What Is IPFS? A Beginner’s Guide

Introduction

Welcome to another insighting and fun-filled blog episode describing and discussing IPFS!!

Well, nowadays, we live in an age where the biggest and most important information is stored on centralized servers. Safekeeping such information has become very expensive, and in many cases, it can be the cause of major data breaches. One of the novel solutions, and probably unique in its class, is IPFS.

In pure technical language, IPFS is a decentralized, peer-to-peer hypermedia protocol to make the web faster, safer, and more open. Experts think that it is an excellent and innovative protocol with a bright future.

Therefore, this blog post will go into detail about what IPFS is, how it works, and why it is beneficial to users and projects alike. It will also discuss current barriers and challenges to its adoption.

What Is IPFS?

The Interplanetary File System (IPFS) is one of the major technologies shaping the sharing economy. The IPFS is a P2P (Peer to Peer) technology changing how data is shared around and beyond our world. This innovation primarily contains improved distributed systems and communication protocols combined to produce a unique file system.

Therefore, to understand the full extent of the IPFS and what it wants to achieve, it is vital to know the things that make the tech possible.

Distributed Systems and Communication Protocols

Before two people share information between themselves, they need to determine when and how they will exchange the info. The ‘How’ and ‘When’ are rules, also called communication protocols. However, that term might be too big a concept to understand, so we can call it a language. If you go to a foreign country where you do not speak their native language, you will face a lack or failure of communication protocols.

Before now, these were the issues we had with the computers. They existed in isolation and could not communicate with each other until around 1980. By that time, developers had invented the first computing communication protocol. Also, while computations work by programming languages, communication works through protocols.

Furthermore, communication protocols do not exist alone on computers. They are usually in several layered bundles, and they are called Protocol Suite. For instance, IP (the Internet Protocol) suite has four layers, and each layer has a unique function.

Moreover, you need to understand how computers are connected. This basic structure of connection is called System Architecture. There are many in existence today, but the two that are important to this discussion are;

• Client-Server Networks
• Peer-to-Peer Networks

Client-Server Networks

The relationships that dominate the internet are client-server. They depend on the IP suite. HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the basis for client-server communication.

Furthermore, the client-server relationship stores data in centralized servers and allows addresses to access based on location. So, data sharing, management, and security become easy this way. Also, it helps to scale the client and server capacity. However, the realms of efficiency, security, and privacy have loopholes with this centralized data storage. For instance, controlling the server means that you will control the data on the server.

So, anyone that controls the server will be able to access the data on the server. In addition, the person can alter or even remove the data on the server. Also, central control opens data on the server to malicious attacks and hacks.

Furthermore, data identification is location based in location-based addressing, which is a huge limitation. It means that to access data, you must go to the specific location of the data, no matter where it is.

Again, identifying data is not based on content, so you might not know what it contains. You can only know where the data is located. Therefore, if there is a change in the data details, you might not detect it because you did not know the content before now.

However, the HTTP and client-server models have made the internet reliable for users. The internet HTTP model effectively transfers small files like images and texts. In the internet’s first 20 years, the average webpage size has grown from 2KB (Kilobyte) to 2MB (Megabyte).

So, if you want to load a website that does not transfer large data amounts, the HTTP model is the best. The constraints of the HTTP gave rise to the success of other systems of filesharing like BitTorrent and Napster.

Now, let’s fast-track to 2018. The demand for streaming High Definition (HD) videos and big data started rising. It is still on the rise, and the need for large data transfer faces the internet daily because of the production of more powerful computers.

Also, the advent of cloud computing has aided in keeping the momentum of this transition. However,

Major advancements in cloud computing have helped sustain this transition. However, the fundamental infrastructure for distributing all this data has remained largely the same.

IPFS (The InterPlanetary File System)

IPFS wants to solve the inadequacies of the HTTP web and client-server models via a new P2P (Peer to Peer) filesharing system. The system is a blend of various existing and innovations. So, the Protocol Labs created the IPFS as an open-source project for the previous Y Combinator startup and network protocols. Also, the Lab developed other systems like Filecoina and IPLD to complement the IPFS.

Major Components of IPFS

The IPFS is a product that came into existence through the contributions of over 100 developers worldwide. Hence, the way they orchestrated it is massive. Below are the major components of IPFS.

The DHT (Distributed Hash Tables)

The DHT is a structure of data that uses key/value pairs to store information. In the DHT, the system spreads data across different computer networks. Also, the system coordinates the data efficiently to allow access and lookups between the different computer nodes.

The major advantages of DHTs are;

• They are decentralized.
• They are scalable.
• They are fault tolerant.
• The nodes do not need coordination centrally.
• The system will function properly even with a node failure or exit.

The advantages make the DHT system more formidable and resilient than the client-server models.

Block Exchanges

BitTorrent, a popular filesharing system, can successfully coordinate data transfer between thousands of nodes. BitTorrent does it by depending on a new data exchange protocol. However, this activity is restricted to the BitTorrent ecosystem. IPFS uses an available version (BitSwap) of the torrent protocol and works as a general data marketplace. Filecoin is the data marketplace basic. It is a Peer to Peer storage marketplace developed on the IPFS.

Merkle DAG

The Merkle DAG is a hybrid of a DAG (Directed Acrylic Graph) and a Merkle Tree. The Merkle Tree is responsible for ensuring that the blocks of data exchanged on the p2p network are unaltered, correct, and undamaged. Also, Cryptographic Hash Functions (CHF) are responsible for organizing and verifying data.

The CHF is a function that uses an input ti calculate a special string containing numbers and letters (alphanumeric). The hash or string usually corresponds with the input. So you can easily check if the input will result in a hash. However, it is very difficult to guess the input that will result from the hash.

The separate data blocks are known as ‘leaf nodes,’ and they are hashes of ‘non-leaf nodes.’ Then, there will be a combination and hashing of the non-leaf nodes until a single root represents all the data blocks.

Furthermore, a Merkle DAG is a method of modeling topological data sequences without cycles. A family tree is a simple example of DAG. So, it is a data structure where hashes refer to DAG objects and data blocks. The results of this reference are various useful features.

You can especially identify every data on IPFS because every data has a special hash. In addition, the data is resistant to tampering because you must change the hash if you want to alter it.

For example, the core doctrine of IPFS is the generalized modeling of all the data on a Merkle DAG. It isn’t easy to overstate the importance of this security feature.

VCS (Version Control Systems)

The Merkle DAG structure has another powerful feature that can allow you to develop a shared VCS. A very popular example of the VCS is Github. Primarily, Github allows easy collaborations for developers on projects. Also, on Github, the Merkle DAG versions and stores files. So, users can reproduce and edit more than one version of files on their own. Then keep the reproduced versions and merge the edits later with the main file.

Similarly, the IPFS uses this model for data objects. You can access new versions of objects as long as it corresponds with the original data. Also, you can retrieve the whole file history. Therefore, you can store the IPFS objects permanently because you can cache the data for life and store the blocks of data across the network locally.

In addition, the IPFS does not depend on Internet Protocol access. The system can distribute data in overlay networks. Overlay networks refer to networks built on each other.

These core elements of the web will make it resistant to censorship. So, the features could be notable in free speech promotions to combat the high rate of censorship on the internet globally. However, we should not forget that it makes the system vulnerable to bad actors and abuses.

Self-Certifying File System

The last but also important component of the IPFS is the SCFS (Self-certifying File System). The SCFS is a shared file system that does not need special permission to exchange data. So, it is called “self-certifying” because the file name authenticates the data that the client receives. Also, the server is responsible for signing the file name. The result is that you can securely access remote content with local storage transparency.

The IPFS uses this concept to make the IPNS (InterPlanetary Name Space). The IPNS is an SCFS that self-certifies objects (that the network users publish) using public-key cryptography. Earlier, I told you that you could uniquely identify all the objects on IPFS. In addition, it also extends to the computer nodes. Every node on the network has a set of private keys, public keys, and an ID. The ID is the node’s hash of its public key. Therefore, nodes can sign any data object they publish using their private keys. Also, they can authenticate the data and verify it using the sender’s public key.

What Is the IPFS Important?

IPFS is important because it gives low latency, high throughput, and data distribution. In addition, IPFS is secure and decentralized. So, innovation opens up different exciting and interesting use cases. Also, you can use it for content delivery to websites worldwide, aiding encrypted communication, secure sharing of files, and global file storage with automatic backups and versioning.

Projects Built on IPFS

• Akasha (a Generation-Next social network)
• Balance3 (an accounting platform with triple entry)
• BlockFright (a global freight open network)
• Digix (a physical gold tokenization platform)
• Infura (a DApps infrastructure provider).
• Livepeer (a decentralized platform for live-video streaming)
• Origin (a sharing economy p2p marketplace)
• uPort (an identity system with self-governance)

These different applications show how versatile IPFS is. Also, P2P and blockchain apps use it as a supporting file system. It will cost you some dollars to save  1KB of data in an Ethereum Smart Contract. This amount may look small until you upload data in MBs (Megabytes).

This problem is major because DApps (Decentralized Applications) are growing massively, especially recently launching new ones. So, the IPFS is interoperable with blockchain data and smart contracts. Hence, it can add trusted storage capacity at a low cost to the Ethereum Smart Contract.

The InterPlanetary Linked Data (IPLD) is a separate protocol that attempts to access data on the Ethereum blockchain natively.

Challenges of IPFS

The performance of IPFS is impressive. However, there are a few issues that it has, and they need to be resolved.

IPNS Content Addressing

First, the IPNS content addressing is not user-friendly. Below is what your typical IPNS will look like.

ipfs.io/ipns/QmeQe5FTgMs8PNspzTQ3LRz1iMhdq9K34TQnsCP2jqt8wV/

You can use a DNS (Domain Name System) to shorten your IPNS to simpler names. However, the shortening will bring in a content distribution failure point externally. But you can still access the content through the IPNS original address. Sometimes, some IPFS users complain that their IPNS is slow when resolving their domain names. Up till now, no one has figured out why it is slow.

Also, there is the probability that nodes can maintain a long-term data backup on the network is little. The IPFS nodes can delete cached data at will if there is a need to save space. So, if there are no remaining nodes to host your data, it can disappear with time.

Storage Markets

Filecoin is a different protocol developed to include economic benefits to storing files on IPFS. Also, Filecoin breeds a shared market for storage that competes with enterprise cloud storage, for example, Amazon S3. Rather than make infrastructure central and fix than price, FileCoin + IPFS provides storage on a network of local providers globally. These local providers are responsible for setting prices based on demand and supply.

Filecoin uses a Proof of Storage consensus mechanism rather than Bitcoin’s Proof of Work. FileCoin’s consensus mechanism ensures trust and reliability. So, people can join the network and get rewarded for offering free space on their computers. The rewards are Filecoin tokens for retrieving and storing data.

The IPFS network development is on the Ethereum network. So, integrating smart contracts could bring advanced features like insurance and escrow into the marketplace for storage. So, this economic model will bring about a competitive free market cheaper than other major storage providers.

However, FileCoin is not live yet. So, it will be awesome to see how all these will play out in reality.

The Future of IPFS

You must not be an expert before you start using IPFS. Hence, if you see any of its advantages that you like, you can download and start using it for free. If you have terabytes or gigabytes of storage, you do not use become part of the IPFS users. You need to sign up as a miner on the FileCoin network.

The sharing economy is the future of data exchange, looking at the wave of the web3 and the decentralized internet. It will shape how we save, share and retrieve files without internet censorship. The IPFS, if it becomes successful, along with its supporting protocols, can give a more resilient infrastructure for the web3. It will contribute to making web3 transparent, secure, and distributed.

Conclusion

The concept of IPFS is complex and hard to understand at first. But once you get the idea behind this technology, it becomes a lot easier to apply it to real-life applications. This network is pretty new, but we believe that its designers have a good vision for this technology’s future. As more users start using IPFS, the system will become more robust and reliable.

Furthermore, as demand grows, there will likely be improvements or changes to this system that would make it much more useful while still maintaining its decentralized nature.