a technology that is achievable today.
Technical Improvement:
The early distributed hash table suffered a witch attack, but there have been some new solutions to achieve this, which is an improved technology based on blockchain ;
IPFS hashes can only be used to represent immutable data, because once the data changes, so does the hash value . In a sense, this is good design for keeping data persistent. But we also need a way to mark the hash of the newly updated website, which we call IPNS .
IPFS hashes are generated by websites by hashing the public key, while IPNS uses the private key to mark references to IPFS hashes. If you've used Bitcoin before, this pattern should be familiar to you. A Bitcoin address is a type of public key hash.
Application progress:
IPFS is implemented with an HTTP gateway, so that existing browsers can also access IPFS . So don’t wait, start using IPFS now as a facility for storing, distributing, and building websites.
MediaChain , a state-of-the-art metadata protocol that enables digital creators to attach information to their innovative work, time-stamping data on the Bitcoin blockchain and then storing it in the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) , IPFS is a distributed data system with the characteristics of blockchain technology.
In addition , IPFS decided to migrate to the Ethereum network after recognizing the significant gap between the Bitcoin network and the Ethereum network development community . The IPFS development team believes that the unified and versatile development community of the Ethereum network is a great asset to the network, and ultimately affects the IPFS protocol on a wider scale as well. At present, there are already many start-up companies based on IPFS for business innovation.
business model:
The use of IPFS is currently free.
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