white paperIRISnet （white paper) idea is to build a distributed business collaboration platform based on the cross-chain network.
Founder Xi Haifeng described the pain points of the existing "non-standard" business model to Odaily: In contact with core companies and giants, small and medium-sized enterprises have a weak voice, and once settlement disputes arise, the big companies will prevail . In addition, the interfaces between platforms or blockchain networks are different. If enterprises want to share or obtain data and services, they need to connect according to the standards of all parties; the same application also needs to call different services and data, involving a dedicated blockchain.
IRISnet has designed a set of standards for definition, binding (service provider registration), invocation to governance (analysis and dispute resolution) of off-chain service lifecycle management, called IRIS Services (aka "iServices"). If an enterprise wants to share data and services externally for cash, it can publish its pricing on the IRISnet network according to this set of standards, and the demander can retrieve and call this set of services on this platform. When the service occurs, the settlement is completed up. IRISnet will release the corresponding SDK to facilitate the connection of service providers.
This sounds a bit like a B-side application service market. But my question is, why would a company want to connect to a service via the IRISnet platform instead of a direct connection which is more responsive? Xi Haifeng said that the most direct benefit is that companies do not need to connect one by one. All services on the IRISnet platform have unified access standards. As long as enterprises connect to the IRISnet network, they can purchase all services on the platform. The service call between B-side is not as urgent as that of C-side service. Furthermore, the pricing of the service is open and transparent, and the entire calling process is recorded on the blockchain platform, which cannot be tampered with. Traditional services are still point-to-point integration, and there is an account period for settlement.
IRISnet's underlying POS network is characterized by the development kit design based on the well-known cross-chain project Cosmos/Tendermint. According to the design of the white paper, Cosmos is an interconnected network composed of different independent blockchains (called "Zones"). Cosmos Hub can connect different types of Zones, which is equivalent to a transportation hub. Zone and Hub realize cross-chain communication through the IBC protocol (Inter-blockchain Communication, IBC), mainly by sharing node public keys and block hashes to verify transactions. IBC is equivalent to a virtual UDP or TCP protocol between chains.
Xi Haifeng said that IRISnet will become the second hub in the Cosmos network in the future, and hopes to connect the networks developed using the Cosmos SDK in the future to become a cross-chain hub (Hub) in China. IRISnet is both a hub and a zone. This means that the natural positioning of the platform is cross-chain, which will support the connection of different blockchain networks. "Now there are many service providers, such as Bloomberg and Reuters, who want to transfer these information sources to the chain, but do not want to connect with different alliances such as Hyperledger Fabric, Quorum, and Corda. IRISnet can meet similar needs. "
The project is now in the research and development stage. The test network has been opened to the public and is being iterated. There are more than 30 validator nodes. The mainnet will launch when there are enough good validators in the network. However, under the existing business logic, the above-mentioned needs are more aimed at subjects with weak voices such as small and medium-sized enterprises. The development of platform projects also depends on whether enough supply and demand can be obtained. The IRISnet community also has Wanyun, PlatON, Zhigui Technology, Molian, Hashgard and other participants.
The development team of IRISnet has about 30 people. Xi Haifeng is the founder of IRISnet & Boundary Intelligence. He graduated from the University of Maryland in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Tsinghua University in Automation. He once served as the vice president of technology of China Financial Online Corporation (NASDAQ: JRJC), and served as the CTO of Wanyun Platform under Wanxiang Blockchain. Co-founder Cao Heng has worked in IBM Research Institute for 16 years, served as the dean of IBM Research Shanghai Research Institute, and was the leader of big data analysis technology at the former IBM Global Research Institute.
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I am Lu Xiaoming, editor of Odaily. I am exploring the real blockchain. Please add lohiuming for breaking news and communication. Please note your name, unit, position and reason.
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Xiaoming's study notes | Understand the cross-chain mechanism of blockchain in one article
Xiaoming's study notes | Understand the cross-chain mechanism of blockchain in one article
