🔗Question 1
Where are we at with Founding Node shipping?
Paul Regan: We’ve shipped the first ten this week in a test capacity to make sure our shipping procedure is working end-to-end (our clever engineers have configured DADI Publish to automate much of the process). Over 80 devices have been fully assembled and onboarded on to the network and we will be shipping in batches – the first will be collected on Monday. Winners will be sent tracking details and will be able to see devices on their account pages.
🔗Question 2
When will the Founding Nodes begin earning on the network?
Paul Regan: As soon as we send live traffic their way! This will be after Constellation, so very early in Q1 2019.
🔗Question 3
Will the DADI ever support Virtual Machines? How would it do this in a decentralized way?
Joseph Denne: Yes. And it actually already does in that we run VMs as the underlying software mechanism for the individual edge services.
We’re shifting our focus going in to 2019 to prioritize making the containerized layer available for the running of any application (within the compute power boundaries of the edge network). This means that it will be possible to run a site powered by third party software for example.
We see the provision of an open layer as key to helping to drive adoption of edge computing, and in that it is critical to the go to market for the network itself.
🔗Question 4
How is DADI Publish different in focus and features to Ghost publishing platform?
Paul Regan: Ghost is a more single-minded product (and one we like, if we are honest). It is more akin to a blogging platform such as Medium than a full-bodied content management solution – Publish (with API) is a much more flexible and powerful technology than can support a greater variety of digital product, from content site to retail store.
🔗Question 5
In what timeline will we be able to see a clearer direction for DADI Publish illustrated by its features?
Joseph Denne: We’re working to bring definition and clarity to Publish as a distinct product that is built on and delivered by the network. This may well manifest through a dedicated site and through dedicated purchasing channels. Tentative timelines for this look like Q1/2 next year – it’s something we want to do quickly. Publish is a very strong product in its own right, and represents a great go to market opportunity for the whole stack.
🔗Question 6
Is download or upload speed more important for a Host node or both?
Joseph Denne: It’s both. Hosts need to be able to download customer apps and files, and they also need to be able to respond to jobs from Gateways in a timely manner.
🔗Question 7
What products can we expect to find in the DADI Shop? A sneak peek? Is this part of a marketing strategy or only meant to target DADI enthusiasts? Will it come with an affiliate/referral program for publishers?
Paul Regan: Our affiliate/referral program is separate thing to the shop – it is focused on driving network adoption. There will be some crossover however. The shop will sell DADI merchandise in the first instance, with new and dedicated products coming to market in mid-2019.
🔗Question 8
According to the roadmap, “DADI Constellation live” is scheduled for Dec. 2018. Is this really a realistic goal considering the delays of onboarding Founding Nodes?
Paul Regan: Yes. There is no dependency on the Founding Nodes for Constellation – they are an important part of our plans for node onboarding, but not the whole story.
🔗Question 9
In the mid to long term you mentioned you will be bringing other third party dApps onto the DADI network. What do you mean by those time frames and what integrations do you have in the works or in mind?
Joseph Denne: We are working on an open framework for edge computing, which means moving beyond our own dApps to a containerized platform that anything can be deployed in to. This means that one could run a WordPress site within the network for example.
Timings are work in progress – we are retooling or 2019 roadmaps to give this the majority of our focus, as we believe that it is key to the success of the network long term. We expect to be publishing the updates early in the new year.
🔗Question 10
Is there some open dashboard where we can follow along the nodes coming online?
Paul Regan: Not yet, but there will be. Our network explorer is in the roadmap for Q1 2019 – but development is pretty advanced (and not unrelated to the fact that our VP of technology is absent from this AMA! 🙂)
🔗Question 11
Will DADI customer websites start hosting on DADI network instead of AWS immediately after Constellation? If yes, it will be done automatically to all DADI customer websites or only whom want to switch AWS to DADI?
Joseph Denne: Yes, we will be moving over production traffic. This isn’t an automatic process, but it is fairly straight forward. FYI, we’ve spent a block of time over the past two months migrating all of our stack, both internal and external facing to the network and only have a minimal level of services still in AWS.
🔗Question 12
The last detailed status report was Q1 2018. When will we see another? Perhaps one that encompasses details from Q1 to present?
Joseph Denne: I’m working on one! An annual wrap up if you like. There’s just been so much this year it’s hard to know where to focus 🙂
🔗Question 13
Does the DADI team feel vindicated/validated in some way that AWS is launching a new blockchain initiative? Or does the team view it as more ‘lip service’ than anything?
Joseph Denne: It’s great for the industry as a whole. Anything that it makes it easier to work with blockchain can only be a good thing. Of course, everything that Amazon does is to drive adoption of its own services, so while this is blockchain related it isn’t decentralized. That’s an important difference.
🔗Question 14
Is DADI looking at or considering partnerships with storage providers?
Paul Regan: We are increasingly shifting our focus to the network over individual web services, meaning that we are open to working with anyone that has a network requirement. As the ‘open framework for edge computing’ we would welcome working with any technology provider.
🔗Question 15
If DADI generates revenue in the future through third party integrations, for example through Storj Partner Program, where will this income stream go to, Foundation or back into the ecosystem?
Joseph Denne: All revenues in and from the network are distributed through network contracts, meaning that the majority go to contributors, with smaller percentages to network development and to the foundation. This includes anything generated through the marketplace. We’ll be sharing details as to the fully developed pricing approach very soon.
🔗Question 16
What will be the first opportunity to contribute to the DADI network AFTER the Founding Nodes?
Paul Regan: The first opportunity will be a command line Linux package for contributors who wish to connect their own compatible hardware, swiftly followed by desktop applications for Mac and Windows devices (with lovely, easy-to-use interfaces).
🔗Question 17
How long between Constellation and Linux device onboarding?
Paul Regan:The Linux package is roadmapped for Q1 2019 and given current dev pace we expect it’ll be middle of the quarter. More details here: https://dadi.cloud/en/roadmap/
🔗Question 18
What happens if a node decides to return the wrong data, or even worse send malicious data?
Joseph Denne: There’s a consensus system built in to the network that checks the expected response from Hosts. This is designed to prevent incorrect responses from being returned to the end users. In the event that an incorrect response is received, the request is passed on to another Host, and the offending Host’s reputation is reduced. This has the effect of reducing their earnings in the network by giving preference to other Hosts in future. Ultimately a rogue Host would be pushed offline, which would mean a loss of POS.
🔗Question 19
Are websites stored across multiple nodes with redundancy?
Paul Regan: Yes. No one Host is responsible for the delivery of a site, API or any other app deployed to the network. There’s redundancy built in at every level.
🔗Question 20
Do all 22 Stargates belong to the team or some are by token holders and partners?
Joseph Denne: All Stargates are part of the backbone, all are currently hosted with our partners, and all are currently non-earning. We have an additional 25 locations in plan for the second half of 2019, which are likely to be first opened up to token holders. We are considering a rental/part rental option for backbone nodes. More on that in the New Year.
🔗Question 23
With current token price and POS, could the return on Stargates be close to 50%?
Joseph Denne: The change in return actually impacts Hosts more than other nodes in our modelling. Hosts when running at capacity would be close to 25-30% of POS per annum. This is on the basis of our latest pricing modelling, which we will be releasing in the coming weeks.
🔗Question 22
Will the Gateways be able to be self-onboarded?
Paul Regan: Yes.
🔗Question 23
What is Cloudflare distributed web gateway? Are there any link/overlap with DADI offerings?
Paul Regan: It’s a gateway to IPFS that allows you to browse files uploaded to IPFS using the http protocol, for example: https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/. There’s no real cross over with what DADI is doing.
🔗Question 24
Does DADI have plans to offer a service like Amazon’s recently announced Managed Blockchain?
Joseph Denne: We’re looking at ways of providing easy access to other chains from within the network itself, which would allow for a developer to create a distributed app that runs on DADI and is built with another chain. It’s really about providing the hooks needed to integrate with ease, for which we have proof of concept (for Nano’s explorer and for Ethereum contracts). There isn’t currently a timeline for this however.
🔗Question 25
What details can be shared right now regarding voting rights of nodes?
Joseph Denne: Voting is going to be tied to proposed changes in POS (which will be reviewed regularly), as well as any items that the core development team feel materially impact the structure and performance of the network. Voting rights are restricted to Stargates, the top 25% of Gateways by performance and the top 5% of Hosts by performance.
🔗Question 26
Pricing for DADI CDN in the Tokenomics doc is noted as TBC. Is this pricing confirmed yet and has pricing for other services been established? When do you expect a rate sheet will be published?
Paul Regan: Pricing has evolved significantly, and is now tied back to the three types of data that are traded in the network: compute cycles (incl. RAM), disk space and bandwidth.
By pricing on this basis, we are able to more easily attribute revenues to contributors. We are also able to benchmark price against other networks, which helps us with market positioning. And of course, it puts the focus on the network rather than the individual services, which is important as we move towards an open framework for edge computing. Rates will be published in the near future.
🔗Question 27
If a node misbehaves and provides the wrong data compromising something such as private data from the user, what will happen?
Joseph Denne: The security model is actually very similar to that of a traditional hosting architecture. It’s not possible for a Host to unilaterally miss-behave in this way, as there is no vector open for a host to access the sort of information that you reference. It is possible for customer apps to be poorly coded however, but this is the same in all hosting environments, and the onus is really on individual developers and teams to properly and thoroughly QA their products.
🔗Question 28
How does ‘the decentralized web’ influence the skillsets/choices for DevOps?
Paul Regan: As an organization with a history of adopting bleeding edge technology, the skillsets across the engineering team are a big part of what influenced the development of the network.
In that respect, ‘the decentralized web’ is a product of the skillsets and choices we’ve made as a team, not the reverse. So, looking at that in reverse – what skills do I need to be ready for the decentralized web? – it’s important that you keep up to date with modern deployment techniques, such as containerization, and that you think about how distribution could impact development choices/approaches for your team (data modelling is much more akin to API-first than traditional one-big-database thinking for example).
🔗Question 29
At the launch of Constellation and the implementation of LBX’s tools in that release, will non-UK customers be able to do an exchange for $DADI with fiat?
Paul Regan: We’re working on purchasing options that will support customers no matter their location.
Joseph Denne: It’s worth adding that DADI is a utility and in that respect, customers are really just buying alternative hosting services. In this respect payment gateways for fiat are actually pretty straight forward for us.
🔗Question 30
When will we be seeing more of the commissioned artwork on the website?
Joseph Denne: We’ve moved away from this in favour of network visualization. The network map will be showing live data soon, which we think is much more powerful overall.
🔗Question 31
Why there is still selling pressure on exchanges by the bots which, probably setup by MM firm you work with, DADI or MM firm shouldn’t hold tokens anymore?
Joseph Denne: I can’t really comment on this other than to say that we are significant token holders (and are not selling), and that market makers exists to provide liquidity for individuals and businesses looking to both buy and sell.
🔗Question 32
Could you explain what “network-ready” means exactly (roadmap)?
Paul Regan:In relation to our applications (CDN, API, Web and Publish, for example) this is the point at which they are ready to be used on the network. For CDN, this is true already. Timings for others can be found on our roadmap: https://dadi.cloud/en/roadmap/
