7.3 Decentralized storage solutions

Decentralized storage solutions are crucial for DApps due to blockchain limitations. They enable efficient off-chain storage while maintaining decentralization. Options like IPFS, Swarm, and Filecoin offer content-addressed storage, ensuring data integrity and tamper-resistance.

Implementing decentralized storage in DApps involves setting up nodes, using APIs, and integrating with smart contracts. While decentralized storage may have slower performance compared to centralized solutions, it offers enhanced security, cost-effectiveness for long-term storage, and resistance to censorship.

Decentralized Storage Solutions

Need for decentralized storage in DApps

Top images from around the web for Need for decentralized storage in DApps

• 

  Design of the Blockchain Smart Contract: A Use Case for Real Estate View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Prototyping with blockchain for more transparency and data accessibility View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Frontiers | A Blockchain Platform for User Data Sharing Ensuring User Control and Incentives View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Design of the Blockchain Smart Contract: A Use Case for Real Estate View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Prototyping with blockchain for more transparency and data accessibility View original

  Is this image relevant?

1 of 3

Top images from around the web for Need for decentralized storage in DApps

• 

  Design of the Blockchain Smart Contract: A Use Case for Real Estate View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Prototyping with blockchain for more transparency and data accessibility View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Frontiers | A Blockchain Platform for User Data Sharing Ensuring User Control and Incentives View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Design of the Blockchain Smart Contract: A Use Case for Real Estate View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Prototyping with blockchain for more transparency and data accessibility View original

  Is this image relevant?

1 of 3

• Blockchain limitations make decentralized storage crucial for DApps
  • High cost of storing large amounts of data on the blockchain (Ethereum gas fees)
  • Limited storage capacity on the blockchain restricts file sizes
  • Reduced performance when storing and retrieving large files from the blockchain impacts user experience
• Benefits of decentralized storage enhance DApp functionality
  • Enables storing large files and data off-chain while maintaining decentralization (images, videos)
  • Allows for more efficient and cost-effective storage solutions compared to on-chain storage
  • Enhances the scalability and performance of DApps by offloading storage requirements

Comparison of storage solutions

• InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is a peer-to-peer hypermedia protocol for storing and sharing data
  • Content-addressed storage ensures data integrity and tamper-resistance
  • Enables fast and efficient data retrieval through a distributed hash table (DHT)
  • Use cases include decentralized websites, file sharing, and content delivery networks (Filecoin, Storj)
• Swarm is a decentralized storage and communication platform built on Ethereum
  • Utilizes a distributed hash table (DHT) for content addressing and retrieval
  • Provides redundancy and fault-tolerance through data replication across nodes
  • Use cases include decentralized file storage, content distribution, and web hosting (Ethereum Swarm)
• Filecoin is a decentralized storage network that incentivizes storage providers with cryptocurrency rewards
  • Uses a proof-of-replication consensus mechanism to ensure data storage and retrieval
  • Offers a marketplace for buying and selling storage space
  • Use cases include long-term data storage, data archiving, and backup solutions

Implementing and Integrating Decentralized Storage

Implementation of IPFS in DApps

• Install and set up an IPFS node in the DApp's infrastructure
• Use IPFS APIs to interact with the IPFS network from the DApp (

  js-ipfs

  )
• Store and retrieve files using IPFS commands

  1. ipfs.add()

     to add files to the IPFS network

  2. ipfs.cat()

     to retrieve files from the IPFS network
• Obtain the IPFS hash (CID) of stored files for reference
• Integrate IPFS with smart contracts
  • Store the IPFS hash (CID) of files in smart contract variables
  • Use smart contract functions to associate metadata or ownership information with the stored files
  • Retrieve the IPFS hash from the smart contract and use it to fetch the file from the IPFS network
  • Ensure data integrity by verifying the retrieved file's hash matches the stored hash in the smart contract

Decentralized vs centralized storage

• Performance trade-offs
  • Decentralized storage may have slower read/write speeds compared to centralized solutions due to the distributed network
  • Centralized storage often offers faster performance due to optimized infrastructure and data locality (AWS S3)
• Cost considerations
  • Decentralized storage can be more cost-effective for long-term storage and large datasets due to the absence of a central provider (Filecoin)
  • Centralized storage pricing models may be more suitable for small-scale applications and short-term storage needs
• Security aspects
  • Decentralized storage provides enhanced security through data redundancy, encryption, and the absence of a central point of failure
  • Centralized storage may be more vulnerable to data breaches, censorship, and single points of failure (data leaks)
  • Decentralized storage ensures data integrity and tamper-resistance through content addressing and consensus mechanisms