SendingNetwork’s Web3 Router and Its Ecosystem Applications
The current Web2 internet is the largest centralized IT infrastructure, with key resources like IP and DNS controlled by a few organizations. This centralization leads to high server and bandwidth costs for internet users and developers. The root of this issue lies in the TCP/IP protocol, designed and continuously patched in the early days of the internet. SendingNetwork focuses on communication, one of the three IT pillars (computation, storage, communication), aiming to rebuild a decentralized and programmable TCP/IP protocol. Our goal is to create a low-cost, high-efficiency, secure, and private next-gen decentralized internet. We aim to integrate communication, payment, and transaction into a unified system, building a super ecosystem network with applications like decentralized messaging (similar to Twilio) and decentralized Real-Time Communication (similar to Agora). This article introduces the Web3 Router hardware infrastructure by SendingNetwork as a carrier of programmable TCP/IP protocol and explores the types of applications it can support.
High Bandwidth Costs and Data Center Congestion
In the current internet, our daily applications are diverse, such as social IM, short videos, live streaming platforms, e-commerce, and news feeds. These applications share a common characteristic: their services run in data centers, making the internet resemble a tree structure with data centers as the trunk. Due to the vast number of internet users and the high bandwidth requirements of streaming content, developers or users end up paying high bandwidth fees for a good internet experience. During peak traffic times, data centers resemble bustling city centers, facing severe congestion. Users either pay high bandwidth costs or endure poor user experiences. The root cause is the centralization of our internet applications, all running in data centers.
How to Use Bandwidth Effectively
SendingNetwork aims to provide a different internet structure, creating a decentralized network where applications can operate at the edge, reducing the need for frequent data center access. Users can enjoy a seamless online experience using edge bandwidth at a lower cost. The Web3 Router hardware node by SendingNetwork can function as a basic home router, offering both traditional data packet routing and serving as a SendingNetwork execution engine node. This engine executes network routing and runs application layer protocols of the decentralized TCP/IP protocol. By sharing users’ bandwidth, IP, computation, and storage resources, the execution engine allows edge-capable applications to run efficiently, maximizing the use of idle resources in the edge network and reducing internet costs while ensuring a good network experience.
Applications Suitable for Edge Networks
Applications suitable for edge networks typically have one or more of the following characteristics:
- They have high bandwidth and latency requirements but do not demand significant computational resources.
- They involve few participants, so there is no need for extensive coordination by a central server.
- They deal with sensitive data that is not suitable for storage on centralized servers.
- They require the use of genuine residential IP addresses.
Here are some specific examples of such application protocols.
IM Protocol
The Instant Messaging (IM) protocol enables participants to chat in real-time within a chat room. This protocol places a high emphasis on data sensitivity, with users demanding full ownership and control of their accounts and data. Due to its frequent usage, the IM protocol also has high requirements for network timeliness, desiring communication that is unaffected by data center congestion. The Web3 Router offers an ideal solution for this, allowing communication parties to bypass centralized data centers and establish direct edge connections for efficient communication. This setup prevents congestion and eavesdropping by storing users’ data locally on router nodes, thereby protecting it from third-party snooping. Additionally, the underlying capabilities of the Web3 Router in communication, transactions, and integrated payment solutions can address transactional and payment issues within IM systems.
SMTP/POP3 Email Protocol
SMTP/POP3 are protocols used for sending and receiving emails. Email protocols are also sensitive regarding data, with users desiring complete control over their accounts and information. Unlike traditional email protocols, in Web3, an email account is typically associated with a wallet address or an ENS domain address. A Web3 Router is linked to a specific wallet address, which also serves as the router’s IP address. This configuration allows the sender to establish a secure, encrypted connection directly with the recipient’s address, facilitating the straightforward and efficient transmission of emails without the worry of data interception or decryption through third-party storage.
Real-time Communication Protocol
Real-time communication protocol (RTC) is a streaming media communication protocol that demands high bandwidth. Imagine the high traffic costs developers would incur if all video content were routed through data centers. This issue is a significant pain point for developers of video conferencing and live streaming applications. The Web3 Router addresses this problem effectively. Router nodes establish direct connections between video participants, allowing video traffic to flow through a high-speed edge network without the need for data center servers to relay the traffic. This significantly reduces the bandwidth pressure on data centers and drastically lowers developers’ costs.
One fundamental reason current communicating parties cannot establish direct connection is that they don’t have public IP addresses and are hidden behind firewalls, necessitating a centralized server for relaying, which also significantly wastes bandwidth. Public IP addresses are allocated in a hierarchical structure managed by entities such as ICANN and ISPs, and users must apply to obtain one. Instead, Web3 Routers use wallet addresses for routing and connecting — free from control by organizations — it becomes possible for direct connections without server relaying, effectively saving on the traffic burden of transit servers.
Dynamic CDN Protocol
CDN protocol is typically used to replicate and deploy static resources on server nodes closest to the user. Users then access these resources from the server node nearest to them based on their location information, which speeds up the resource retrieval process. The Web3 Router, acting as an edge network node, naturally serves as a CDN accelerator. On one hand, it can provide developers with cost-effective CDN storage and access services, similar to traditional Web2 CDN offerings.
On the other hand, the Web3 Router utilizes programmable TCP/IP capabilities to enable a global view of file resource distribution across the entire network. This allows for network layer scheduling algorithms to dynamically cache duplicate and frequently accessed resources on appropriate edge nodes. As a result, users with high-demand and frequent access can retrieve their network data locally, thus speeding up the overall communication and data transmission across the network.
HTTP Web Protocol
The HTTP(S) protocol is the primary communication protocol used for accessing web resources, utilized for personal websites, blogs, and individual feeds. In the era of the Web3 Router, IP addresses are tied to wallet addresses and DID identities, any public information of an individual can simply be stored on their own Web3 router. This allows others to access these public media files via the HTTP protocol. When individuals need to update their media content, they only need to update their Web3 Router. This approach is applicable to applications such as personal homepages, blogs, and personal feeds.
VPN Protocol
No matter in Web2 or Web3, there are times that users want to communicate while concealing their identity. This is typically achieved through the use of VPN protocols, which allow users to access network resources via someone else’s IP address, thus hiding their own identity. Web3 Routers inherently possess IP resources in the edge network, including real residential IP addresses. Through this network, users can connect with nodes that are willing to share their IPs for profit, using these IPs to facilitate their own network access.
Additionally, some resources, like video content, might restrict access based on the user’s geographic location. In such cases, users can access these restricted resources through the IPs of Web3 Routers located in the required regions via VPN protocols. This is a significant use case for VPN protocols, and Web3 Routers provide an abundance of edge IP resources for this purpose.
SendingNetwork is developing a decentralized communication stack to address the centralization issues of the TCP/IP model, enabling direct peer-to-peer communication via wallet addresses and enhancing internet security, privacy, and user control. The Web3 Router is at the forefront of this transformation, offering a versatile solution that leverages edge computing to deliver a more efficient, cost-effective, and secure internet experience. By enabling direct, decentralized connections and optimizing resource use, the Web3 Router paves the way for a new era of internet applications — from messaging and email to video conferencing and content delivery.
As we move towards this decentralized future, developers and users alike will benefit from reduced costs, enhanced privacy, and improved performance. The Web3 Router not only addresses the shortcomings of the current centralized model but also opens up new possibilities for innovation and growth in the digital landscape.
With SendingNetwork’s commitment to building a robust, decentralized communication protocol, the Web3 Router stands as a testament to the future of the internet — one where power is distributed, privacy is prioritized, and possibilities are limitless. Join us on this exciting journey as we redefine the way we connect, communicate, and share in the digital world.
