(Mark is a technical pygmy.)
LifeStuff runs on a self-healing network. – the MaidSafe Network that underpins our software – and it’s designed to act like an Axolotyl. You might have had one in science class. It’s a member of the Salamander family and it’s a pro at growing back bits of its body, post-amputation. Lizards and worms do it too but the Axolotyl is the Usain Bolt of self-healing. We like that.
What we mean by this is that our network, which is autonomous (ie it’s independent and “thinks” for itself) realises when its data is under threat of compromise and fends off cyber attack. And if parts of the network become compromised or in any way broken, it heals itself. If a user misbehaves they lose face on our network and they are ranked lower. That discourages bad behaviour. So, for you, the LifeStuff user, this is a biggie. It means you need never worry about your data being lost, stolen or broken, because it can’t happen.
So confident are we of the network’s efficacy that we have removed any human intervention in its management, period. That way it can never break, fall over or be compromised.
Now, ask Dropbox, iCloud, SkyDrive, Google Drive or Wuala how well they perform on that measure. You’ll have a long wait for an answer.
Because our network is clever it spots duplicate data. I mean how many copies of Black Eyed Peas’ I Gotta Feeling are out there? Millions, right? Our network spots duplicate data and dedupes it, meaning that when you’re in party mode and want to access Will.I Am in all his glory, you can. Immediately. But the network doesn’t have to store millions of copies of it. The result? Faster, more efficient data on demand and greater capacity for you because deduped data comes off your sharing quota.
The self-healing autonomous network. How Dan sees it.
(Dan is a technical giant.)
The MaidSafe Network is a reliable repository for all information. So reliable that we store in it the information needed to run the system, but more importantly, the information that users trust to the system. Once we have ensured user data is safe to be placed anywhere on the network (see Self-Encryption), several tasks remain to be performed by the network, all with the aim of making the network autonomous.
Simple rules: protect data, protect the network, protect individual nodes.
To ensure that data will be perpetual (as long as users want it to be), the network is in charge of regulating the number of copies that exist at any given time on specific nodes. Constant communication is kept between all nodes involved in looking after a particular piece of data. Together, they decide when and where new copies should be added or existing ones removed.
To ensure that all behaviour is regulated, the network also provides a ranking system, which ensures that nodes will act in what is their natural best interest, i.e., the network’s best interest. Bad behaviour is punished; good behaviour, rewarded. A bad apple is quickly identified and treated as a threat.
The network also keeps accounting of the quid-pro-quo factor of users, ensuring that the fairness of use principle is kept.
Traffic is not a load to this network, it is a resource. Nodes benefit from the knowledge of other nodes and work together to make popular information easily available.
Written by Mark Gorman
For more information on LifeStuff, visit www.goLifeStuff.com
