But what exactly is it?
What Is IPFS?
It’s like HTTP, except built more like BitTorrent.
The initial design of the project belongs to Juan Benet.
IPFS is open source and has a strong community.
Bitcoin had a huge impact on the emergence of IPFS.
In addition, GIT (Version Control System) andTorrent technologieshave also come together in IPFS technology.
What Is the Purpose of IPFS?
The IPFS mission is to create a perpetual web, and to do so by replacing HTTP.
IPFS has evolved as a solution to restrictions in the physical way the web is currently designed.
To grasp this better, consider some characteristics of today’s web.
First, consider two approaches to designing the web: a centralized architecture connection and a decentralized architectural connection.
In centralized architecture networks, there is only one server.
Such networks have various scalability problems, and there are other problems like having a single point of failure.
This problem means that all functionality is lost if the server goes down.
Centralized architectural networks can also exhibit poor working performance.
In contrast, decentralized architectural networks use a completely different system that is scalable and works with multiple servers.
But to achieve all this can require high costs.
They have nodes that can handle both server and client operations.
That’s why they work very efficiently.
A distributed architecture is more efficient, but with HTTP-based web technology, the costs increase too quickly.
IPFS offers a solution.
Let’s clarify this with an example.
When 100 students want to access this web server, 100 different requests go to the server.
In response, 100 responses come from the server.
This is not an ideal method in terms of efficiency.
Now let’s consider this example utilizing IPFS.
But first, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how IPFS works.
Say the HTTP link in the previous example washttp://196.224.181.175/folder/data.txt.
A comparable IPFS link would be in a structure like/ipfs/WhsYEWbqs0R/folder/file.txt.
You install special software to get into the/ipfsarchitecture.
At this point, IPFS uses torrent technology.
IPFS and Blockchains
IPFS has structural similarities with blockchains.
For this reason, IPFS and blockchains can work together successfully.
Juan Benet, the inventor of IPFS, calls the interoperability of Blockchain and IPFS a perfect marriage.
Founded by Juan Benet, Protocol Labs currently hosts the development of several projects besides IPFS.
One of the initiatives of Protocol Labs is theIPLD(Inter Planetary Linked Data) project.
With this project, Bitcoin and Ethereum chains are transferred to the IPFS distributed data pipe.
It is possible to store many more Blockchain architectures in the IPFS web connection with this protocol.
One of the goals here is to ensure the security of blockchains.
They do this by rewarding users who store data on the web link with an alternative crypto coin calledFilecoin.
The Future of IPFS
IPFS seems to affect future internet usage in many ways.
It continues to develop at a very fast pace and its use is increasing day by day.
IPFS is becoming more common in applications that require data storage, file sharing or high-level security.
IPFS, uses many servers and nodes from around the world to store files and data.
Distributed and decentralized architectures seem poised to take over many areas in the future.
