Introducing Chia Data Layer as a Service
For individuals who operate full-time full nodes, there exists a potential revenue stream that can be harnessed. As previously discussed in my published articles, the Chia Data Layer possesses the potential to fuel decentralized applications of the next generation. However, to facilitate this occurrence, the Data Layer must be made more accessible to developers. Not every dApp developer desires the burden of managing a full-time node for their application(s). On the other hand, individuals who operate a full-time node but are not utilizing their Data Layer are potentially wasting a valuable resource.
At present, I am constructing a technology stack that can connect these two parties and enable anyone with a full-time node to rent out their data layer to application developers in a decentralized manner. This is referred to as Data Layer as a Service (DLaaS).
I will soon be releasing an open-source project in the near future that enables Data Layer as a Service. This project comprises two components:
- A Terraform script that erects a serverless user management system on Amazon AWS, allowing anyone to register with your system, manage their account on your node by generating access keys, and securely interact with your node through user-scoped APIs.
- A worker application that runs alongside your full-time node, allowing secure communication between the AWS system and your node.
The AWS system is entirely serverless, runs at minimal costs when idle, and automatically scales up to meet demand.
The initial release of this system will only expose an API. Users will only be able to interact with your Data Layer via DLaaS, which will allow only specific safe actions, such as creating user-scoped data stores, reading and writing to the user’s rented datastore, and making them public or private. Moreover, users can request existing data stores to be mirrored from your node, for a fee, to increase the availability of the mirrored source.
How the users will pay you for your rented space is still being finalized, but the preliminary idea is that all users will receive a unique deposit address to your node, which they must keep funded proportionally to the amount of data they are renting out, paid in XCH.
Upon establishing your personalized instance of DLaaS, congratulations are in order, as you are now the proprietor of a business. The subsequent stages could involve constructing a branded front-end, promoting your services, and delivering this crucial infrastructure to the ecosystem.
Follow My Twitter @michaeltaylor3d to stay up to date for more announcements.
Final Thoughts
Data Layer as a Service is merely the first step towards what is possible. If this concept gains momentum and garners enough interest in renting out data layers through this means, there are plans to construct a CLI environment for interfacing with your DLaaS provider, as well as a default front-end that will enable users to visually manage their data store at their preferred provider. Additionally, a future protocol can be architected to abstract all providers into a single decentralized service that will automatically route data layer renting requests across all providers.
