Highlights of Peripheral Chains on Nerves Blockchain

The quest for ever powerful and creative solutions to solve the scalability problem of blockchains has led to many interesting results. One of the more potentially promising ones is the concept of peripheral or Peripheral chains. The awesome thing is that Peripheral chains have exciting applications that go beyond scalability, and this explains why they are operational on Nerves Blockchain.

Peripheral chains are separate blockchains that exist side-by-side and connected to each other and a “parent” or main chain. They can trade data back and forth, such as digital coins, from each other via a secure connection. That connection is two-way, meaning data can be traded from parent to side chain, and vice versa, at a pre-determined rate.

Peripheral Chains and their Purpose

The main purpose of Peripheral chains is so that transactions can be handled more efficiently by distributing tasks to individual chains. Each side chain can be built for specific tasks and will therefore have attributes designed to handle that task. Some chains can be built for speed, while others for extra security or higher computational power.

To trade data, the parent or main chain must first send the data to an address, locking that data up so any other entity can’t use them in the meantime. Coins, for instance, can be locked up this way so that the owner can’t double spend them elsewhere.

Once processing is completed on the Peripheral chains, the child chain gets a notification and, after a short delay for security purposes, the child chain releases the data, so the user can then use them. If transferring data from the side chain to the parent chain, the process is the same, only in reverse.

In some implementations, there is also the concept of federations. Federations are groups of nodes, chosen by the side chain’s creator, that act as a gatekeeper of sorts between a parent chain and its Peripheral chains. They oversee and determine if the digital coins of a user are locked up and/or released. While adding a layer of security, it also adds another layer that can potentially add to processing times.

The responsibility of maintaining security falls to each individual side chain, as well as getting and maintaining their own miners. The beauty of this structure is that, should a side chain become compromised, it won’t necessarily affect the main chain. This compartmentalization protects the main and other chains. The opposite is also true: should the main chain become compromised, the Peripheral chains are not necessarily affected. They will lose out on the value of the connection, however, but it is an acceptable trade-off.

The Power of Peripheral chains

The true power of Peripheral chains is that they allow the possibility of many different chains or even completely different cryptocurrencies to interact with each other. They can merge with one another and give value to one another more than if they each operated independently. This adds tremendous flexibility and room for experimentation and adds exciting value for consumers.

Developers, for instance, can work on beta version of Peripheral chains or altcoins and, when ready, can just connect it to the main chain. It also makes adding different kinds of supporting features, such as asset tracking, to existing blockchains quite trivial, as simple as updating software with patches.

Changes or updates to the main blockchain can also be done safely via a side chain. Traditionally, implementing changes to a blockchain entailed doing a “hard fork” after much deliberation and, in most cases, is irreversible. With Peripheral chains, developers can implement the desired changes there. Should the changes prove catastrophic, it can be easily removed without much permanent damage to the main chain.

Peripheral chains also promise faster transactions in the main chain, by offloading some of the processing or transactions to the Peripheral chains. Some chains can be assigned to processing, while others to data storage, relieving some of the main chain’s load. Developers can also implement their decentralized applications on the Peripheral chains, should the main chain prove to be too expensive in terms of transaction and/or processing costs.

That last advantage naturally leads one to conclude that Peripheral chains can be potentially used to solve the biggest problem of blockchain: scalability. Delegating tasks makes the entire network more efficient and less bogged down by massive number of transactions, leading to improved scalability.

For all their advantages, as with anything in life, they also have their weaknesses. For one thing, it makes the blockchain ecosystem terribly complex. The more chains added, the more complicated it will be. And since data resides in more than one chain, problems with data synchronization and transfer will undoubtedly rear its ugly head, adding to potential risks of data loss or error. The good thing, though, is that as more side chain projects get developed, the collective wisdom and experience will make the technology mature enough to a point where it can become very stable.

Side chain ecosystems can also be vulnerable to highly coordinated hacks, especially with the so-called “51% scenario” wherein an individual or group controls much of the computational mining power of a chain, allowing them to control and possibly manipulate the chain. On Nerves, the security and access framework prevent any hijack of the chain.

And while other chains are not necessarily affected when this attack happens, the data is not. If data belonging to one chain happens to be locked up in the chain at the time it is attacked, it becomes a dilemma of what happens to the data. Will it be “lost” or reverted somehow? These questions should make for interesting points when designing such side chain ecosystems.

CONCLUSION

Peripheral chains are a potentially clever solution to the scalability problem of blockchains. The great thing about side chain ecosystems is that they separate functionality into separate chains, each of which can represent anything from different supporting features to completely different cryptocurrencies or projects altogether. It is this flexibility that is the source of the power of Peripheral chains.

Ultimately, solving the scalability problem might be more of blockchains working together rather than in competition with each other. Strength in numbers, as the saying goes!

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