REMME bi-weekly update #7
Dear members, welcome to the seventh edition of our bi-weekly development update! In this episode, we’ve got the latest on REMChain, our proprietary blockchain, which is progressing nicely, details of forthcoming community events, and info on what REMME Research Lab has been upto. Without further ado, let’s dive in.
REMChain
Our team has now developed scripts for automatic deployment and update of the REMME software on private clusters. The network can be easily extended with new masternodes. A partial update is possible to verify whether a new version of the software is working correctly.
Integration Libraries
In the current update for .NET/JS libraries, we’ve implemented personal key management. This allows users to create, import and export elliptic curve (ECDSA) based keys using the brand new RemmeAccount class. It also provides the ability to sign raw transactions and push them to a REMME node via external REST API, so that all transaction data is composed locally.
You can find the libraries here:
REMCore
Transaction handlers were fully covered with test cases to quickly solve issues encountered in the development process and make our core more secure.
REST API
- REMME REST API was refactored to improve its performance. Instead of acquiring data via Sawtooth REST API we are now working directly with the Sawtooth core.
- With REMME nodes’ internal REST API there is now the ability to sign CSR (Certificate Signing Request) for local certificate generation and signing. In this iteration the ability to specify a custom certificate valid date was added, which allows a user (node admin) to generate and sign certificates with a custom lifetime that differs from the default (one year).
- We added two new features: API for retrieving info about node public key and API for sending raw transaction to the node (which means that the client could collect all transaction data and make signing on their side and send to the node).
REMME Research Lab
Our team conducted a comparison and research on different consensus algorithms for private blockchains. From the research results, two algorithms have been proposed: Raft and Algorand agreement. We’re planning to implement Algorand agreement as it has the potential to cover more use cases. The key difference in terms of possible use cases is the private network size, which may vary. Raft works well on small networks, but its performance degrades quickly when the network size is growing. Also, Raft does not solve the BFT problem. This is acceptable for private networks with a single administration unit, but for cases when the network is distributed between different organizations, this algorithm would not work because it does not solve the problem of trust. Algorand is more scalable and solves the BFT problem, but is also more complex.
More updates
- 👨💻REMME Tech community on Discord is launched! We believe this step is of great importance in view of the forthcoming release of our Public Testnet, which is in its final stages. Soon you will be able to check it out on your own! Become a part of the REMME Tech community and create your own unique REM-powered applications on top of our distributed Public Key Infrastructure protocol.
How to join:
1. If you haven’t done so yet, create your Discord account
2. Answer the questions in the form here: https://remme.io/community
3. Right after the submitting the form you will see a button on the website.
4. Click the button and join the discussion!
- More exciting topics in our blog. A new series of posts we’ve begun publishing is all about the technological aspects of REMChain and REMME DApps. In this post we’re diving deeper into the architecture of the Hyperledger Sawtooth blockchain framework https://medium.com/remme/hyperledger-sawtooth-as-a-development-framework-architecture-overview-4947ec81fa50
Have a read and then share your thoughts in our tech group on Discord!
- Use cases. At the latest hackathon sponsored by REMME, a number of solutions were suggested for enhancing the REMME PKI (d) protocol. Ideas were traded busily at the hackathon, as participants proposed various ways of implementing REMME in a myriad of settings. Read in detail about the four solutions we selected to be built on top of the protocol at BlockchainUA Hackathon: Plug-in for Magento CMS, Atomic Swap (Ethereum-REMChain migration), Access Hierarchy for file system and Access to the mesh network.
- Upcoming events. This June is expected to be hot: we’re getting ready to meet the developer community at Hyperledger Hackfest, present a REMME demo to enterprises at Webit Festival and talk about everything blockchain and crypto at Blockchain Expo Europe 2018. Check out the events schedule!
- In the press. What benefits can blockchain bring to cybersecurity? Decentralization, accurate tracking, confidentiality, reducing or eliminating fraud and errors to name a few. There’s a nice infographic of 16 blockchain disruptions featured in this article from Crypto Currency News. Naturally, you’ll find REMME in there :)
👋 Cheers, we’ll get back to you soon for another REMME tech update and a full progress report on our next sprint. Catch you then or see you at one of the blockchain events we’ll be attending later this month.
REMME’s official links:
- Website: https://remme.io/
- Telegram group: https://t.me/remme
- Telegram news channel: https://t.me/remme_daily
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/remme_io
- Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/remme/
