Unless you've been under a rock, you've probably heard the terms "arweave", "permaweb" and "permanent data storage". But have you heard about the Ar.io Network? If you haven’t, keep reading to find out.
In this article, I will introduce the Ar-io network, what it is, how it works, and how to get started with participating in its network.
What is the Ar-IO Network?
Ar-io network is the decentralized gateway network of the Arweave ecosystem that enables the permaweb. It is made up of a system of nodes called gateways that serve as a bridge between users and data stored on Arweave. To fully understand and appreciate the importance of the Ar-io network, let's go over what Arweave is, the permaweb and some of the limitations Arweave and its gateway have that the Ar-io network solves.
What is Arweave?
Arweave is a decentralized network that enables permanent data storage. The major applications of Arweave, include permanent storage of files such as PDFs, documents, audios, videos etc.
With the permaweb, (which is basically a permanent and decentralized web built on arweave) web applications can be hosted and saved permanently so they remain searchable and able to function as designed. Users can also create and manage permanent web3 profiles called permapages that can be edited and updated to include an avatar, content, etc.
For web applications to be hosted on the permaweb, and application data to be easily accessed, indexed and, queried, gateways are needed as they serve as an interface between the users and the permaweb.
The Arweave Gateway
Gateways are a bridge between the Arweave network and the user/ applications making it easier to interact with the network by making the process of retrieving, reading, writing and searching for data on the network much easier.
To allow the data stored on arweave to be easily accessed, searched and queried by applications and users, arweave created its gateway http://arweave.net as a community good.
Limitations to the Arweave Gateway
It is centralized and when the network is congested it can be slow,
It can't be customized for specific purposes
It is expensive to operate
How AR.IO solves these Limitations
Ar-IO network solves some of these limitations with its network of modular gateways that are easy to run and operate and can be customized to meet the needs of specific applications, use cases and the scale of the operations. It lowers the bar of entry for gateway operators and offers economic incentives for participating in the network.
ArNS: Arweave Name System
The Arweave name system (ArNS ) enables you to turn transaction IDs and wallet addresses into simple and friendly names. It can also serve as an identifier or label for gamer tags, specific data and applications. ArNS names are either permanently purchased or leased for up to 5 years.
Permanent ownership of your domain name or long-term lease removes the need for a yearly subscription and all the trouble of forgetting to renew your subscription and losing access to your domain.
The tIO token
This is the testnet token and is used in the AR-IO network for joining the network, paying for the ArNS names and gateway incentives. Ar-io Network launched its incentivised testnet last year which essentially offers rewards for participating in the network and good performance by gateway operators, ultimately making its network more secure, reliable and sustainable.
You can participate in the network by:
Operating a gateway OR
Delegating tIO tokens to a gateway
Operating a gateway
If you have development skills, you can quickly set up a gateway following the steps in the ar-io docs. After setting up a fully functional gateway, you can apply for testnet tokens to operate the gateway (you need to stake a minimum of 10,000 test tokens to operate a gateway) and run a script to manually join the testnet network.
Delegate tIO tokens to a gateway
If you hold tIO tokens, you can participate in the operation of gateways without running a gateway by staking some of your tIO tokens to operators with good performance.
Observation and Incentive Protocol (OIP)
Gateways are selected as observers based on their performance and commitment to the network determined by their stake and time since they joined the network. When gateways participate in the network as observers, they observe the health and performance of other gateways and the network, evaluating other gateways ability to resolve ArNS names accurately and quickly.
Network incentives
Test IO protocol rewards are distributed to gateway operators and observers based on their performance in the form of tIO tokens. By delegated staking, you also get a share of the rewards if your gateway gets rewarded for its good performance. You can also earn tIO tokens by participating in community events and supporting other members on Discord.
If you're looking to learn more about how you can build and contribute to the ar-io ecosystem, the ar-io SDK was launched recently and it provides functionality for interacting with gateways and ArNS domains etc. Check out the docs here .
