The blockchain contains a lot of consensus mechanisms like Proof-of-Stake and Proof-of-Replication. One such mechanism is called Proof-of-Replication or PoRep. With time, blockchain gets updated with newer technologies. All of the tools incorporated in blockchain have one job: to keep the ecosystem decentralized.
Since blockchain is a public network, several developers work on making it better, smarter, and more secure. To make things secure, the need for consensus is really important. A consensus helps developers do their innovation on the blockchain.
Amongst the many consequences of the blockchain, we have Proof-of-Replication, a fairly new mechanism. How does it work, and what are its benefits? This guide will cover everything you need to know about proof-of-replication in Crypto.
What is Proof of Replication?
As the name suggests, PoRep is a consensus mechanism that proves to various blockchain networks that a miner can have a replica of data on a dedicated storage space. Proof-of-Replication combines two consensuses: Proof-of-Reliability (PoR) and Proof-of-Space (PoS).
PoR enables users to store data on a server and know about the contents of the data. The user can also retrieve and view data using this mechanism. PoC, on the other hand, allows a user to outsource the space to a network server.
However, by combining PoR and PoS, Proof-of-Replication allows users to store and retrieve data more efficiently and easily. In simple words, Proof-of-Replication takes Proof-of-Reliability and adds it to Proof-of-Space. While these were separate mechanisms, PoRep combines them to make cloud computing more advanced, faster, and more efficient.
How Does Proof of Replication Work?
In the Proof-of-Space consensus mechanism, you can only use half the storage to store data. However, with PoRep, you can use more available data to store important files. But more storage comes at more cost since PoRep keeps useful data alongside junk data.
In PoS, the data would be 50-50.
Proof-of-Replication has only one job: to ensure that the respective user has a copy of the data irrespective of the original file. PoRep was developed by Protocol Labs, the team who also developed Filecoin.
PoRep is quite beneficial for miners as they can earn profit by renting out their idle storage space to other miners. So, let’s talk about the difference between Proof-of-Replication and Proof-of-Work.
Proof-of-Replication (PoRep) vs Proof-of-Work (PoW)
PoW and PoS are the most popular consensus mechanisms in the blockchain world. After the debut of Bitcoin in 2009, PoW became popular. In PoW, a miner has to prove to the verifiers that he’s solved computational problems to be validated. On the other hand, in PoRep, miners need to prove that there’s space for data to be kept securely and efficiently.
The most common example of PoRep is Filecoin which allows users to rent out extra storage. The miners are rewarded with FIL tokens. The best part about PoRep and PoW is that they eliminate hacking and exploitation attempts, as miners must verify some things before making a transaction on the network.
Both mechanisms are solely built to counter theft, fraud, hacking, and cyberattacks. At the core, PoW saves spending while PoRep eliminates deduplication.
Advantages of PoRep
PoRep has a lot of advantages on the blockchain network. For example, it creates a channel for a specific user to make a server to keep their data duplicates. This enables better security, and the data will never be lost even if removed from the main network.
The most innovative benefit of PoRep is that it eliminates duplication of data which is a big concern on the blockchain. In other words, the same types of files won’t be stored on several networks. Hence, users can create a unified decentralized storage space to keep all those files away from the main network.
Moreover, the PoRep consensus mechanism also prevents cyber attacks, generation attacks, outsourcing attacks, theft, fraud, and more. It makes the whole network more secure. With the PoRep mechanism, miners can rent their free storage space to other users and get rewarded with a specific token that they can then sell.
Hence, PoRep also allows miners to earn real-world cash by renting storage space on the blockchain.
Final Verdict
It seems as if blockchain is growing rapidly with newer technologies. Proof-of-Replication is one of the newest consensus mechanisms that allow users to make Proof-of-Storage better and increase their network’s overall security.
Filecoin is a popular use case of PoRep as it is a decentralized way of earning tokens. PoRep is set to compete with other technologies like DeFi, P2E, and more.
