1. Six-layer structure of blockchain
Data layer: It is a data structure of block + linked list, which is essentially a distributed blockchain
Network layer: p2p network.
Consensus layer: formulate the mechanism for obtaining currency of the blockchain. For example, Bitcoin uses POW (Proof of Work ): the better the performance of the computer, the easier it is to obtain monetary rewards. There is also POS (Proof of Stake ): similar to the concept of crowdfunding dividends, interest will be paid to holders according to the amount and time of currency you hold. For example, Hyperledger uses PBFT (Byzantine Fault Tolerance).
Incentive layer: mining mechanism
Contract layer: The previous blockchain did not have this layer. Therefore, the original blockchain can only conduct transactions, but cannot be used for other fields or other logical processing. But the emergence of the contract layer has made the use of blockchain in other fields a reality, such as for IOT. This part of Ethereum includes EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine ) and smart contracts.
Application layer: The presentation layer of the blockchain. For example, Ethereum uses truffle and web3-js. The application layer of the blockchain can be the mobile terminal, the web terminal, or integrated into the existing server, taking the current business server as the application layer.
2. Ethereum Architecture
以太坊最上层的是DApp。它通过Web3.js和智能合约层进行交换。所有的智能合约都运行在EVM（以太坊虚拟机）上，并会用到RPC的调用。在EVM和RPC下面是以太坊的四大核心内容，包括：blockChain, 共识算法，挖矿以及网络层。除了DApp外，其他的所有部分都在以太坊的客户端里，目前最流行的以太坊客户端就是Geth（Go-Ethereum）