5 Things That Decentralized Storage Aims to Fix

With Filecoin’s forthcoming debut, many people are questioning why they should care about decentralized storage.

While decentralized banking is the talk of the town right now, another blockchain use that has been quietly gaining traction is decentralized storage.

Users may store their files (and sensitive information) on a decentralized storage system rather than depending on giant data centers like those managed by Amazon and other cloud storage providers.

Each decentralized storage solution has its unique style of operation, although it’s not too different from the peer-to-peer network Limewire’s.

This (now-defunct) piece of software enabled users to download movies and music by copying them straight from other people’s hard discs. There was also some sharding since files were often divided down into parts.

With the long-awaited debut of Filecoin, which generated $205 million in its 2017 ICO, the prospects associated with decentralized storage networks have come into focus. That opulent amount set records at the time.

But what does Filecoin different from other services like Storj, MaidSafe, and Sia? We’ll look at the advantages of decentralized storage in this article.

1. It may assist in keeping content online.

Decentralized storage proponents say that the existing method of organizing internet material is wasteful.

Hyperlinks only point us in the direction of something. As Filecoin puts it, it’s like a buddy suggesting a fantastic book to read but only informing you that it’s on the top shelf of Bookcase 3 in Section 9 of a massive library.

According to the project’s website: “This is, without a doubt, inefficient. It’s also a risky situation: what if the book is moved? What happens if the library is closed on that particular day? Or are you completely shut down?”

Protocols like the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) give files a unique fingerprint based on their actual content. If you need to access a file, a routing algorithm looks for a copy on the network.

2. There isn’t a single point of failure.

When a server goes down, the data it holds often goes down with it. However, because of decentralization, a file may be divided up into little chunks and dispersed between nodes, ensuring that there is always a backup plan in case one of them goes down.

This might help avert some of the humiliating outages that have occurred in the past on some of the world’s most popular websites, disruptions that often make the headlines.

3. There will be no censorship

Malicious actors may find it more difficult to take down bits of online material with decentralized storage. Instead of centralized file storage, where an attacker may only have to deal with one target, an attacker may have to deal with thousands of nodes, making a denial-of-service attack costly and almost impossible.

This might make it more difficult for governments throughout the globe to limit individuals’ access to information by shutting news websites and internet portals like Wikipedia.

4. A More Pleasant Experience

Decentralized storage supporters further believe that cloud computing has a lot of redundancy and that blockchain technology provides a far more effective method to store data.

Cloud storage solutions may use a lot of bandwidth, particularly if many people are using them at the same time – and storage charges are expensive. Because there are several copies to pick from, decentralized storage may enable data to be downloaded quicker. This might be especially valuable for persons living in places with inconsistent internet connectivity.

Data ownership is number five.

Last but not least, when it comes to centralized cloud services, don’t forget about the potential of data breaches. Even though many organizations that provide storage space have security requirements in place, they are nevertheless vulnerable to assaults.

Although you may not think of Facebook as a file storage service, many users rely on it to save images and videos that date back many years. Unfortunately, the social network has been involved in other scandals, like the Cambridge Analytica affair, which led to massive quantities of data being stolen and misused.

Is the Future of Cloud Computing Decentralized?

Now the issue is whether or not decentralized storage will become popular. Will this open-source data storage form pose a serious threat to Amazon, Dropbox, and others?

One disadvantage is that many businesses in this field are too technical, a problem that can be seen in many crypto projects and DApps. The general public may be enticed to use such a storage service only if it is as easy to use as its major rivals.

However, there are grounds to be optimistic. People with extra hard drive space may be compensated in bitcoin for keeping other people’s information without jeopardizing their privacy. Decentralized storage might help prevent our digital lives from disappearing without a trace in the future, considering how many websites and data that existed in the early days of the internet have since disappeared offline.