In this article, we explore the limitations of centralized cloud computing to highlight the compelling benefits of distributed systems, focusing on their superior performance, enhanced security, cost-effectiveness, and remarkable operational efficiency.

Pitfalls of Centralized Cloud Computing

Centralized cloud computing relies heavily on data centers that are often located far from end users. This geographic separation introduces latency, or the time it takes for data to be transferred following a command.

Although cloud providers offer scalable solutions, centralized data centers are inherently limited in their ability to scale. As demand increases, the process of adding resources within a centralized system becomes increasingly complex and costly. As a result, large-scale applications can experience performance bottlenecks and delays during peak usage periods as the centralized infrastructure struggles to meet sudden surges in demand.

In addition, centralized data centers are significant energy consumers, contributing to global carbon emissions. These centers require continuous power not only for computing, but also for cooling and maintaining equipment. The growing energy consumption of data centers has profound environmental implications, exacerbating the carbon footprint associated with the increasing demand for cloud services.

It is imperative to explore the potential of distributed computing as a superior alternative, offering solutions that address the limitations of centralized models and provide enhanced performance, improved security, cost efficiency and environmental sustainability.

At Edge, we want to show how decentralized infrastructure not only supports, but also accelerates the rapid scaling of AI capabilities, making it in many ways indispensable to the development of AI.

Reducing Latency

Decentralized computing offers a significant advantage in reducing latency by bringing data processing closer to its point of origin and distributing it across various devices. This approach stands in stark contrast to traditional centralized systems, which typically concentrate computing power in data centers, geographically distant from end users.

In a decentralized network, computational tasks are distributed across a vast array of nodes spread out over diverse locations. This distributed architecture ensures that data doesn’t have to travel long distances to be processed, cutting down on transmission time. The result is a significant improvement in responsiveness, which is critical for a wide range of applications. By minimizing latency, decentralized computing not only improves the overall user experience for these applications, but also enables more efficient real-time decision-making processes.

This efficiency is especially important as AI capabilities continue to scale rapidly. Lower latency allows AI systems to process more data and make decisions faster, facilitating the development of more sophisticated and responsive apps. This reduced latency in decentralized systems can lead to energy savings and improved resource utilization. By processing data closer to its source, less energy is used to transmit data over long distances.

Cost Efficiency to the Max

Instead of relying on expensive, centralized data centers, decentralized computing represents a revolutionary approach to computing resource cost efficiency by harnessing the power of existing hardware distributed across a wide network. This includes personal computers, smartphones, tablets, and all types of IoT devices, effectively creating a vast, interconnected web of computing power.

This low-cost model has far-reaching implications for the rise of AI. By lowering the financial barriers to entry, decentralized computing fosters an environment ripe for innovation, making high-level computational power more accessible to a broader range of entities.

Small businesses, startups, and even individual researchers can now access resources that were previously available only to large corporations or well-funded institutions. In addition, decentralized systems allow all types of organizations to tap into computational resources worldwide, potentially taking advantage of regions with lower energy costs.

Increased Reliability and Security

Reliability, fault tolerance and security are crucial aspects of any computing infrastructure, especially as our dependence on digital systems continues to grow. Distributed computing offers a robust solution to these challenges, providing a level of resilience that centralized systems struggle to match. This increased reliability comes from the distributed nature of decentralization and its ability to maintain operations even in the face of partial system failures.

In a decentralized system, the failure of a single node has minimal impact on the entire network because other nodes can seamlessly take over the workload. This is in stark contrast to centralized systems, where a failure in a central data center can result in widespread service disruption, as we have witnessed in recent events.

The distributed nature of decentralized computing ensures continuous availability and fault tolerance, making it an ideal infrastructure for critical applications that require high uptime and reliability. This robustness is essential for reliably scaling AI applications, which often operate in environments where downtime can have significant technical and economical consequences​.

With the looming threat of data breaches and cyberattacks, the need for secure solutions is greater than ever - decentralized computing offers a compelling option to many of the security challenges inherent to traditional centralized systems. By fundamentally changing the way data is stored and processed, decentralized networks provide a robust defense against a wide range of cyber threats, as they enhance security by distributing data and processing tasks across multiple nodes.

In centralized systems, data stored in a few large data centers can be a tempting target for cyber-attacks, while the decentralized networks employ advanced encryption and security protocols at each node, making it more challenging for attackers to compromise the entire system.

Embracing Decentralisation for the Future of AI

The transition to distributed computing models marks a fundamental shift in our approach to digital infrastructure. This paradigm shift is an evolution toward a more robust, efficient, and adaptable framework capable of meeting the escalating demands of AI technologies.

Edge harnesses the transformative potential of decentralized computing. By leveraging the spare capacity of a global network of devices, our decentralized infrastructure can efficiently support and accelerate the scaling of AI capabilities.

Sign up for free now: https://account.edge.network

Where Power Meets Flexibility

Picture a platform where scalability isn’t just a feature; it’s a promise. The increased capacity in Edge VMs are a testament to our commitment to delivering computational firepower and storage capacity. This is where big data analytics, complex web applications, and real-time processing coalesce.

The New Playground for Innovators

With great power comes great creativity. The expanded VM specs are a clarion call to developers, data scientists, and innovators, inviting them to push the boundaries of what’s achievable. Whether it’s machine learning models that learn faster, databases that store more, or applications that run smoother, the possibilities are as limitless as your imagination.

Empowering the Data-Driven World

In an era where data is king, these VM upgrades are your crown and scepter. Big data analytics and machine learning endeavors that once buckled under the weight of computational demands now glide effortlessly. The increased storage capacity means your data lakes can grow into oceans, offering insights previously obscured by the horizon.

Unleashing High-Performance Computing

For those who dare to tackle the universe’s mysteries, whether through scientific research, financial modeling, or engineering marvels, these VMs are your new best allies. The enhanced processing power ensures that high-performance computing tasks, once daunting, are now manageable, inviting a new age of discovery and innovation.

The Future of Web and Application Hosting

Imagine a world where your websites and applications don’t just run; they sprint. For digital businesses and web developers, the upgraded VMs mean your online presence is not just reliable but invincible, capable of handling traffic spikes and complex processes with ease.

Revolutionising Media and Entertainment

In the fast-paced world of media and entertainment, these VM enhancements are a game-changer. Video processing, game hosting, and streaming services that demand high-speed, high-capacity environments find a perfect match in Edge’s upgraded VMs.

A New Chapter in Cloud Computing

Edge’s leap in VM capabilities is more than an upgrade; it’s a manifesto. It’s a declaration that the future of cloud computing lies at the edge, where performance, flexibility, and innovation meet. As we stand on this new frontier, the path ahead is clear: limitless potential, unbridled creativity, and a world where the edge is not the end but the beginning.

Join us on this exhilarating journey, where Edge redefines what’s possible, reshaping the landscape of virtual machines and sets the template for the future of the cloud.

Sign up for free now: https://account.edge.network

In the digital era, the speed and efficiency of content delivery are paramount. The emergence of Content Delivery Networks (CDN) marked a significant leap in ensuring that users worldwide receive web content rapidly and reliably. However, as technology evolves, so do the methodologies behind content delivery. One such transformative approach is the integration of edge computing with traditional CDN frameworks. This article delves into the fundamentals of CDN, how edge computing is reshaping the CDN paradigm and how Edge is at the forefront of this change.

Understanding CDN

At its core, a Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a network of servers strategically distributed across various geographical locations. The primary objective of a CDN is to deliver internet content, such as web pages, videos, and images, to users with high availability and performance. CDNs work by caching content on multiple servers. When a user requests content, the CDN redirects the request to the server closest to the user, minimizing latency and improving load times.

Key Concepts of CDN

1. Caching

Storing copies of files in multiple locations to speed up access.

2. Load Balancing

Distributing network traffic across various servers to optimize resource use and reduce response times.

3. Redundancy

Having backup servers to ensure continuous content delivery, even if one server fails.

4. Network Optimization

Enhancing data transfer efficiency through techniques like compression and persistent connections.

Edge Computing: Shifting the Paradigm

Edge computing is a distributed computing paradigm that brings computation and data storage closer to the location where it is needed. This shift enhances response times and saves bandwidth. Integrating edge computing with CDN represents a significant evolution in content delivery.

Edge is the world’s first and only dedicated edge computing network. It provides cloud services that exist entirely at the edge of the network, speeding up delivery, improving security and cutting carbon emissions. At the heart of the Edge network is a content delivery layer that revolutionizes how your customers and end users access your media.

Impact of Edge Computing on CDN

1. Reduced Latency

By processing data closer to the end user, edge computing dramatically reduces the time taken for users to receive content.

2. Localized Content and Services

It allows for more localized and personalized content delivery, enhancing user experience.

3. Bandwidth Optimization

Reduces the need for data to travel across long distances, conserving bandwidth.

4. Enhanced Security

By decentralizing data storage and processing, edge computing offers improved security against network attacks.

Real-World Applications

Incorporating edge computing into CDN is not just theoretical. Industries like publishing, mobile apps, online gaming, video streaming, and IoT are leveraging this integration. For instance, streaming services use edge computing to store popular content on local servers, allowing for smoother streaming experiences, and publishers use edge computing to ensure the faster possible delivery of their images, regardless of user location.

Challenges and Considerations

Despite its benefits, the integration of edge computing into traditional CDN frameworks comes with challenges. These include managing the increased complexity of the network, ensuring data privacy and security at the edge, and dealing with the potential increase in maintenance costs.

Thankfully Edge solves these challenges by being a dedicated edge computing network: it’s built from the ground up on the edge.

In Summary

The integration of edge computing into CDN technology is a game-changer in the realm of content delivery. By bringing data processing closer to the end user, it promises faster, more efficient, and personalized content delivery. As this technology continues to evolve, it will undoubtedly shape the future of internet experiences. Edge is at the forefront of this change.

This week the team have been working diligently on Storage Beta interfaces for Edge account. The various interface elements are coming together well and hopefully in the near future we’ll be able to share some screenshots or videos of the interface.

We’ve also been working on a number of other areas this week, including migrating earnings onto a new Edge Server, reducing the amount of data that is held in the earnings database (it was a lot!) and delivering a few improvements to how the earnings data is managed.

Additionally testnet index was reinstated after something went kaput during testing, and that is now up and running perfectly. Also working perfectly is Multi-Stargate. We have an average of 360 hosts online this week with current statistics putting AMS at 43, FFM at 87, LA at 24, LDN at 45, MUM at 33, NYC at 56, SYD at 41, and TKY at 36.

Now that Multi-Stargate is in and we have a lot more capacity for Hosts, we’re looking at changing the Host stake amount down to 1,250 XE as per the proposal earlier this year. This change will come into effect at the start of Q4 in October this year.

We have a new community proposal, courtesy of Demir, on the subject of ‘Staking tokens without node onboarding’. Currently inactive stakes don’t earn XE though they do help reduce circulating supply. This proposal has kicked off some great discussions in the Discord thread, which you can find here:

https://discord.com/channels/371989135172567051/1148283080562462722

The proposal will be open until 25 Sep 23 15:17 so if you haven’t yet, go and have your say, either in the discussion thread or on the proposal itself, and feel free to vote. As a community, the open governance portal is your way of helping direct the project.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be continuing to work through beta support, storage interfaces, and some general maintenance. Some of the team will be away over the next couple of weeks but we’ll be back here next Friday for the final lottery draw of the initial six month pilot period. We’ll be discussing the future of the Edge lottery over the succeeding weeks and hope to hear from you.

Releases this week include:

Index v2.8.5 — which covered the collection of node data. It should now be more stable.

Earnings Oracle v0.11.1 — which covered the aforementioned database improvements.

And that’s all for this week!

Enjoy your weekend 🍕

In a decentralized hosting environment, websites and applications aren’t served from a single centralized server or data center. Instead, they’re distributed across multiple nodes or servers spread across different geographical locations. This offers a host of advantages, including improved resilience against DDoS attacks, reduced latency, and improved user experience.

Reducing Energy Consumption

One of the primary environmental benefits of decentralized hosting platforms is their potential for reducing energy consumption. Traditional centralized data centers consume enormous amounts of energy to power their servers and cooling systems. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, data centers accounted for about 2% of the total U.S. electricity use in 2020.

Decentralized hosting platforms, on the other hand, distribute the load among many nodes. This reduces the demand on individual servers, potentially resulting in lower energy consumption overall. Additionally, because data doesn’t have to travel as far, network energy use can also be reduced.

Leveraging Underutilized Resources

Decentralized hosting platforms often leverage underutilized resources, which can lead to greater overall efficiency. In a decentralized network, anyone with spare computing power and bandwidth can join and host websites or applications. This allows for the use of already available resources, reducing the need for new infrastructure and thereby minimizing the environmental impact associated with manufacturing, transportation, and disposal of hardware.

Promoting Renewable Energy Usage

Some decentralized hosting platforms are actively promoting the use of renewable energy. They incentivize nodes that run on renewable energy sources, contributing to the overall sustainability of the network. This not only decreases the carbon footprint but also encourages the transition to a renewable energy future.

Challenges and Mitigation

Despite its potential environmental benefits, decentralized hosting also poses some challenges. The increase in the number of nodes can lead to an overall rise in energy consumption if not managed efficiently. Ensuring that nodes use energy-efficient hardware and software, and incentivizing the use of renewable energy, can help mitigate this.

Data redundancy, which is often used in decentralized networks for reliability, can also lead to increased storage needs and associated energy use. However, this can be addressed through efficient data management practices and the use of advanced technologies like erasure coding, which provides redundancy without duplicating the entire data set.

Looking Ahead

The environmental implications of decentralized hosting platforms are still emerging, and further research and innovation are needed to fully realize their potential benefits and address the challenges. However, the shift towards decentralization in hosting is clear, driven by the need for enhanced security, reliability, and performance.

As this transition occurs, it’s crucial to keep the environmental impact at the forefront. Encouraging energy efficiency, promoting the use of renewable energy, and leveraging underutilized resources are key strategies to ensure that decentralized hosting platforms contribute to a sustainable digital future.

At Edge we’re working to quantify the environment savings that the technology of the platform bring to the table. We know that the technology reducing the distance data has to travel by around 50%, saving a commensurate amount of power in the process. We also know that by bypassing new hardware and making use of existing spare capacity that we are removing stored energy costs entirely. It’s a complex picture, but it’s clear that Edge is at the forefront of the drive to a more sustainable future.

While decentralized hosting platforms come with their own set of environmental implications, they offer promising pathways towards reducing the digital world’s environmental footprint. As we navigate this decentralization journey, we must strive to strike a balance between technological advancement and environmental sustainability, fostering an Internet that is not only robust and secure but also sustainable.

The website build is ongoing. The focus this week has been on the mobile readiness of the main landing page, and we’ll be moving onto sub-pages and product landing pages soon.

Testnet continues to run on multiple Stargates which is fantastic. We’ll be performing some tests on this and ensuring that everything is working and data is being collected as expected. Once we’re happy that things are stable and working as intended, we’ll start the mainnet migration to multiple Stargates.

This week has also included technical planning for Storage beta. Keep an eye out over the coming months as we work to open up decentralised, chunked object storage to the community for testing, including integration with CDN.

Also this week:

• Account API v1.18.2 was deployed to mainnet. This delivered some minor fixes for payment processing and management of account status.
• Index v2.7.2 was deployed to mainnet. This update facilitated a change in the explorer from daily to monthly revenue reporting.
• Explorer v1.26.4 was deployed to mainnet. This update changed the revenue reporting from daily to monthly, and also improved the coin value chart.

As always, we encourage you to join our Discord to stay up-to-date on the latest news and announcements from the core team. Here’s the invite: https://discord.gg/edge-network

And that’s all for this week!

Enjoy your weekend 🍕

In the traditional DNS architecture, requests from users are handled by a hierarchical network of servers. At the top are the root servers, followed by the top-level domain (TLD) servers and then the authoritative DNS servers for each domain. The centralized nature of this hierarchy, particularly the reliance on a limited number of root servers, makes the DNS susceptible to various forms of cyberattacks, including DDoS attacks, DNS spoofing, and DNS hijacking.

Decentralizing DNS: A New Era of Security

Decentralizing the DNS means transitioning from a hierarchical server architecture to a distributed network of nodes that can respond to DNS queries. Instead of a few centralized servers holding authority, the responsibility of resolving domain names into IP addresses is shared among numerous nodes in a decentralized network.

Enhanced Resilience to Attacks

Decentralized DNS provides superior resilience to cyberattacks. In the traditional DNS, a successful attack on a single point (like the root or TLD servers) can disrupt the entire system. However, in a decentralized DNS, the distributed nature of the network means that even if some nodes are compromised, others can continue to resolve queries, ensuring uninterrupted service.

Reduced Risk of DNS Spoofing and Hijacking

In a centralized DNS, attackers can trick the system into mapping a domain name to the wrong IP address, leading users to fraudulent websites – a technique known as DNS spoofing or poisoning. Similarly, DNS hijacking involves changing the DNS settings of a user to redirect them to malicious sites. A decentralized DNS, however, makes such attacks significantly more difficult. With multiple nodes storing and verifying the DNS records, altering the IP mapping without detection becomes virtually impossible.

Privacy Protection

A traditional DNS server can see every query a user makes, posing a serious threat to privacy. But in a decentralized system, DNS queries can be encrypted and distributed among many nodes, making it difficult for any single node to track a user’s activities, thereby enhancing privacy.

Censorship Resistance

Centralized DNS systems are vulnerable to censorship because control is concentrated in a few entities’ hands. If a government or organization wants to block a website, it can force the DNS servers to stop resolving that particular domain name. But in a decentralized DNS, no single entity has the authority to control or censor the content, making it resistant to such interventions.

Challenges and Future Directions

Despite its numerous benefits, the transition to a decentralized DNS also poses challenges. Key among these are maintaining the consistency and accuracy of the DNS records across numerous nodes, ensuring efficient query resolution in a distributed network, and dealing with potential regulatory and compliance issues.

Promising solutions are being explored to address these challenges. Technologies like the blockchain, for example, are being used to ensure consistency and accuracy of the DNS records in a decentralized environment. Innovative network protocols are being developed to enhance the efficiency of query resolution.

Edge is working hard on this front, both in enhancing the performance, scope and reliability of traditional DNS solutions, as well as architecting a fully decentralized alternative, where any node on the network can be used to resolve queries for network operations.

Decentralizing DNS offers an effective approach to enhance the security, privacy, and resilience of the domain name system. By distributing the authority to resolve DNS queries among numerous nodes, it significantly reduces the risk of attacks, protects user privacy, and resists censorship. While the road to a fully decentralized DNS may still have some hurdles to overcome, the journey promises a more secure and robust Internet for all.

As you saw earlier, this week has seen some exciting changes to the account system. We’ve been working on improving the usability of the account system recently, and are excited to deliver these improvements.

Yesterday, several Edge Account updates were deployed to mainnet. These were Account v1.17.1, Account API v1.18.0, Mailer v2.1.0 & v2.1.1. With these updates, the account system now:

— Generates invoices on a monthly basis. This not only reduces the amount of transactions flowing through the blockchain, but also removes barriers between us and customers who traditionally expect monthly billing; — Allows customers to pay by credit card. Again, aimed at reducing barriers for new customers, you can now pay for your services on a monthly basis using a credit (or debit) card. All revenue remains on-chain, as all the system does is purchase the amount of XE required to settle your invoice; — Create an account and sign in with email. Anonymous accounts aren’t going anywhere, and all accounts still have a unique, secret account number associated with them, but users can now create accounts with emails and, if you have emails associated with your account, sign in with them too. This makes it even easier to create and manage your Edge account;

We’re really excited about these changes. Freedom of access and freedom of use remains central to the project and there are no plans to do away with anonymous accounts. Adding an email address to your account is optional, and you can fund your account by transferring XE directly from another wallet without using a payment card. The focus here is about lowering the barrier to access, and part of that means providing interfaces that work in a recognisable way.

As we start to ramp up sales this will become ever more important. When a potential customer is looking at Edge alongside existing, more traditional cloud platforms, it’s critical that we’re not putting any barriers in front of their decision.

But wait.. this isn’t all we have been busy with this week!

We have been working on multi-Stargate for a while now, putting in place all the changes required to decentralise the authoritative Stargate layer. While we have a number of Stargate machines running, only one has been performing network operations for Gateways and Hosts. This week we can happily say that we have now upgraded the testnet to multi-Stargate.

Currently we have 8 regions, each with a Gateway, and these have traditionally been managed and coordinated by a single Stargate. Now each region (on testnet) has its own Stargate. We’ll be rolling out multi-Stargate to mainnet in the coming weeks.

Take a look at the testnet nodes here: https://test.network/nodes

We also saw other releases this week:

— Account API v1.17.1 was deployed to mainnet. This patch fixed a bug with adding new two-factor authentication (2FA) devices;

— Stargate v2.18.1-308 was deployed to testnet, improving configuration management and reducing the amount of environment variables required for deployment;

— Earnings (unversioned) testnet deployments;

— Various updates behind-the-scenes account administration software.

Moving into next week, the main focus will shift back onto the website build. We’ll be continuing to build that out and get that ready, while also pushing on with moving multi-Stargate into mainnet. This will include some further testnet work testing multi-Stargate earnings.

Exciting stuff!

And that’s all for this week!

Enjoy your weekend 🍕🍻

In a decentralized cloud storage model, data is not stored on servers owned and controlled by a single entity. Instead, it is fragmented, encrypted, and distributed across multiple nodes globally. These nodes can be individual computers or servers participating in the network, each of which contributes some storage capacity to the system. This decentralization of data brings about several security advantages.

Improved Data Security

A key feature of decentralized cloud storage is that it employs client-side encryption. In this model, your data is encrypted before it ever leaves your device and remains encrypted until it returns. This is unlike traditional cloud storage services where data is encrypted in transit and at rest but is decrypted while in use, leaving it vulnerable to insider threats and sophisticated cyberattacks. In a decentralized setup, the encryption keys are only with the users, ensuring that no one else, including the storage providers, can access the data.

Resilience to Attacks

In a centralized storage model, the data being stored in a single location makes it a high-value target for hackers. A successful attack on the central server can compromise all the data stored on it. In contrast, decentralized storage disperses the data across many nodes. This means an attacker would need to compromise a majority of the nodes to piece together any meaningful data, a task that is highly complex and unlikely, thus offering superior resilience to cyberattacks.

Data Redundancy and Availability

Decentralized cloud storage also improves data security by ensuring data redundancy and availability. In a decentralized model, data fragments are replicated and stored on multiple nodes. So, if one node goes offline or is compromised, the system can still retrieve the data from other nodes. This not only enhances the availability of data but also acts as a robust backup mechanism, providing an additional layer of security.

Transparency and Trust

Decentralization also introduces greater transparency, which, in turn, enhances security. Many decentralized cloud storage systems are built on blockchain technology, a public ledger of all completed transactions. These systems allow users to verify where and how their data is stored, offering a level of transparency that’s not available in traditional cloud storage models. This trustless environment where users don’t have to rely on a single entity to keep their data safe can significantly enhance data security.

Privacy Preservation

Unlike centralized models where the service provider has potential access to user data, decentralized cloud storage ensures only the user can access their data. This feature offers an unprecedented level of privacy, preventing any misuse of data by the storage provider or unauthorized access by third parties.

Challenges and Future Prospects

While decentralized cloud storage offers enhanced security, it’s not without challenges. These include ensuring data consistency in a distributed network, efficiently locating and retrieving data, and dealing with potential legal and compliance issues related to data residency.

Edge is building innovative solutions to address these challenges. For example, blockchain technology is being used to ensure data consistency and efficient retrieval. As for compliance, this necessitates the development of new regulations suitable for the age of decentralization, a process already underway in many jurisdictions.

Decentralized cloud storage represents a significant leap forward in securing digital data. By distributing data across multiple nodes, it mitigates many of the security vulnerabilities inherent in centralized models, offering enhanced data security, resilience to attacks, data redundancy, and privacy. The road to universal adoption of decentralized cloud storage may still have a few hurdles, but with its substantial security advantages, it’s a journey well worth taking.

This week the team have been focused on a number of areas:

Account system updates. We are working to make the account system more user friendly and accessible to a larger audience. Towards this end, we’re working on changing from a daily billing schedule to a monthly billing schedule. Additionally we’re putting in place the option to pay directly with a credit card, and finally, allowing customers to create accounts with their email addresses. All of these changes will fit into the existing system and all revenue will still be on-chain.

New website. The team continues to work on the website, which is now in the build stage. We’re still working through the build itself, which is being done in such a way that we can deliver it through CDN like https://thedecentralizedweb.com/, but we’re also working on the design of the pages while we do this.

Testnet multi-SG. We’re continuing work on this project. It’s complex, but we’re close now to having things working. Once testnet is functioning with multiple Stargates, we’ll run tests for a period of time, before rolling it out to mainnet.

We have a couple of people (including myself) away today, so a slightly shorter week than usual, but don’t let the brief weekly update fool you, the amount of coffee consumed this week has been high ☕

Additionally, Stargate v2.18.1 was deployed on Monday morning, delivering more streamlined metrics to mainnet. This had been running on testnet since the previous week and was rolled out this week.

In the community, Pod released Edge Staking GUI released versions 0.9.2 and 0.9.3. This project allows you to stake devices in an easy manner and now includes notifications for node earnings and lottery winnings. If you haven’t already, check out the ⁠💻│coders-lounge on Discord, where Pod spends most of his days!

And that’s all for now!

Enjoy your weekends! 🍕

In traditional cloud computing, data processing happens in centralized data centers, which could be located thousands of miles away from the user. Edge computing, on the other hand, pushes the data processing closer to the source or “edge” of the network. In other words, computations are performed right where the data is generated, be it a smartphone, a car’s sensor, or an Internet of Things (IoT) device. By doing this, edge computing effectively reduces latency, conserves bandwidth, and increases the overall efficiency of data processing.

Decentralization: The New Paradigm

The decentralization of technology infrastructure means distributing the computing resources and data across multiple nodes instead of a central location. A decentralized network, like a decentralized cloud, enhances privacy, improves performance and reliability, and provides cost benefits. When you combine edge computing with a decentralized model, you get a powerful system that can drive unprecedented levels of efficiency and scalability in processing massive amounts of data.

Benefits of Decentralized Edge Computing

1. Enhanced Privacy and Security

Decentralized edge computing provides heightened data privacy and security. When data is processed at the edge, and not sent across long distances to central data centers, the potential for data breaches or interference diminishes. Additionally, the decentralized nature ensures that even if one node is compromised, it doesn’t mean the whole system is at risk.

2. Lower Latency

One of the primary advantages of edge computing is its ability to reduce latency because data doesn’t have to travel long distances. In a decentralized edge computing model, data processing happens at various points spread out geographically, further lowering latency and improving performance. This is especially beneficial in applications where real-time data processing is critical, like autonomous vehicles, video streaming, and IoT applications.

3. Improved Reliability

Decentralized edge computing also improves reliability. If one edge node fails, the system can redirect the data to another edge node, preventing system-wide failure. This increased reliability is essential in applications like healthcare and transportation, where system failures can have serious consequences.

4. Cost and Energy Efficiency

Centralized data centers require substantial amounts of energy for operation and cooling. Edge computing, and specifically decentralized edge computing, reduces the need for these energy-hungry centers. By processing data at or near the source, the energy needed for data transmission is significantly reduced. Moreover, decentralization allows for a more cost-effective model where unused computing resources are leveraged, reducing the need for investing in new infrastructure.

Challenges of Decentralized Edge Computing

While the benefits of decentralized edge computing are plentiful, there are also challenges that need to be addressed. These include managing the complex network of edge nodes, ensuring data integrity and consistency, and addressing regulatory and compliance issues.

Complexity in managing edge nodes arises due to their geographical distribution and the need for constant synchronization. Meanwhile, maintaining data integrity in a decentralized environment is challenging because the data is spread across multiple nodes. However, emerging technologies like blockchain are showing promise in addressing these issues.

Compliance and regulatory issues pose another challenge. As data is processed closer to the source, it could cross international borders, raising jurisdictional and data sovereignty issues. Therefore, regulatory frameworks need to evolve to accommodate these new models of computing.

The Road Ahead

Despite the challenges, the future of decentralized edge computing looks promising. Solutions like Edge are addressing the complexity of managing distributed nodes, maintaining data integrity, and ensuring regulatory compliance. Additionally, the advent of 5G technology is set to bolster the implementation of decentralized edge computing, making data processing even faster and more efficient.

Decentralized edge computing is poised to redefine the world of computing, driving more efficient, reliable, and secure data processing. The transition won’t be without challenges, but the potential benefits make it a worthwhile endeavor. As we navigate this new world of decentralized edge computing, we can look forward to a future where data is processed in real-time, privacy is enhanced, and the digital experience is truly transformative.

It could be you!

Today’s lottery results are in.

And they are as follows:

• 🥇 xe_13EcF74e35b6ADaFe17c1D308cA0B30442B26985 10,000 XE
• 🥈 xe_C1bF96D40244e3d91DfAaBcc431B26c8d47Eb081 1,000 XE
• 🥈 xe_2C046d94C1C993B051744bf07472f11ce87B75D4 1,000 XE
• 🥈 xe_780149a0526dE0512a446596bf3a1089e73Aa3B2 1,000 XE
• 🥈 xe_55d36Fa62a2b26B0F3CD50F30F123aAA3673922C 1,000 XE
• 🥈 xe_a0662E470Acc874Db59CbD75B6caaD8d7dc451d2 1,000 XE
• 🥈 xe_AF0Affc99d15F8406F0aCb2208c6CC7347DcDac0 1,000 XE
• 🥈 xe_DDeCeeD9923670Db0095387549E1D98f7d48F334 1,000 XE
• 🥈 xe_e57643D16D7451580Fa99B8233b1Fa2FC681342A 1,000 XE
• 🥈 xe_Da78298b09539ecdCC933BC9dFF73aF97be30aD5 1,000 XE
• 🥈 xe_6503D65fFb887a327E3c1E64AD1e099bD7186ec4 1,000 XE

Congratulations to everyone who took part.

We’ll see you next time for another Edge lottery! And if you haven’t already got a node online, now is the perfect time to do so. The below guide will walk you through it step by step:

https://wiki.edge.network/contributing-to-the-network/setting-up-a-host

As you may have seen in the ⁠🛠│builds channel on Discord, the website build is coming along. We’ve moved out of the design phase and into the build phase now. We still have work to do but we’re excited. Once we have something to showcase, we’ll post it here first.

We have continued to work on multi-Stargate in testnet, with hardware procured in 5 new locations globally, and we will continue to work on getting testnet to multi-Stargate status ahead of rolling this out to mainnet. We shall of course keep you updated!

This week also saw a few updates to the account system, both in the administration panel behind-the-scenes and to the public account and account api systems:

Account API v1.17.0 was deployed to mainnet. This update introduced some new administrative APIs, plus a fix for server update timestamps.

Account v1.16.5 was also deployed to mainnet. This patch included a client side fix for server update timestamps (so when you view a server, Last Updated correctly shows the last time its details were modified).

There have also been some testnet Stargate deployments, and these will be rolled on on Monday. These pertain to efficiency improvements to metrics (saving bandwidth!)

And that’s all for now!

Congratulations to everyone who won a prize today.

To everyone else, the next draw will be 11 Sept … and remember, it could be you!

Enjoy your weekends 🍻

The distributed nature of the decentralized cloud introduces a wealth of benefits in terms of privacy, performance, reliability, cost, and environmental sustainability.

Decentralization and Privacy

Centralized systems, where a single entity controls all the data, pose significant privacy risks. In these scenarios, user data can be misused or accessed by unauthorized individuals. In contrast, a decentralized cloud distributes data across numerous nodes, making unauthorized access significantly more challenging. Each piece of data is encrypted and split into fragments that are stored on different nodes, making it virtually impossible for an outsider to make sense of the data even if they gain access to one fragment. This ensures an extra layer of privacy and security for users, addressing one of the most pressing concerns of the digital age.

Performance and Reliability

In a decentralized cloud hosting setup, resources are not limited to one central point but are spread across multiple locations. This distribution of resources helps to reduce latency and improve performance, as data requests can be served by the nearest node. It also adds to the reliability of the system. In a centralized model, if the central server goes down, all the services reliant on that server are impacted. However, in a decentralized model, if one node fails, the other nodes can still serve the data, ensuring uninterrupted service.

Cost Efficiency

The decentralized cloud also brings about significant cost advantages. By allowing users to rent out their unused computing resources, it eliminates the need for large-scale data centers. This peer-to-peer model drastically cuts down on operational and maintenance costs associated with data centers, making cloud services more affordable for end-users. It also opens up new income avenues for individuals and businesses that contribute their resources to the network.

Environmental Sustainability

Large-scale data centers used in centralized hosting are notorious for their high energy consumption. They require not just power to run the servers but also substantial energy to keep them cool. A decentralized cloud hosting model circumvents this need for energy-intensive data centers. By leveraging existing infrastructure - the unused storage or processing power on devices owned by individuals and businesses - it significantly reduces the energy footprint of data hosting.

Challenges and the Way Forward

Despite its numerous benefits, decentralized cloud hosting is not without its challenges. These include issues related to data integrity and consistency, efficient resource allocation, and regulatory compliance in a distributed environment. However, the technology is rapidly evolving, and solutions are being developed to address these challenges.

Edge is at the forefront of these efforts, with solutions in production today. Blockchain technology, for example, is being used to ensure data integrity and the interoperability of devices in Edge’s decentralized environment. Smart contracts can automate the allocation of resources, ensuring efficient utilization. As for regulatory compliance, it’s a matter of developing new regulations that are fit for the decentralized age, a process that is already underway in several jurisdictions.

Want to see a fully decentralized website? Here’s one: https://www.thedecentralizedweb.com

Decentralized cloud hosting presents a promising vision for the future of the Internet. By democratizing data storage and processing, it enhances privacy, boosts performance, improves reliability, cuts costs, and reduces the environmental impact. While there are challenges to be overcome, the solutions are emerging, and the transition to a more decentralized web is well underway. The future Internet, underpinned by decentralized cloud hosting, is set to be more user-centric, resilient, affordable, and sustainable, making it a truly exciting prospect for all.

This week was another short one, with a bank holiday on Monday. We’ve been pretty quiet all told, with a few of the team away. But even so, dev hasn’t stopped!

First up we have deployed Wallet v1.19.0 which adds the ability to assign a device to a stake via the web. This means that as well as adding a device to the network via CLI, a contributor can use Pod’s Edge Staking GUI to add their desktop machine without ever touching a terminal.

Relevant links:

v1.19.0 release PR: https://github.com/edge/wallet/pull/255

Pod’s Edge Staking GUI: https://github.com/PodTheCoder/edge_staking_gui

We’ve revamped our internal dashboards for reporting, drawing a far greater depth of data to the fore, giving us insight into individual deployments. This means that, for example, with Edge Content Delivery we can fully analyse the Gateway queue on a per deployment basis, seeing things such as:

• Request Success Rate: out of all CDN requests, how many time out or result in error?
• Cache Hit Rate: out of all CDN requests, how many are served directly from cache?
• Compression: how effectively are origin assets being reduced in bytesize when served through Edge CDN?
• Cache Population: how many cache keys have gone cold in the last 24h? (Higher value indicates consistent delivery from cache rather than unnecessarily processing through Hosts)

These changes are already highlighting potential improvements to Gateway queue handling, beyond the general concept of optimising the queue.

It allows us to suggest adjustments and optimizations to customers as well. And in time it will enable us to automate this. Imagine a dashboard of recommendations within the account portal that automatically suggests performance enhancements and optimisations.

Pretty cool I think.

In other news Gateway v2.11.18-201 was deployed to mainnet. This enhances the monitoring of the Gateway queue, which handles work distribution to hosts, and enables us to observe the effects of upcoming changes to the queue.

Our work with new partners is bearing fruit, with some very exciting developments afoot. This work is also setting the parameters by which the team engages with third parties, a process that is being formalised and will be written about on the new website.

Finally, the latest revenue burn of XE has taken place. This is a day later than planned, but it’s done and 81,846.52627 XE have been burned forever 🔥

Here’s the tx: https://xe.network/transaction/ab595e7c777daa83e3385896d8ec4e9fd5c07cc1b3e6571cac9af20c7f1d2131

And that’s all for now!

Enjoy your weekend 🍻

I hope everyone has had a good week. Those of you in the UK will know that it’s a bank holiday on Monday (again) – we hope you enjoy the long weekend. Some of the team will be taking well deserved breaks next week so we’ll be reduced in number for the shorter week.

The governance proposal “Reduce the cost of staking a Host node” has just closed, with 29 votes cast, with 75.9% in favour, 20.7% against, and 3.4% abstaining.

You can access the proposal here:

https://governance.edge.network/proposal/7eea66f964025724938ad8a119b461152ce0fbe9e1fe4019e7600b456cf2dd17

And the discussion thread for the proposal here:

https://discord.com/channels/371989135172567051/1104170362608033883

Thanks to everyone who took part, your voices matter and the core team will follow up on the proposal with a response and we’ll then take it from there.

This week the team has been working on monitoring and metrics extraction for Gateway queues, ahead of some work to improve the way in which jobs are distributed to hosts. This is the first part in a series of roadmap items to both improve the performance of Gateways through job distribution, and in the eventual update of earnings from availability based earnings to work-share based earnings.

Additionally this week:

Account API v1.15.2 was deployed to mainnet, adding more administrative APIs to provide more support to account management.

Explorer v1.26.1 was deployed to mainnet. This fixed a minor visual bug on the overview page.

The team continues to assist a number of partners with integrating their products and services with Edge. This includes a security start up and an AI company. We’ll be sharing more on these in due course.

The Edge website is way overdue for an overhaul, and this has been progressing well. I expect to be sharing some preview screens either in next week’s update, or the week after.

We’re aware of an issue with the previous Lottery draw missing out a number of transactions. The transactions in question have been identified and XE will be paid out over the coming week to the transactions that were missed and would otherwise have won. Fixes are now in place so that all eligible transactions are synchronised prior to draws. We’ll also write up a short synopsis of the issue and the resolution.

And that’s all for now!

Enjoy your weekend 🍻

This week was shorter than usual as we had a bank holiday.

This week saw a significant update to the Edge Account system. If you haven’t seen it yet, allow us to introduce: Edge Server metrics!

Metrics show load information for CPUs, memory usage, disk usage and network traffic, allowing you to better understand server usage and manage resources.

Account API v1.14.0 and Account v1.16.0 were deployed on Wednesday introducing this feature. These are experimental as we work to iron out any kinks, so if you notice any inconsistencies in your server metrics, please let us know in ⁠👤│account-support on Discord.

This week we’ve also been working on in-house tooling for the account system. While this isn’t something you’ll see, it helps us better manage the account system, which is essential as we scale.

Speaking of scaling, as capacity is added, it’s used up. Not a bad problem to have! We have more capacity on the way which we expected to be ready today. It looks like it will be Monday or Tuesday now, so as soon as that is ready, we’ll add it to the UK zone and let you know.

We’re also making progress on the second zone and putting required infrastructure in place to support that and will continue to update you as we make progress.

A major NFT artist launched a new site on Edge… 🔥 We’ll be talking about this in the coming weeks.

There’s a new governance proposal live. The team want your input on changing the staking requirement for Host nodes, reducing it significantly to make the process of contributing to the network open to more people. You can access the proposal here:

https://governance.edge.network/proposal/7eea66f964025724938ad8a119b461152ce0fbe9e1fe4019e7600b456cf2dd17

And the discussion thread for the proposal here:

https://discord.com/channels/371989135172567051/1104170362608033883

Next week will also be shorter than usual as we have a bank holiday again on Monday, so we’ll see everyone on Tuesday. Support will still be available though, so if you have any questions or issues with your accounts then feel free to message us via the account portal.

And that’s all for now!

Enjoy your weekend 🍻

A fairly short update this week as we’re heads down and mid flow on a number of fronts. Sorry it’s late! Still burning the midnight oil 🕯️

This week the team deployed a bunch of infrastructure updates to improve the resilience of our backup strategy. Granular backups now occur nightly in addition to whole disk backups, which provides an additional layer of protection.

The team has also been working on adding real-time server metrics to the Account portal for Edge Servers, and we expect to be releasing that feature next week. There are a few final wrinkles to iron out in the interface but we’re excited to be delivering this improvement.

Additionally, Account v1.15.1 was deployed this week fixing an issue with case sensitive values in the Edge DNS interface. We noticed this issue when storing base64 in TXT records but while case sensitivity is supported by Edge DNS itself, we were receiving lowercase values. The fix was quickly applied and released to mainnet.

Pod has again been busy driving forward his GUI for Edge Host, so if you haven’t already, find him working away in the #coding-lounge and feel free to join in. There’s plenty to contribute!

You can access the source code here: https://github.com/PodTheCoder/edge_staking_gui

The next Edge Lottery draw is coming up where 11 lucky winners will be receiving 20,000 XE between them. Everyone running an active host is automatically entered into the draw. Don’t run a node but want a chance to win? Set one up this weekend! It’s easy:

https://ed.ge/staking

April’s revenue burn 🔥 is coming up as well. c.90k XE will be burned on Tuesday.

Additional capacity was added for Edge Servers this week and we have a bunch more coming online soon as we expand the London zone. We’re also continuing to work on adding in a new region so keep your eyes peeled for an announcement on that front.

We have a bank holiday here in the UK on Monday so a slightly shorter week next week.

And that’s all for this week!

Look out for a new governance proposal next week 👀

Enjoy your weekend 🍻

This week saw the return of the team in full and, as you may have seen, we’ve been busy.

Those of you who have been keeping up with the ⁠💾│releases channel will have seen this today…

Yes, today Account API v1.13.0 and Account v1.15.0 were deployed to mainnet, introducing in-app notifications, enabling you to keep track of everything happening on your account even if you haven’t added an email address. This has been on the wish list of a few folks for a while and we’re happy to be able to implement it into the account system.

Earlier in the week we saw other updates:

Account API v1.12.0 was deployed to mainnet. This update added a background process to affirm that the nameserver records for your DNS zones are pointing at Edge DNS.

Account v1.14.10 was deployed to mainnet. This patch hides the “You will need to update your nameservers…” message that appears when you view a domain’s records and your NS records are configured.

Account API v1.12.1 was deployed to mainnet. This improved visibility of any issues deploying a server through API.

Account API v1.12.2 was deployed to mainnet. This was a maintenance-only release that updates some packages to simplify future development.

So lots of love for the Edge Account system this week.

The team has also been working on expanding the Stargate layer. We’ve been investigating inter-region networking complexities, but have the solution figured out and hope to be able to progress testnet to full global Stargate coverage over the next few weeks, with mainnet swiftly following. This has been a long and complicated process but we’re nearing the finishing line and are very excited at the prospect of getting the network to global Stargate coverage. 🗺

We’ve also seen a lot of activity in the #coding-lounge where our very own @Pod has been working away on a Staking GUI. Progress seems to have been rapid and persistent, and you can find the project at https://github.com/PodTheCoder/edge_staking_gui — great work Pod the Coder!

Last week we saw the first Edge Lottery draw, with 11 lucky winners receiving 20,000 XE between them. Everyone running an active host is automatically entered into the draw. Don’t run a node but want a chance to win? Set one up this weekend! It’s easy:

https://ed.ge/staking

We’re continuing to work on adding capacity to Edge Servers, and expect to have new capacity ready for use early next week. We’ll keep everyone updated on this front. We continue to work on setting up the second zone (US West Coast) and likewise will keep you all updated.

And that’s all for this week!

Enjoy your weekend 🍻

And a very happy Easter 🥚

The proposal for introducing transaction fees to the network closes in a few hours. This is the last chance to have your say!

https://governance.edge.network/proposal/cee266bdbcd9b9c7371e40638f7db4a8cd939110cc668a3b808645c3d27bba11

Thanks to everyone who has voted and pitched in so far. It looks like a resounded pass, so the team will proceed to move this into the planning stage, before factoring development into the roadmap.

There will be further proposals from the core team in the coming weeks.

This week some of the team have been taking well deserved breaks, and today and Monday are bank holidays, so the team will be having a long weekend to relax. But we’ve still been busy, especially with the preparations for moving to multiple Stargates.

Progress here is strong and we expect to be live soon. We encountered a few issues with network routing in the week, specifically relating to interconnectivity between Stargates, caused by a lack of peering for some areas leading to failed BGP routes. This has been resolved and will continue to be improved.

Additionally, this week:

Host v2.6.2-93 was released to mainnet. This addresses a build-time issue discovered late last week which resulted in some Hosts failing to process network requests. This was reflected in metrics graphs in the Explorer, as spotted by eagle-eyed contributors.

Overall network health remained good through this period despite the issue. If your nodes were affected by it, rest assured that your earnings were not.

Gateway v2.11.16-193 was released to mainnet. This patch re-enables a network stability feature that was temporarily disabled pending the latest Host update.

CLI v1.8.5 was released to mainnet. This delivers quality-of-life updates, including better support for env files and a rm alias for the device remove command. Update now by running edge update on your node.

Gateway v2.11.17-195 was released to mainnet. This patch prevents Gateway from hanging in particular circumstances if a Stargate connection cannot be established.

Stargate v2.17.0-295 was released to mainnet. This update adds an architecture flag to sessions, which enables us to monitor the distribution of nodes across x64 and ARM devices for informational and diagnostic purposes.

And Host v2.7.0-97 was released to mainnet. This enables Host to report its device’s architecture to Stargate.

We’ve had a bunch of ✍│write-for-edge submissions. These are stacked up waiting for review, which is in plan for next week. Expect to see new articles on the docs site soon.

The team continues to support several projects that are building on top of Edge, and will provide further updates as and when we can. We’re excited by the things that we’re seeing and know you will be too. With a fair wind we’ll be able to talk about the first of these in the next month.

We’re still working with CoinmarketCap to get the correct figures in place for the $EDGE token. We hope to see this resolved soon.

If you missed last week’s update, scroll up ☝️ …or you can read it on site now:

https://ed.ge/update/2023/03/27

And that’s all for now. Enjoy your weekend 🍻

Two weeks ago we submitted a proposal seeking agreement for the implementation of a small transaction fee into the XE Blockchain. The transaction fee is designed to help mitigate the potential for high frequency transactional attacks, with some additional benefits by the way of increasing deflationary pressure on XE.

You can find the proposal here:

https://governance.edge.network/proposal/cee266bdbcd9b9c7371e40638f7db4a8cd939110cc668a3b808645c3d27bba11

And you can discuss it here:

https://discord.com/channels/371989135172567051/1086431445620371468

There is still a week to go so if you haven’t voted yet, please do, we want to hear from you.

This week we’ve been primarily focused on continued multi-Stargate support. Phase 1 went ahead earlier in the week, and preparation and testing phase 2 is now under way. Phase one consisted of a few releases:

Stargate v2.16.1-289, Gateway v2.11.14-188, and Host v2.6.1-91 were deployed to mainnet. These updates were focused on stability and they significantly improve networking robustness, particularly during software updates. This is ahead of phase 2 of multi-Stargate support.

Stargate v2.16.2-292 then followed, fixing a minor bug initialising session metrics.

And tonight, Gateway v2.11.15-192 was deployed to mainnet, adding some additional controls for the network stability release earlier this week. Thanks to everyone who reported a few anomalies in explorer data for their nodes. We’ve investigated and think we’ve found the issue (in an open source package we use for arm builds) and will continue to work on a fix next week.

Also this week, we saw:

Explorer v1.25.3 deployed to mainnet, fixing a bug with displaying the wallet of migrated stakes.

Account API v1.11.2 deployed to mainnet, fixing a save bug when deploying multiple servers in rapid succession.

And finally, Lottery v1.0.2 was deployed to mainnet. This followed a proposal by @Max and @Pod to introduce a monthly lottery, which you can read more about on the Governance website:

https://governance.edge.network/proposal/7f518bdffcf0b6cdfea093448739e69a9d06b819caa433edbccbdeee256adfbb

Each month, every wallet that has received node earnings (as payment for running a Host and contributing to the network) is eligible to win a prize. Winners are determined based on the highest transaction hashes over the month.

“Highest” is defined as the hash closest to all zeroes - for example, 0f… is higher than 10… - similarly to golf scoring. And the more node earnings transactions you have received, the better your odds of having a winning transaction. This provides transparency, as all transactions are visible on the XE blockchain at: https://xe.network/

For even more transparency, we have also open sourced the Lottery repository on GitHub so you can verify the code for yourself - and contribute changes if you discover an issue.

https://github.com/edge/lottery

The Lottery app simplifies the work to determine each month’s winners and allows us to release payments at the touch of a button. On 14th April, Edge will carry out the first lottery ‘draw’ and pay winners a first prize of 10,000 XE and ten second prizes of 1,000 XE. Do you feel lucky?

A big thank you to everyone that’s continuing to push hard on social promotion for Edge. You can feel this fuelling the progress of the project and you can see it in the charts too. Edge is a collective mission, and the positive outreach is making a real difference.

The team continues to support several projects that are building on top of Edge, and will provide further updates as and when we can.

CoinGecko (https://ed.ge/coingecko) has been updated and is now showing the correct figures, and we continue to work with CoinMarketCap to bring that information up to date as well. We expect this to be completed within the next week or so.

Next weekend has two bank holidays next to it here in the UK as we celebrate Easter, and/or chocolate, and some members of the team will be taking well deserved breaks, but development will continue apace and we look forward to seeing you here next week.

And that’s all for this week!

Enjoy your weekend 🍻