iExec relies on Ethereum to develop a distributed cloud computing network for companies with computing power needs to exchange RLC tokens for computing power, and most computing power on the iExec network is provided by cloud computing power providers.
Written by: Dove
If blockchain is one of the important technologies of the next generation of the Internet, then cloud computing is another new innovation in the information age after the Internet and computers. It is a great leap in the information age. However, the current centralized cloud service Businesses are faced with the problems of high costs and few resources, and data loss occurs from time to time. Therefore, the popularization of cloud computing has not progressed smoothly. However, the combination of the two technologies of blockchain and cloud computing has brought new ideas to cloud computing. Hope.
On the one hand, use the existing infrastructure service facilities of cloud computing or make corresponding changes according to actual needs to accelerate the development and application process and meet the needs of start-ups, academic institutions, open source institutions, alliances, and financial institutions in the future blockchain ecosystem. The needs of blockchain applications. On the other hand, for cloud computing, “trustworthy, reliable, and controllable” are considered to be the “three mountains” that must be surpassed in the development of cloud computing, and blockchain technology is characterized by decentralization, anonymity, and data impossibility. The main feature is tampered with, which coincides with the long-term development goal of cloud computing.
Although the blockchain has unique prospects, its very limited computing power is difficult to run decentralized applications. Existing cloud computing cannot meet the requirements of DApps that require a completely decentralized infrastructure to execute. At the same time, the demand for computing power in the industry and the scientific community is increasing, and the infrastructure to run large applications and process large amounts of data is complex and expensive . This means that innovative small and medium-sized enterprises often do not have the means and expertise to acquire and operate high-performance computing (HPC) platforms. Traditional cloud infrastructure providers such as Amazon AWS have no problem with demanding applications (such as GPU rendering). It is still very expensive.
Since it is computing, natural data is also the top priority, but because the world of the blockchain is isolated, it is natural to have smooth access to external data, which can truly input off-chain data into the chain to ensure the authenticity of the data on the chain. Oracle has also become an indispensable part. As the transmission mechanism of off-chain data and on-chain data, the oracle machine writes real-world data accurately and accurately on the blockchain. It has many application scenarios, such as financial derivatives trading platforms, lending platforms, and express tracking/ IoT, stable coins, gambling games, insurance, prediction markets, etc. It can be said that all DApps that need to interact with off-chain data need oracles.
How to perfectly integrate cloud computing and blockchain? The distributed cloud computing platform iExec introduced in this article solves this problem in the form of ecological expansion.
What is iExec?
iExec aims to provide decentralized applications running on the blockchain to allow scalable, secure, and easy access to required services, data sets, and computing resources. iExec envisions a new ecosystem that provides storage, computing power pools, data providers, web hosting and SaaS applications, all of which conduct business with each other through iExec.
To put it simply, iExec relies on Ethereum technology to develop a distributed cloud computing network for companies with computing power needs to use RLC tokens to exchange computing power. Most of the computing power on the iExec network is provided by various cloud computing power providers. Therefore, the iExec network is more like a supermarket-a supermarket selling cloud computing power.
iExec’s core value proposition
The core value proposition of iExec is to meet the needs of all distributed businesses:
- DApp providers can perform offline calculations on demand.
- Application providers can radically reduce the computational cost of their distributed applications by using a secure, robust and reliable infrastructure.
- Data providers can expand the potential market size by integrating their services with the iExec market.
- By seeking higher profits by providing servers in the iExec market, server providers can take advantage of underutilized computing resources and increase the return on investment of their existing infrastructure.
iExec will provide DApps with computing resources at a much lower cost than traditional blockchain computing resources and create more value for customers. In addition, iExec rewards reliable resource providers through transparent reputation.
The operating mechanism of iExec
Before understanding the operating mechanism of iExec, we need to understand the grid technology. As we all know, distributed computing is the development direction of future computing technology, and grid technology is the latest achievement in the field of distributed computing research. Grid is actually an integrated computing and resource environment (also called “computing resource pool”). Grid can fully absorb various software and hardware computing resources and convert them into convenient computing power. iExec relies on the Desktop Grid (desktop grid) open source software-Xtremweb HEP developed by CNRS and INRIA French National Computer Research Institute.
The operation of iExec mainly relies on two platforms. First, the agent proposes its resources and the market where RLC tokens are used for transactions; second, the distributed computing infrastructure based on the middleware XtremWeb-HEP.
On these two platforms, it is specifically divided into six functions:
Workers: They are individuals or companies that have computing resources and are willing to use their resources to calculate payment tasks in the iExec platform to obtain RLC, similar to blockchain miners.
Worker pool: The worker pool mainly organizes workers to contribute computing power. They are led by dispatchers who are responsible for organizing work assignments. Although the dispatcher does not make actual calculations, he can charge for the management of the infrastructure. Through the realization of effective management to ensure the income of workers, thereby attracting workers.
Application providers: They deploy applications on the iExec platform. These applications can benefit from iExec distributed cloud computing. They can provide the app for free or require a fixed fee for each use of their app.
Data set providers: They have valuable data sets and are willing to provide them in a secure way to protect their ownership.
Users: They are individuals or smart contracts that pay RLC to use the computing resources of workers to perform tasks. They may not have a specific data set or obtain data from a data set supplier.
iExec Hub & Marketplace: The smart contract deployed by iExec has no privileged access rights. It serves as the custody of the interests of different agents and ensures the security and transparency of all transactions in the iExec ecosystem.
iExec classic case
One of the main advantages of iExec is reliable off-chain computing. In cooperation with Intel, it released a “Confidentiel Computing” solution for the blockchain (TEE using Intel SGX). Other iExec partners include Alibaba Cloud, IBM, Genesis Cloud, EDF Power Company, EEA and Ubisoft. iExec is one of the contributors to the Trusted Computing Framework (Hyperledger Avalon) of Microsoft, Intel, ConsenSys, Envision, PegaSys and Kaleido.
In order to give readers a more intuitive understanding of iExec, here is a classic case of using iExec-eFast, which is based on complex calculation methods that require high-performance computing (HPC) to improve financial transactions.
As can be seen from the above introduction, an important feature of iExec is the interconnection between applications, services, data and computing resources. eFast, as an application on its platform, aims to help small investors improve their trading decisions through different services, such as stock clustering based on complex calculation methods. As we all know, computational complexity requires high-performance computing (HPC) to perform and only applies to large financial institutions. And by using the iExec distributed cloud as a virtual supercomputer, eFast will be able to provide its customers with budget-friendly and secure services to improve their investment decisions.
Every new service developed in eFast will be sold directly on the blockchain, similar to the traditional software-as-a-service approach in the cloud. eFast customers will use dedicated smart contracts that define eFast functions and usage rights in iExec.
iExec native token RLC
iExec’s native token RLC is a unique payment method for application providers, server providers and data providers. In addition, it is also distributed as a reward to computing power providers. Currently, RLC has been listed on mainstream exchanges such as Coinbase Pro, Huobi Global and Bithumb, and the annualized rate of return of RLC/USDT reached 2424.62% at one time.
The total amount of RLC issued is 87,000,000 pieces, and the token distribution ratio is as follows:
- Founder, team and early investors: 17.2%
- Public sales: 69%
- Incentives, R&D, development and marketing: 6.9%
- Special emergency reserve: 6.9%
iExec development route
According to the information disclosed by iExec, it has formulated an implementation roadmap based on the level of funding. If the minimum capital (2,000 BTC) is reached, iExec will provide an initial market network that allows monetization of applications and servers. If the maximum funding (10,000 BTC) is reached, iExec will gradually develop a market network including data providers and high-performance computing (HPC) applications, and then establish a source of recurring revenue for iExec.
In terms of products, iExec will develop 5 versions of products (V1 to V5), corresponding to the 3 steps of the market strategy.
- Community Edition (V1): The ability to create open source software allows the construction of decentralized cloud computing.
- Enterprise Edition (V2, V3, V4): The function of establishing a complete market network for a wide range of businesses.
- Research version (V5): Compared with cloud computing (Internet of Things, edge computing), it can achieve more extensive applications of major advancements.
As of the end of 2020, iExec has completed the development plan in the project white paper, and then the team is committed to providing products that utilize the iExec technology stack.
According to the official new roadmap recently announced, iExec also has a new layout on Oracle. The new product prediction factory (Oracle Factory) will be released in the next two months.
Using Oracle Factory does not require any blockchain knowledge. Anyone can use Oracle Factory products to create their own oracle machine (Oracle) directly from their browser within 5 minutes.
Use preset API to build Oracle: Anyone can build Oracle based on presets (such as Yahoo Finance stocks API or TESLA stock prices) and will get a unique link to share your oracle creation.
Use custom APIs to build Oracle: Developers can use the API of their choice to build Oracle.
Gallery: Explore all “user-created oracles” and “official oracles” (submitted by the Web 2.0 project).
Currently, the digital currency market data aggregator CoinGecko’s ranking in the oracle field shows that iExec ranks third on the track, showing its development potential.
summary
As one of the infrastructures, the perfect combination of cloud computing and blockchain can break the barriers with traditional enterprises and allow the traditional world to better integrate with the encryption field. As a distributed cloud computing platform based on blockchain technology, iExec is also closely following industry hotspots in the layout of DeFi and NFT. In addition to the new user interface, iExec V6 is also under development . iExec will also develop an NFT product for management Ownership of valuable data sets.
Recently, the price of digital currencies has plummeted. One of the key factors is the slow progress of on-chain applications and not strong enough to get rid of the impact of being attached to Bitcoin. When the follow-up efforts of financial applications are insufficient, the infrastructure category is a good time to catch up. Only by breaking the prejudice of traditional enterprises on the blockchain can the public accept this emerging technology. As a strong competitor in the cloud computing track based on blockchain technology, iExec is expected to create a more complete cloud computing ecosystem for global developers.
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