System Overview
A High-level look into the Züs System
Core subsystems
Züs is defined as : Blockchain-based, Decentralized Storage system. This implies the two core parts of the Züs system:
Blockchain Subsystem
The subsystem responsible for generation of the blocks and persistence of the blockchain, as well as maintenance and mutation of the data model by means of running the transactions against the smart contracts. This whole system's core purpose is to observe the storage subsystem, enabling decentralization of users' data while maintaining its correctness and high-availability by means of validation and incentivization.
This subsystem consists mainly of 2 (replicable) node types:
Miners: provide block generation, validation and notarization, implements the consensus algorithms.
Sharders: provide block storage and maintenance of the data model.
Miners that are currently taking part in block production are referred to as being in the Active Set. More about them in the next sections.
Storage Subsystem
Storage Subsystem: The subsystem responsible for storing and providing users' data. Nodes in this subsystem are incentivised to provide 24/7 availability and pure error-free correctness of the data the users upload by means of Reward and Penalty.
This system consists mainly of 2 (replicable) node types:
Blobbers: provide storage of users' data and organize it on the file system, also provides an API to access the files and modify them.
Validators: provide validation of blobbers' claims about storage which they provide as response to the challenges they receive from the network. Blobbers seek validators approval (in form of digital signature) on their responses to the challenges, in order to be able to receive reward and avoid penalty.
This segregation is a primary principle our system goes by, and a core difference of our system from the existing blockchain-based storage solutions, hence named: Blockchain-observed Storage System (BOSS). It allows both subsystem to work efficiently and securely, and provide better scalability and maintainability for both of the system.
Helper nodes and subsystems
Around these two subsystems, other nodes and helper systems are built to support the core functionality and integrate with external systems to facilitate usage of the system:
1. Node locator (0DNS)
A node used by off-chain services (any service that is not a miner or a sharder) to locate the miners and the sharders deployed on the system.
2. ZS3 Server
An S3 Gateway deployment, provides a no-code s3-compatible decentralized storage server. It enables users to access their data using an S3-like object storage interface.
3. Authorizer
A node used to authorizer mints and burns related to bridge protocol, to provide decenstralized exchange of tokens between Züs native tokens (ZCN) and ERC-20 Züs tokens (WZCN). More on that in the Bridge Protocol page.
5. DEX Subgraph
A subgraph used to index the Ethereum smart contracts used in DEX flow. More about that in the Bridge Protocol page.
Smart Contracts
Smart contracts are the actual code that is executed by the transactions to perform changes on the data of the network. Any transaction that you run against the network will eventually execute a function/procedure in the smart contract, called a handler, applying the changes intended by the transactions. In Züs system, we have 3 core SCs:
1. Miner SC
A smart contract of handlers that control the network view of available Miners and Sharders, along with other operations like paying transaction fees, and collecting rewards.
2. Storage SC
A smart contracts of handlers that control the network view of the blobbers and validators, but most importantly, users' data. It contains handlers responsible for :
Managing users' Allocations, which are contracts of storage of some data between the client and the system (specifically blobbers).
Observing the validity of the data on Blobbers by generating and validating Challenges
Payment of storage fees to blobbers by redeeming storage read and write markers.
More on all the storage-related concepts in Storage System Features page
3. ZCN SC
A smart contract mainly used for Bridge Protocol (connection between native Züs token and ERC-20 Züs token (WZCN). It consists of handlers that controls network view of the authorizers as well as Mint and Burn functions. More on these concepts in Bridge Protocol page.
Züs SDKs
To support creating awesome applications on top our robust system, we offer SDK support for all the major platforms:
General Purpose SDK in Go.
JS on the browser (and other supported platforms) using WASM.
Android Native.
iOS Native.
macOS.
Windows.
Plug in our SDK and start building awesome applications and gaining rewards! Check the documentation of our SDKs here.
Züs APIs
We also offer HTTP APIs to extend our support beyond the platforms supported by our SDKs, with enhanced security using your wallet public/private keys. Our APIs provide major functionality, including but not limited to:
Viewing data about nodes/services/addresses.
Issuing transactions to our Smart Contracts.
Interacting with the files (upload/download/move/...)
Managing your resources (allocations/staking/wallets/...)
Those APIs include:
Miner/Sharder APIs: Provide endpoints to retrieve data about the blockchain progress, also to issue transactions.
Smart Contract APIs: Provide endpoints to retrieve data about the system entities (nodes, transactions, allocations, rewards, ...).
Blobber API: Provide endpoint to interact with your files stored on the blobbers (storage servers), including upload, download, move, etc...
0DNS API: Provide location information about the blockchain network nodes (Miners/Sharders).
Check the full documentation of these APIs here.
Züs CLIs
For a higher level no-code interaction with Züs System, we offer 2 main CLI tools:
Wallet CLI: Interacts with the client's wallet, support staking and an interface for token swap with Ethereum-based tokens.
Storage CLI: Interacts with the client's storage spaces (allocations) and their files.
Check the full documentation of these CLIs here.
Züs Apps
As an interface for Züs System, we offer 6 major applications that users can use to view, use and interact with the network and all its nodes. Those apps are:
1. Atlus: Block scanner, visualization of the network's progress and charts
Atlus is the webapp that you can use to explore the network and get real-time business-oriented stats about the system. Atlus doesn't require an account as you can't use it to change anything about your allocation, files, deployments, ..etc; it's just a viewer.
2. Bolt: Staking and Rewards
The first app of its kind, offers a new way to generate income through the cloud economy and earn from real-world assets (RWAs), providing storage on Züs, a high-performance storage network.
3. Vult: Personal Secure Cloud for Storage
In an era where data breaches and privacy concerns are escalating, Vult emerges as a beacon of security, privacy, and control, redefining how we store and share our personal files.
4. Blimp: Full-features storage management and ZS3 server interface
Blimp redefines cloud storage by prioritizing transparency, security, and user control. With every data change recorded on the blockchain, users are offered complete transparency. Blimp enables you to safeguard data against ransomware with its immutability feature and securely share data using proxy re-encryption. Thanks to an intuitive UI, accessing and sharing data on S3 and archiving becomes effortless. The entire system is open-source, operates on a trustless system, and outperforms traditional storage solutions.
5. Chalk: NFT Hosting & Stories
Chalk is a revolutionary, no-code platform that simplifies NFT creation. It enables artists and creators to easily produce and enrich their NFTs without requiring programming skills. This platform allows you to incorporate various types of content into your NFTs, transforming digital assets into enriched narratives. Creators can include images showing the progression of their artwork, videos that capture the creative process, and explainers that delve into the art's deeper meaning. This approach makes the NFTs more valuable and brings artists and their audience closer by revealing the entire story of the artwork.
5. Chimney: Storage business platform
A revolutionary app that empowers individuals to turn their storage server into revenue. Connect a server to the Chimney App and start earning immediately.
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