Demystifying Blockchain Components
By RAJ SINGH on ALTCOIN MAGAZINE
Let’s first discuss what is Blockchain in simple terms before going to Blockchain components. Blockchain is a decentralized database of transaction records which is distributed over all the participating nodes in the network.
Being based on a peer-to-peer (P2P) topology, blockchain is a distributed ledger technology (DLT) that allows data to be stored globally on thousands of servers — while letting anyone on the network see everyone else’s entries in near real-time.
Today I want to discuss Blockchain Components so let’s take a look at the underlying components of the Blockchain. At a high level the key components of a blockchain system are:
Digital Ledger:
A database or a ledger that is updated with all the transactions on the blockchain.
Consensus Mechanism:
An algorithm that ensures all the involved participants i.e. nodes follow a uniform protocol during block validation. The main function of the consensus mechanism is to help in maintaining a single state of the network.
Nodes:
The actual participants of the network who store the blockchain (fully or partially) and take part in ensuring the security of the network. Nodes are further divided into mining and non-mining nodes.
Mining nodes can either be full nodes or lightweight nodes. A full miner node stores the entire copy of a blockchain and participates in block creation and validation. A lightweight miner does not store the entire blockchain but stores only the block headers.
Non-Mining nodes also contain full nodes and lightweight nodes. These nodes do not participate in block creation, they only participate in block validation.
Validity Rules:
A standard set of rules of the network. It includes Ledger update protocols, Structure of a transaction, etc.
Digital Asset:
A unit that is being transacted on the blockchain network.
If you find this article useful then give it a thumbs up and share it with your friends. Happy Learning!
