We have released a new version of SONM software — Crypto-IaaS core v0.4.0-alpha1 and GUI v2.0.0-alpha1, and now it’s operational in Testnet (RINKEBY) and available for downloading and testing. We’re happy to open the 30 days countdown till the livenet!
https://github.com/sonm-io/core/releases/tag/v0.4.0-alpha1
https://github.com/sonm-io/Wallet/releases/tag/v2.0.0-alpha1
This version is a big step forward in the SONM development. The Crypto-IaaS is almost the same as regular IaaS from big cloud providers, but we call it Crypto because of the following reasons:
- Any idle hardware in SONM (when no customer tasks are on the market) is always utilized, at least with crypto mining, so we guarantee hardware utilization and basic profits of the at least crypto-mining level.
- This IaaS can perfectly host other blockchain projects as infrastructure.
Now the Crypto-IaaS is entering an active phase of public testing, which will last one month. Within a month, we will make the necessary changes to the code to improve system performance, and on June 30 we will transfer the system to the main network — it will become operational with real SNM tokens.
The Crypto-IaaS includes following features:
SONM Core — a set of software components that forms the system core.
- Worker. A software component that allows suppliers to rent out their equipment in the SONM marketplace. The worker in the Crypto-IaaS has incorporated the functionality of the hub, and now it is a universal unit for all suppliers. The worker runs on Linux.
- Optimus, autotrade-bot. This software component implements automatic trade management at the side of the worker. This bot determines what the optimal ask-plans (should we sell all 4 CPU cores as one package, or as 2 packages with 2 cores each) and optimal price are. It makes efforts to get the best possible deal price at the moment based on current demand on the market, ultimately implementing a “start earning money” button.
- API Node. A universal software component for Customers and Suppliers that provides the execution of commands from the GUI. It is a cross-platform software, which acts as an entry point to SONM network, providing external API and encapsulating internal SONM networking and blockchain work. Node API is used by CLI and other external software, like trading bots.
- CLI. Command Line Interface — is a program that allows using SONM API operations for users.
- DWH. A data warehouse that is dedicated to any read operations from blockchain. Reading complex data structures (like the ones we use) is complicated and slow, DWH allows to speed up the process of getting info. Read a comprehensive article on DWH here.
- Rendezvous. This is our technology that allows providing a direct connection between customers and workers in 100% cases even if they don’t have a public IP address. Later we will release a comprehensive article on this topic on our blog.
SONM GUI — a graphical interface, front-end of the system. Currently, GUI is targeted for customers, featuring resource purchase operations.
- Wallet. This is a set of features, allowing Ether and ERC20 token transfers on Ethereum masterchain. The main purpose of GUI is to cover SONM-specific things (profiles and marketplace), while this feature is implemented to have the all-in-one tool to work with SONM, for utility. This is not a recommended wallet to store large values, as the only secure storage option is cold storage.
- Deposit/withdraw. Interface to deposit SNM tokens from Ethereum masterchain to SONM blockchain and withdraw them backward. Operated by gates.
- Profiles. This is an interface to look up SONM Supplier and Customer profiles, find an appropriate counterparty by country, KYC status or other criteria.
- Purchase. An interface to look up for existing sell offers on SONM marketplace with multicriteria search and ability to purchase (rent out) a resource.
- My deals. An interface to look through your existing deals and ability to close (cancel) existing deals.
SONM blockchain — We have decided to rename the sidechain, described in this article to blockchain because it’s actually our own blockchain based on Ethereum.
- Block producing nodes. These nodes are doing block producing (mining) with a PoA consensus. Currently operated by SONM team, these nodes will be eventually decentralized in the form of PoS nodes run by the community.
- Gates. This is a unit of SONM network that processes token transfer operations and validation of the transfers between Ethereum masterchain and SONM blockchain. Learn more about Gates here.
- Market smart contract. A smart contract of the SONM marketplace, which includes all the logic and algorithms on the basis of which it works — order book and bid/ask validation. Order matching (finding a bid and ask that match each other) is implemented out of chain in a decentralized way.
- Profiles smart contract. A smart contract, which stores public data about SONM participants — their Ethereum address, KYC status and other optional information they provide.
- Blacklist smart contract. It’s an initial and simplified version of rating system that allows users to stop the deal on the market and add a person to the blacklist in case the counterparty is not satisfying deal conditions.
Crypto-IaaS market making, guaranteed revenues, and importance for miners.
What happens when SONM network is lacking real world Customers at some point? This is a common flaw of all modern distributed computing networks you may ever hear of. The computing resources would be idle and not earn money.
We find it very obvious, that it is possible to say, that there are no more free computing powers in the world. The times of SETI@home and free resource contribution are gone since the invention of crypto mining. Any idle machine could be doing at least some crypto mining.
Meanwhile, SONM allows anyone to rent computing powers (a computing instance). There are different options how to do it, via GUI with a mouse click, from the command line or even API. Basically, everything on SONM may be done via API. This allows automatic computing resource trading for software bots.
What if some software bot was constantly monitoring crypto mining profitability for some coins, let’s say for Ethereum, and was trying to purchase any free computing power if the price is low enough to make mining profitable? Buy any “dip”, where “dip” is related to computing power. If some resources are idle at some moment, software bots could compete with each other (in price) to purchase such resources, and then launch mining. A bot, in this case, will earn some coins (let’s say, Ether) and pay for resources in SNM tokens.
This way we will have a converged market, where computing powers are rented for (a) real business tasks and (b) crypto mining in a universal way, via single and unified API.
Like nicehash, but with real tasks. Like decentralized computing projects, but with guaranteed revenues even without Customers at some moment.
Well, this is what Crypto-IaaS is all about. The whole system design, mentioned above allows that — the product for a customer, the architecture, everything is dedicated to make a unified marketplace, where real tasks (as Docker containers) may live together with mining on same machines, under a unified pricing and billing model.
Now we need a final piece — someone who will purchase the resources for mining, a market maker.
We prepared such an “arbitrage” software bot as a reference design. We will make it open-source and run it on our side. In our hands it is not trying to make a margin (a profit), because we care only about working marketplace. But any software developer or a professional miner is encouraged to take this reference bot, change the coin in config (or even change strategy algorithm) and beat our price level.
If you know how to mine with better profits, than just plain Ethereum mining (lets say some “musicoin”) — you will be able to pay 1 cent more and beat our bot’s purchase prices and get all SONM idle powers.
So, the arbitrage-bot (market making, cloud mining bot). We prepared several automated customers that will buy out supplier’s idle capacity for cryptocurrency mining. Before starting a deal, the bot evaluates the profitability of mining any currency, then opens a deal with a supplier and starts mining cryptocurrency on the equipment. As a result, the Worker receives the amount of SNM equivalent to the volume of cryptocurrency produced — i.e., the bot sells the cryptocurrency on the exchange to give the reward to the Worker. If the profitability of mining changes during the mining process (during the deal period), the bot closes the current deal and opens a new one with updated conditions.
Take part in the public tests.
Today we release an evaluation build for public testing. Everyone is welcome to try and see how software is working, help us find and fix bugs. This test phase will last for only one month, and then we will go to production (launch livenet) on 30th of June.
With the livenet on 30th of June cryptocurrency miners will be able to switch to SONM confidently — we will guarantee the minimum income at the level of conventional mining. At the same time, the expected revenues are higher than traditional mining, because:
- someone will offer best mining profitability;
- Customers with real tasks will have to pay more, that the best mining offer.
Download the latest version here and start testing the Crypto-IaaS right now! We will be very happy if you join the testing process and let us know about the bugs you find so we can fix them quickly.
Read the technical documentation here to learn how to install SONM and start using it!
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Fog Computing Challenge: https://sonm.com/challenge/
