Decentracademy #1: Building Reliable Infrastructure with a Mesh Network
Connect to any dApp from anywhere! Our mesh network distributes the infrastructure that allows you to access the blockchain. The goal is to create a network of nodes that is resilient to attacks and single points of failure.
This article is the first in a series of publications to discuss the importance of decentralization on Astar. More information is presented at the end of the article.
What is the decentralization of infrastructure?
We are familiar with the decentralization of consensus. That is the basic shift from the original packet-switching network through peer-to-peer networks to currently developed blockchain-based solutions.
A decentralized infrastructure is important, too–it must be open, distributed, and shared.
A mesh network means that your access to the blockchain does not rely on a single RPC node provider. Instead, the entire network is now cloud-agnostic. Plus, the network can continue to scale in a new way as bare metal servers are incorporated into the mesh.
What is Astar mesh network?
Astar mesh network is a peer-to-peer (P2P) model to create a secure, shared environment of RPC nodes for you to interact with the network. The nodes send traffic between themselves rather than through a central server.
This mesh network enables us to increase security and scale efficiently. We can add nodes without overloading the network, and make connections with the shortest path to minimize latency. Most importantly, we can scale by increasing the number of RPC nodes hosted on any provider, and rely on bare metal servers rather than virtual machines, thereby reducing the network’s reliance on private cloud services alone. Third-party cloud servers are important, but a true Web3 network must have a large and diverse infrastructure–to ensure that it cannot be shut down or throttled by a few nodes.
How nodes communicate
The nodes within a mesh network keep the network information of other nodes. Nodes can connect and disconnect from each other at any time to optimise performance, but the fundamental architecture remains the same. Each node connects to the infrastructure of other geographic locations. Without this mesh architecture, you only have limited routes to access the blockchain based on your geography. This is the way many networks, including parachains, are designed today since it’s an easy way to allow private connections to access a decentralised blockchain.
You can see that with a mesh network on Astar many RPC nodes are connected. You have many routes to access a decentralized blockchain from anywhere in the world.
This architecture better serves our global community. Nodes may fail, but the network always has a set of interconnections with other nodes, and they will regularly try to keep a persistent connection with each other. Combine a mesh network with our introduction of light clients, and you have the most decentralized way to access Astar Network.
Mesh network security
Security is critical for a mesh network. On Astar we use Wireguard protocol for creating secure tunnels between our nodes. This allows a cloud node in Europe to connect with another bare metal provider in Asia. You aren’t limited to a single point of access.
The mesh network improves network performance and reliability. But having multiple cloud and bare metal servers means managing security is more complex. To solve this, we also follow a zero trust approach and secure key rotation between nodes to ensure no extra permission is granted to a single node and protect nodes’ keys against a malicious attack.
What are the advantages of a decentralized mesh network?
- Eliminate dependency on a single cloud provider
The nodes are distributed on all cloud/bare metals providers. There is no dependency on a single cloud provider. In brief, it’s for the network and by the network. - Reduces the chances of massive failure
In a centralized network, if a cloud provider fails the whole node infrastructure goes down as well. Leading to the network shutdown. However, a decentralized network dramatically reduces the chances of the whole system failing simultaneously. - Hard to DDOS attack as all nodes are not present in one place.
Attacking one node will not cause a network blackout. Other geolocations can process transactions on behalf of a node that is attacked. - Load Balancing
We manage and monitor the performance of the network. Traffic can be balanced across our mesh of RPC nodes, meaning the network runs more efficiently. - Enhanced User Experience
The mesh network improves the response time of nodes to process transactions. Your transactions will default to the nearest nodes according to your geolocation. We now have nodes across the world connected: Asia, America, and Europe.
You won’t notice differences in your day-to-day transactions. That is the point. In the event of an attack, you can still access the network via the tunnels between nodes. As our network scales, access to the blockchain can be balanced across geographical nodes. Using a mesh network simply improves network security and creates a highly reliable blockchain.
Decentracademy
This article is the first in a series of publications to discuss the importance of decentralization on Astar Network. Check out the series below to learn how we are decentralizing the entire infrastructure:
Decentracademy #2: (Coming soon)
About Astar
Astar Network — The Future of Smart Contracts for Multichain.
Astar Network supports the building of dApps with EVM and WASM smart contracts and offers developers true interoperability with cross-consensus messaging (XCM). Astar’s unique Build2Earn model empowers developers to get paid through a dApp staking mechanism for their code and the dApps they build.
Astar’s vibrant ecosystem has become Polkadot’s leading Parachain globally, supported by all major exchanges and tier 1 VCs. Astar offers the flexibility of all Ethereum and WASM toolings for developers to start building their dApps. To accelerate growth on Polkadot and Kusama Networks, Astar SpaceLabs offers an Incubation Hub for top TVL dApps.
