Abstract
4EVERLAND is a decentralized cloud computing platform designed to provide efficient, secure, and scalable cloud services by integrating decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) with community-contributed idle resources. The 4EVER Network serves as a critical cornerstone of 4EVERLAND, integrating various idle resources to provide foundational capabilities such as storage, network, and computing to the platform and its users. Comprising three key components, the 4EVER Network consists of the 4EVER Protocol, the 4EVER DePIN Aggregator, and the 4EVER Node. The 4EVER Protocol stands as the core framework for resource integration and management, ensuring the stability and reliability of resource providers. Furthermore, the 4EVER DePIN Aggregator interfaces with existing decentralized infrastructure networks, offering highly available storage, computing, and network services, while the 4EVER Node empowers community members to operate nodes, contribute to virtualized storage, computing, and network resources, thereby optimizing overall resource utilization.
Our mission is to facilitate a seamless transition of the internet from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0, promoting a more open and equitable digital environment. We envision becoming the foundational infrastructure for millions of developers and applications in the Web 3.0 era, thereby supporting innovation and growth within the digital economy.
Background
Current Landscape of Cloud Computing and Decentralization
Cloud computing has emerged as a revolutionary technology, experiencing rapid growth in recent years and reshaping the landscape of IT infrastructure globally. This transformation is particularly illustrated by the intense competition among major service providers that hold significant market shares. As businesses and individuals increasingly seek flexible and scalable solutions to meet their diverse needs, the demand for innovative approaches to cloud services continues to rise. According to market research, the global cloud computing market, which surpassed $370 billion in size in 2020, is projected to grow at a double-digit annual growth rate, potentially exceeding $800 billion by 2025. This surge is fueled by the need for faster technological innovation and deployment, enabling businesses to adapt rapidly to market changes. Furthermore, the emergence of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and the Internet of Things (IoT) is driving the demand for cloud computing services.
Within the current cloud market, key players include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), IBM, and Alibaba Cloud. According to 2023 statistics, AWS holds a leading market share of 27%, followed closely by Microsoft Azure at 22% and Google Cloud at 10%. Alibaba Cloud also plays a significant role, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. As cloud technologies continue to evolve, the market dynamics are likely to shift further.
On the other hand, decentralized cloud solutions present enhanced flexibility, security, and privacy compared to traditional centralized models, positioning themselves as the future direction of the industry. However, despite these advantages, the widespread adoption of decentralized cloud computing faces several barriers, including technological challenges and a general lack of awareness among potential users. Nevertheless, as organizations strive to leverage the benefits of this emerging model, the demand for decentralized solutions is rapidly expanding.
Challenges of Traditional Cloud Infrastructure
While traditional cloud infrastructure remains dominant, it encounters several significant challenges that undermine its viability and sustainability. A primary concern is the reliance on a small number of major cloud service providers, which creates single points of failure and raises serious privacy concerns. This concentration of power often results in vulnerabilities that can jeopardize organizations’ sensitive data. Moreover, the high operating costs associated with existing centralized platforms impose significant financial burdens on small businesses and independent developers, limiting their capacity for innovation and growth.
Recent analyses indicate that small enterprises often face exorbitant cloud expenditure that detracts from their operational budgets, hindering their competitive edge. Additionally, many data centers suffer from underutilization, operating with substantial amounts of idle resources that lead to inefficient energy consumption and wasted potential. This inefficiency not only contributes to increased operational costs but also exacerbates environmental concerns associated with excessive energy use.
Opportunities Presented by DePIN
In this context, Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) present unique opportunities poised to address many of these challenges.
Based on Messari’s report, as of 2023, the market size of DePIN has surpassed 20 billion USD, with Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) exceeding 150 million USD. Furthermore, it is forecasted that the DePIN market is expected to experience significant growth and may exceed 3.5 trillion USD by 2028. DePINs are capable of tapping into real-world demand, providing decentralized, efficient infrastructure solutions, and this unique capability will continue to drive market growth.
However, with the continuous emergence of the DePIN protocol, more new challenges have surfaced. Issues such as lack of standardized practices, high entry barriers, and limited scalability have led to over 95% of DePIN resources remaining idle, failing to be fully utilized, which deviates significantly from the initial purpose of DePIN’s development. In contrast, 4EVERLAND aims to become a key solution to address these issues, facilitating the effective integration of idle resources and promoting their efficient utilization.
The design of the 4EVER Network is intended to serve as a connecting link in this evolving DePIN ecosystem, functioning as an innovative network to facilitate the effective integration and utilization of these resources. Our approach encompasses two key strategies: first, integrating existing, mature DePIN protocols to enhance utilization rates and second, systematically aggregating idle physical resources globally to achieve substantial cost reductions. Through this dual strategy, 4EVERLAND aims to establish a sustainable and resilient decentralized cloud infrastructure that empowers developers and businesses alike.
4EVER Network Architecture
Overview of 4EVER Network
The 4EVER Network is architected with the fundamental principle of creating an efficient, decentralized ecosystem that can dynamically allocate resources on a global scale. This innovative design not only enhances the operational capabilities of the network but also ensures that developers receive stable and reliable services, facilitating the seamless functioning of their applications.
At the core of this architecture lies the 4EVER DePIN Aggregator, which converges various existing decentralized infrastructures across multiple domains, including storage solutions such as IPFS and Arweave, computational resources like Akash and IO.net, and network services provided by Fleek and Cloudflare. Through this integration, the various characteristics of different protocols can be fully utilized, offering users a range of choices to leverage and benefit from.
Additionally, 4EVER Nodes play a crucial role in empowering community members to contribute their idle resources through node operation, significantly boosting the network’s resilience and flexibility. This collaborative approach not only optimizes resource utilization but also enhances the overall robustness of the network.
The 4EVER Protocol serves as a vital component to ensure the secure and reliable operation of 4EVER DePIN Aggregator and 4EVER Nodes, functioning as the core framework for resource integration and management. Operating on a Proof of Stake (POS) mechanism, the 4EVER Protocol aims to verify the reliable operation of Resource Providers. These providers are required to participate in network contributions by pledging 4EVER Tokens, subject to supervision and challenges from the community and challengers. The 4EVER Protocol rewards honest providers and penalizes malicious ones. Additionally, through modules such as resource management and payment, the 4EVER Protocol integrates and virtualizes all resources, providing upper-layer interfaces to cater to the diverse needs of users.
4EVER DePIN Aggregator: To maximize the existing capabilities of DePIN
The 4EVER DePIN Aggregator is central to the 4EVER Network’s strategy of harnessing the capabilities of existing decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN). Its objective is to fully utilize the current DePIN and lower the usage barriers, thereby unlocking the true value of DePIN. This aggregator integrates various decentralized resources across computing, storage, and network to create a cohesive and scalable service offering that meets the demands of developers today.
Resource Providers are the core contributors to the 4EVER DePIN Aggregator. Due to the uniqueness of each DePIN protocol, providers need to run specific integration programs to supply corresponding foundational capabilities, which mainly include computing providers, storage providers, and network providers. The 4EVER Protocol will allocate tasks to the appropriate providers in the network based on user requirements, and providers must complete these tasks and return results in order to earn network rewards.
Computing Providers
For computing providers, CPUs and GPUs are important integration targets. The 4EVER Network will leverage platforms such as Akash, IO.net, and Render Network to offer these underlying CPU and GPU resources. This will meet the demands of developers across multiple domains, including high-performance computing, graphics rendering, machine learning model training, video encoding, and virtual reality content creation. This integration ensures that developers have flexible access to powerful computational resources, accelerating project development and enabling the execution of more complex and efficient applications.
Storage Providers
Regarding storage providers, the 4EVER Network will closely integrate with decentralized storage solutions such as IPFS, Arweave, and BNB Greenfield, showcasing significant advantages in data management and retrieval. Leveraging these platforms, the 4EVER Network can provide developers with robust and flexible data storage alternatives, overcoming common single-point failure issues associated with centralized solutions. This integration addresses the needs of various fields such as big data analytics, blockchain and decentralized applications (DApps), scientific research, and data-intensive experiments, content delivery networks (CDNs), internet archiving, and media and entertainment. Furthermore, this integration enables efficient data retrieval mechanisms to support applications requiring quick access to large datasets.
Network Providers
For network providers, the network components of the 4EVER DePIN Aggregator can connect with decentralized platforms such as Fleek, Meson Network, and Saturn. These network platforms provide reliable connectivity and ample bandwidth for applications running on the 4EVER Network. By utilizing these powerful decentralized network solutions, the 4EVER Network ensures low-latency communication and high-performance data transmission within its ecosystem. This efficient network support can meet specific demands across multiple domains, including real-time streaming and video conferencing, online gaming, e-commerce and financial services, Internet of Things (IoT), telemedicine, content distribution, and edge computing. Such network solutions guarantee the smooth execution of everything from content delivery to real-time interaction, providing high-quality service assurance for developers and end-users alike.
4EVER Node: Harnessing Community Power
4EVER Node is an innovative solution designed to integrate idle hardware resources within the community, establishing a flexible and scalable platform with comprehensive capabilities. Unlike the 4EVER DePIN Aggregator, 4EVER Node focuses on directly harnessing users’ untapped local computing, storage, and networking resources, subsequently virtualizing them for contribution to the network. This approach effectively circumvents the restrictions posed by the independence of existing DePIN protocols, offering a more efficient resource utilization strategy. Through 4EVER Node, users can engage with the network by contributing and sharing resources, thereby enhancing the overall performance and flexibility of the entire platform.
4EVER Node enables participants to deploy and contribute a variety of resources, including storage capacity, CPU and GPU processing power, as well as network bandwidth. This model aims to incentivize community participation, allowing users to receive rewards for providing their idle resources to the network. As more individuals join and contribute resources, the collective capacity of the 4EVER Network will correspondingly increase, creating a rich asset pool available for developers to leverage as needed.
To optimize the utilization of contributed resources, the 4EVER Network employs advanced resource virtualization technologies. Through virtualization, the 4EVER Network encapsulates physical resources — such as storage, CPU, and GPU — into dynamically allocatable virtual instances integrated within the network. This process facilitates efficient resource management, enabling the network to adapt in real-time to the varying requirements of developers’ applications. By assimilating these virtualized resources into the network, 4EVERLAND can ensure the seamless flow of computational power and data storage, thereby improving performance and scalability while maximizing the resource utilization of the entire ecosystem. This multifaceted approach not only enhances the overall efficiency of the 4EVER Network but also provides greater resilience and scalability, accommodating a wide range of application scenarios from storage and computation to high-performance requirements.
Building on 4EVER Network
The 4EVER Network provides a robust foundational infrastructure for cloud computing, establishing itself as a comprehensive one-stop service platform designed for developers seeking to create cutting-edge Web 3.0 applications. By streamlining processes and aggregating essential tools, the 4EVER Network equips developers with the necessary underlying capabilities to efficiently build applications that meet their diverse needs.
Furthermore, the 4EVER Network ensures that the overall costs of the 4EVERLAND platform remain competitive with existing centralized cloud computing solutions while maintaining consistent performance. It also incorporates additional features characteristic of Web 3.0, including decentralization, permissionless access, censorship resistance, verifiability, and cryptographic as well as economic security.
Based on the 4EVER Network, a variety of middleware services and developer tools can be constructed, enabling developers to swiftly and easily leverage the underlying capabilities of the 4EVER Network to efficiently build Web 3.0 applications. Below are the product features and use cases that have been launched on the 4EVERLAND platform:
- Hosting
- Storage
- Gateway
- RPC
- RaaS(Rollup as a Service)
- AI Service
Product Services & Use Cases
Decentralized Website/App Hosting
Currently, most decentralized applications (dApps) have only achieved decentralization in their smart contract components, while their front ends are typically hosted on centralized servers. This setup diminishes the advantages of decentralization and introduces single points of failure and security risks. Through the Hosting product, developers can effortlessly deploy their front-end code to the 4EVERLAND decentralized network, achieving end-to-end decentralization from user interface to back end, thus ensuring consistency and security on both ends.
Decentralized Storage, S3 Compatible
Traditional storage methods have long been plagued by single points of failure and data security issues, with data monopolized by large corporations or single entities at prohibitive costs. The launch of the 4EVER Network will provide developers with an efficient decentralized data storage solution, supporting multiple protocols including IPFS, Arweave, and BNB Greenfield. Through the platform’s built-in user-friendly file system for data management and access, users can operate data via the S3 API or Storage SDK, ensuring reliable data backups with high redundancy and security while significantly reducing storage costs.
Decentralized Gateway Services
The current connectivity between Web2 applications and Web3 infrastructure is inefficient, resulting in poor user experiences and complex management. The launch of the 4EVER Network’s gateway services facilitates seamless connections between users and the decentralized network, simplifying the integration of Web2 applications with Web3 infrastructure. The gateway features automated SSL certificate management, custom domain support, and global acceleration, ensuring low latency and high availability through the creation of high-performance dedicated gateway services.
Simplified Remote Procedure Calls
In decentralized applications, Remote Procedure Calls (RPC) are crucial for efficient communication between different systems and components. The RPC services offered by the 4EVER Network aim to simplify complex communication systems. With standardized API interfaces and flexible calling methods, it supports the Ethereum JSON-RPC specification and facilitates calls to various blockchain protocols and external services.
One-Click RaaS (Rollup as a Service)
The complexity of building and managing Layer 2 solutions severely hinders the scalability of Ethereum. The 4EVER Network’s RaaS (Rollup as a Service) provides the capability to rapidly create and manage Layer 2 solutions, supporting major Layer 1 scalers such as Ethereum and BNB Chain. Developers can deploy Rollups with a single click, while automated tools further simplify the intricate implementation process of Layer 2 protocols. An added feature is the incorporation of Arweave data backups, ensuring the permanent preservation of critical data and enhancing the verifiability and resilience of Layer 2 blockchains.
Intelligent Solutions for DApps
In the digital age, the application of artificial intelligence is increasingly vital. Every Web3 service, website, and application can benefit from AI integration. Currently, application developers often encounter complex challenges and resource demands when deploying large and intricate open-source large language models (LLMs). The AI services provided by the 4EVER Network streamline this process, assisting developers in integrating intelligent features into decentralized applications and creating more interactive and personalized user experiences through simplified interfaces and tools. Furthermore, the pay-as-you-go model enhances cost management flexibility, while optimized API design simplifies processes and improves service usability.
Conclusion
The 4EVER Network represents a groundbreaking approach to decentralized cloud computing, offering numerous key advantages to resource providers and developers alike. Firstly, the cost-effectiveness is significant; 4EVERLAND utilizes a decentralized architecture that typically provides more competitive pricing compared to traditional cloud service platforms. This enables developers to reduce operational expenses while focusing on innovation and functionality development. Furthermore, the flexibility of 4EVERLAND is showcased in its resource acquisition and management, allowing developers to adjust resource allocation according to project needs and seamlessly implement complex functionalities through services such as RaaS. The decentralized governance mechanism also offers community members the opportunity to participate in decision-making, thereby enhancing the democratic nature and transparency of the network’s ongoing development.
As decentralized applications (dApps) and blockchain technology continue to advance rapidly, the decentralized cloud computing market is exhibiting immense potential. In this arena, 4EVER Network holds a distinct competitive advantage. Through its end-to-end decentralized solutions and highly integrated infrastructure, 4EVERLAND is capable of addressing the urgent demands of developers for both flexibility and security. Looking ahead, as more developers and projects transition to decentralization, 4EVER Network possesses robust market expansion capabilities, positioning itself to establish a leadership role within the decentralized cloud computing sector.
We cordially invite community members and developers to join the 4EVER Network in collaboratively building the future of decentralized cloud computing. Regardless of whether you are a developer, resource provider, or user, your involvement will contribute significantly to the advancement of the decentralized ecosystem. It is important to note that, in order to ensure the network’s stable operation during its initial phase, access to the 4EVER Network is currently by invitation only; however, we plan to gradually open it to all community members in the future. Join us in creating a more open and innovative decentralized computing environment, delivering unparalleled service experiences to users worldwide.
