Everybody, we welcome Storj.IO, the rapidly developing cloud storage platform. We believe you still remember these guys since the last update on Storj and you have been waiting for any news. So, we are here to share a few things with you. First thing, we have an itch to tell you about, is the release of Beacon, the last update, which implements such features like file sharing with macaroons, cryptographic authorization credentials that enable decentralized encryption key management, IP Filtering for improved file piece distribution and other performance improvements. Second, we would prefer to catch you up on IP filtering. To put it in a nutshell, with today’s v0.14.3 release, Storj has implemented a feature called IP filtering, which will ensure that no file pieces corresponding to the same file are stored in the same geographical area, based on logical subnets. Third, a great event is coming up. We are talking about The Next Storj Labs Town Hall. It is going to be an event which includes topics as Development Update, User Onboarding, Community and Events, Token Flows and Balances Report, Marketing Update. As we know, the meeting will be on July 10, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. GMT. Must admit, the town hall meeting will be live-streamed on the Zoom.us platform and everybody will be able to join it. To sum up, it is safe to say that Srorj is strong growing and we are expectantly waiting for Storj becoming the best cloud storage platform.
Intro
Since we are presenting the review of Storj for the second time, we feel the urge to tell you some introductory information about Storj.
Storj (pronounced: storage) aims to become a cloud storage platform that can’t be censored or monitored, or have downtime. Storj is a platform, cryptocurrency, and suite of decentralized applications that allows users to store data in a secure and decentralized manner. It uses blockchain features like a transaction ledger, public/private key encryption, and cryptographic hash functions for security. Furthermore, it will be way cheaper (10x-to-100x), faster, and more secure than traditional cloud storage services.
Storj is working hard to solve data security issues with the help of its own web app, MetaDisk, and client app, DriveShare. It is the first decentralized, end-to-end encrypted cloud storage that uses blockchain technology and cryptography to secure online files. There is no need to trust a corporation, vulnerable servers, or employees with your files. Storj completely removes trust from the equation.
To best protect your data, files are encrypted client-side on users’ computers before they are uploaded. Each file is split up into chunks which are first encrypted and then distributed for storage across the Storj network. The network is comprised of DriveShare nodes run by users around the world who rent out their unused hard drive space in return for Storjcoin X (SJCX).
The decentralized aspect of Storj means there are no central servers to be compromised, and because of the use of client-side encryption, only the end-users have access to their unencrypted files and encryption keys.
Development
GitHub metrics:
Developer activity (from Coinlib.io):
Storj crossed another major milestone off the list on the road to production. The team is happy to announce the release of Beacon. This is the last update ahead of Pioneer 1 (Beta), which the development team is planning to release mid-July.
Beacon is a huge milestone for several reasons. In addition to general improvements, it adds three major updates.
File sharing with macaroons: As mentioned before, macaroons are cryptographic authorization credentials that enable decentralized encryption key management. This means users storing data on the network can easily share files or folders with various types of access controls for team members, customers, website visitors, and other external contacts. For developers building on top of the Tardigrade network, Storj’s SLA-backed decentralized cloud storage platform, macaroons give them the ability to manage file access without having to trust that the Tardigrade Satellite is properly managing encryption keys.
IP Filtering for improved file piece distribution: A core part of a decentralized cloud storage network is that data needs to be stored in a way that is thoroughly distributed. Without distribution, there’s the chance a large portion of a file’s pieces might be stored on the same storage node, putting it at risk for data loss. IP filtering ensures that data stored on the Tardigrade network is truly distributed. Even if a single storage node operator is running 10 nodes in a single location, those nodes would not receive multiple pieces per file when it is uploaded to the network.
Performance improvements: Storj also made several performance improvements, geared towards developers looking to store and retrieve data on Tardigrade.
If you haven’t yet, join the waitlist. The foundation is in the middle of welcoming partners and developers to start building on the V3 network and invites are going out on a first-come, first-served basis. Early waitlist members will also be given increased incentives for joining the network — 1 TB of storage capacity and 500 GB of bandwidth, instead of the regular 25 GB of capacity and bandwidth available at launch.
Social encounters
One of the most enjoyable challenges everyone faces when creating a decentralized platform is building programmatic functionality into the system that would not be needed in a legacy, centralized solution. In a decentralized cloud storage service, many of the core components that would be managed by a centralized solution need to be offloaded to various parts of the network, be it the Satellite, Uplink, or storage node. This includes encryption key management, node vetting, file repair, and storage node selection.
Part of the node selection process aims to ensure data stored on the decentralized network is thoroughly distributed across the network of storage node operators. For data stored on the Storj network to be truly distributed, there is a need to look at how data is stored on various geographical scales. This has been a big part of the V3 network testing. A decentralized cloud storage platform isn’t worth much if it’s storing all the data on the same node — if that node goes down, it means the file is lost.
Let’s talk hypothetically for a moment and say your entire file is stored in a single city. If the power goes out in that city, or a natural disaster strikes, your data will be lost.
Another hypothetical situation to think about: what if all of your data is stored in the same region? In this scenario, you could potentially lose access to your data in the event of an outage for any reason, whether it’s a utility outage, natural disaster, or state-sponsored “service interruption.”
With today’s v0.14.3 release, Storj has implemented a feature called IP filtering, which will ensure that no file pieces corresponding to the same file are stored in the same geographical area, based on logical subnets.
Taking this approach ensures the network (and the data stored on it) remains decentralized with a wide geographical distribution. On the previous network, nodes were selected for new data storage on a per-node basis. Selecting nodes based on logical subnets means having more or fewer nodes in the same location won’t cause more or fewer data to be stored. A single 40 TB node would receive the same amount of data as 10, 4 TB nodes on the same IP address.
If you’re storing data on the V3 network or working on integration, this means you’re much less likely to lose data. If you’re a storage node operator, this means that you won’t receive any more (or less) data if you’re running one, two, or 100 nodes from a single location.
To maximize STORJ token earnings in the long run, storage node operators should be focused on maintaining a single node with consistent availability to maximize their reputation ahead of the beta and production launches. Nodes with high reputations will be chosen to store and return more data, which will result in them earning more STORJ tokens in the long run. If your node goes down for whatever reason, it’s not a major problem. Just reconnect as soon as possible to keep your reputation high.
If you have multiple hard drives storing data on the network, the recommendation is to run one node per hard drive.
Events:
No updates.
Upcoming events:
Join the next community town hall on Wednesday, July 10, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. EDT.
Town hall attendees will hear from Storj leaders, including: Ben Golub, executive chairman and interim CEO; Brandon Iglesias, product manager; John Gleeson, vice president of operations; Jon Sanderson, vice president of marketing; and myself, Jocelyn Matthews, community manager.
Please register for the town hall here.
During this town hall, Storj has a lot to cover. Pioneer Beta release is only a few weeks away. Topics for the meeting include:
- Development Update: Some details about Beacon Alpha and Pioneer Beta Stage 1 releases.
- User Onboarding: An overview of early feedback from partners and users — both on the supply and demand side.
- Community and Events: Highlights of the events attended for the next quarter and other community updates.
- Token Flows and Balances Report: A summary of the token usage for Q2 2019, followed by the actual report posted to the project’s blog.
- Marketing Update: The latest about waitlists and Tardigrade mascot.
Details:
Where: The town hall meeting will be live-streamed on the Zoom.us platform. Livestream links will be emailed, along with a reminder, the day of the event. Please use this link to pre-register on Zoom.us.Be prepared to join the meeting by downloading the Zoom.us software before the meeting starts.
Date: Wednesday, July 10, 2019.
Time: 10:00 a.m. PDT; 1:00 p.m. EDT; 5:00 p.m. GMT; 8:00 p.m. MSK; and 1:00 a.m. China Standard Time (Thursday, April 11). Please check your local time.
Format: 20-minute presentation and a 40-minute Q&A.
Open Core Summit (OCS) is the global commercial open-source software (COSS) category ecosystem conference for builders, founders, developers, customers, investors, analysts and everyone, excited to learn, meet and collaborate on all things at the intersection of OSS and business!
Day 1: Keynotes and Fireside Chats
- The first-hand knowledge, insights and inspiration from the founders, operational executives, and investors behind many of the most successful industry-shaping COSS companies like Red Hat, HashiCorp, GitLab, Liferay, Magento, Confluent, Neo4j, CloudBees, Acquia, Docker and more.
- The latest new trends, innovations and the global technology shift towards an open future and the fusion of commercialization and open source (COSS).
Day 2: Breakout-Tracks
- The pragmatic, domain-focused best-practices from leaders of engineering, product, hiring, ecosystem, finance, licensing, sales, marketing and strategy functions across many pioneering and leading COSS companies.
Roadmap
- Explorer: Public Alpha for Storage Node Operators — Q1 2019 — DONE
Release Description: The public alpha for storage node operators will be the third major V3 network release. This release will allow people to download the storage node software and start sharing hard drive space on the V3 network. Initially, Storj will be gating the onboarding of new storage node operators based on the current wait list to maximize initial network stability.
With this release, Storj will begin to build the supply side of the V3 network. Throughout this phase of the alpha, the team will be up- and downloading data to test the performance, stability, and durability of the files stored on the network. The development team will be paying storage node operators for storage space and bandwidth utilized during this testing as if the company was operating the production network. Specific details on payments and earnings for storage node operators will be shared in the coming weeks.
From the start, storage node operators will begin to build reputation scores that will determine how much data they are given to store and how much bandwidth allocation they receive. Watch for more blog posts on the details behind reputation, payout calculations, and what it takes to be a successful storage node operator on V3.
Success criteria: The community is able to run storage nodes that store and deliver data, be compensated for storage and bandwidth utilization they provide to the network, and build a reputation for their storage nodes. Storj is able to build a supply of long-term, reliable and available storage nodes, as well as validate the assumptions around reputation and incentives.
- Vanguard: Public Alpha for Storage Uplink Clients — Q1/Q2 2019 — Done
Release Description: This public alpha for users interested in storing data on the V3 network will be the fourth major release. This release will allow developers to register for accounts on Satellites, create API credentials, and develop applications that use the Storj V3 network as their storage layer. Developers will be able to use the CLI, S3 gateway, and Libuplink developer library. Storj will also provide Ditto, a simple service that will mirror data on two different S3 compatible data stores.
Developers will be able to store and retrieve data from the storage node operators, although there will be caps on network utilization. One key factor for developers is that during the alpha releases, Storj may perform periodic data wipes as part of the release process. During the alpha releases, no important data should be stored on the V3 network, unless safe backup copies exist elsewhere.
During this public alpha, Storj will be able to test the performance and stability of the network. Developers will be measuring key performance indicators such as node uptime, node churn, file repair, and file durability. While developers will not be charged for data uploaded and retrieved during this alpha (within the previously mentioned cap), storage node operators will continue to be compensated.
Success criteria: The developer community is able to store and retrieve data on the V3 network. Storage node operators are able to build a reputation and earn STORJ tokens for contributing storage space and bandwidth to the network. Storj Labs is able to test payment services and continue to monitor performance, availability, and durability.
- Pioneer: Beta Release — Testing Billing and Payments — Q2/Q3 2019 — Ongoing
Release Description: The beta release for testing billing and payments will be the last major release before the production launch of the V3 network. With the beta release, the V3 network will be feature-complete for the initial concrete implementation specified in the V3 white paper.
During the beta release, Storj expect developers to build and test applications in advance of the production release. Storj will continue to build a supply of long-term reliable and available storage nodes. The team will continue to monitor and test billing and payment services, and continue to assess performance, availability, and durability. The beta release will continue for several billing cycles until the network achieves the availability and durability benchmark performance metrics established for the production network. At the end of the beta release, developers should expect the possibility of a final network reset that will wipe all test data.
Success criteria: The network is operational and payment and billing testing has been completed. The network is feature complete for reliable storage and retrieval of data.
- Voyager: Production Release — Q3 2019
Release Description: The production release will mark the transition of the V3 network to a paid service backed by SLAs for availability and durability.
Success criteria: The network achieves and maintains the availability and durability benchmark performance metrics established for the production network.
Partnerships and team members
No updates.
Social media metrics
Social media activity:
The graph above shows the dynamics of changes in the number of Twitter followers. The information is taken from Coingecko.com.
