The release of the decentralized file system IPFS 0.8 (InterPlanetary File System) has been announced, forming a global versioned file storage deployed as a P2P network composed of participant systems. IPFS combines ideas previously implemented in systems such as Git, BitTorrent, Kademlia, SFS, and the Web, resembling a single 'swarm' of BitTorrent (peers participating in the distribution) exchanging Git objects. IPFS features content-based addressing rather than location and arbitrary names. The reference implementation code is written in Go and is distributed under the Apache 2.0 and MIT licenses.
In the new version:
- The capability to create external services for pinning user data has been implemented (pinning - binding data to a node to ensure important data is retained). Data pinned to the service can have distinct names different from the content identifier (CID). Data can be searched by both name and CID. The IPFS Pinning Service API has been proposed to handle pinning requests, which can be used directly in go-ipfs. The command line offers the command 'ipfs pin remote' for attaching: ipfs pin remote service add mysrv https://my-service.example.com/api-endpoint myAccessToken ipfs pin remote add /ipfs/bafymydata --service=mysrv --name=myfile ipfs pin remote ls --service=mysrv --name=myfile ipfs pin remote rm --service=mysrv --name=myfile
- Pinning and unpinning operations on the local node have been accelerated. The increase in performance and reduction in memory consumption is particularly noticeable when performing output or modification operations on systems with a large number of pins.
- When forming 'https://' links for gateways, the ability to pass DNSLink names using subdomains has been added. For example, to load the name 'ipns://en.wikipedia-on-ipfs.org', besides the previously supported links 'https://dweb.link/ipns/en.wikipedia-on-ipfs.org', one can now use links 'https://en-wikipedia-on-ipfs-org.ipns.dweb.link', where dots in the original names are replaced by the '-' character, and existing '-' characters are escaped with another similar character.
- Support for the QUIC protocol has been expanded. To enhance performance, the ability to increase receiving buffers for UDP has been provided.
Recall that in IPFS, the link for accessing a file is directly tied to its content and includes a cryptographic hash of that content. The file address cannot be renamed at will; it can only change if the content changes. Similarly, you cannot modify a file without changing its address (the old version will remain at the previous address, while the new one will be accessible at a different address, as the hash of the file's content will change). Given that the file identifier changes with each modification, services are provided to link permanent addresses that account for different file versions (IPNS) or to anchor a pseudonym similarly to traditional file systems and DNS (MFS (Mutable File System) and DNSLink).
Similar to BitTorrent, data is stored directly on participant systems that exchange information in a P2P manner, without reliance on centralized nodes. When a specific file content is needed, the system locates participants that have the file and retrieves it from their systems in chunks through multiple streams. Once a participant has downloaded the file to their system, they automatically become one of the points from which it can be shared. To identify network participants that have the desired content, a distributed hash table (DHT) is used. To access the global IPFS file system, the HTTP protocol can be utilized, or a virtual file system /ipfs can be mounted using the FUSE module.
IPFS addresses challenges such as storage reliability (if the primary storage goes down, the file can be retrieved from other users' systems), resistance to content censorship (blocking would require shutting down all user systems that have a copy of the data), and enabling access when there is no direct internet connection or poor network quality (data can be retrieved through nearby participants in a local network). In addition to file storage and data sharing, IPFS can serve as a foundation for creating new services, such as websites not tied to servers or distributed applications.
Source: opennet.ru
