TON Storage and Arweave Comparison

Comparison between TON Storage and Arweave A Comprehensive Analysis

Author: Spike @ Contributor of PermaDAO

Reviewed by: Lemon @ Contributor of PermaDAO

TON Storage Protocol

On January 4, 2023, the TON Foundation announced the launch of the TON Storage Protocol, which is a distributed storage solution aimed at providing data storage services similar to projects like Filecoin and Storj.

• IRS’s Cryptic Plan to Snoop on Crypto Users Sends Shockwaves Through the Digital Sphere
• Stablecoins: The Backbone of Crypto Economy
• Frax Finance In-depth Report Eco-Status, FraxChain, and Future Potential

The TON Storage Protocol has the following characteristics:

• Distributed Storage: TON Storage utilizes a distributed approach similar to Torrent for data storage. This means that data is stored across multiple nodes in the network instead of being centralized on a single server. This distributed storage method enhances data reliability, security, access speed, and throughput.
• Data Encryption: To ensure data security, TON Storage adopts data encryption. Before storage, data undergoes encryption, allowing only users with the corresponding decryption key to access and decrypt the data. Therefore, TON Storage can also be used for storing private data.
• Smart Contract Support: TON Storage supports smart contracts. Through smart contracts, users can define and execute various storage operations within the storage protocol, such as upload, download, and deletion. For example, a continuous payment agreement can be implemented via smart contracts to achieve permanent storage services.
• Efficient Storage and Retrieval: TON Storage employs efficient storage and retrieval algorithms, enabling rapid storage and retrieval of large amounts of data. Network users only need to know the file ID to download the file. After downloading, the user participates in storage, and the next user will be able to download the file from two nodes simultaneously, and so on.
• Scalability: TON Storage exhibits excellent scalability. By adding more storage nodes, the storage capacity and performance of the storage protocol can be expanded.

Arweave Storage Protocol Features

The Arweave Storage Protocol possesses the following characteristics:

• Permanent Storage: Arweave’s storage protocol employs a technology called “blockweave,” which ensures that data is permanently stored in the network. Once data is stored on the Arweave network, it will never be deleted or modified, guaranteeing data reliability and traceability.
• Low-Cost Storage: Arweave’s storage protocol adopts a continuous sharing incentive mechanism, incentivizing nodes to store and maintain data. Users can achieve permanent storage through a one-time payment, and miners continuously earn revenue from the treasury to sustain the accessibility of files, achieving a balance between users and miners.
• Verifiability: Arweave’s storage protocol utilizes a technology called Simple Proof of Random Access (SPoRA), ensuring data verifiability. This means users can verify the storage location and integrity of data, assuring its authenticity and trustworthiness. This is particularly crucial for investment bankers in the finance industry who require accurate and trustworthy data.

Comparison of TON Storage and Arweave’s Features

1. Storage Method

TON Storage uses a modified version of Torrent technology to store data across multiple nodes, increasing the reliability and security of storage.

Arweave, on the other hand, uses a storage method called blockweave, which permanently stores data on the mainnet, ensuring the availability of any data.

2. Storage Cost

TON Storage aims to incentivize network operators by offering them economic rewards and ensures that users pay a fixed amount of Toncoin to nodes through smart contracts for hosting files for a certain period of time.

Arweave has a relatively higher one-time storage cost but lower permanent storage cost. According to CoinGecko, storing 1 TB on Arweave costs around $2 per month. Users only need to pay a one-time storage fee to permanently store data on the blockchain.

Image description: Cost comparison of different 1 TB storage options. Image source: Click the link

3. Storage Efficiency

TON Storage improves storage efficiency and throughput by storing data across multiple nodes. Additionally, the use of Torrent technology allows data to be fully recovered even if some nodes fail.

Arweave has relatively high storage efficiency as each node needs to maintain a complete copy of the data since it has to be permanently stored on the blockchain. Currently, each piece of data is saved in at least around 1000 copies.

In summary, the characteristics of both are:

Despite TON Storage’s impressive performance in many aspects, it also has some limitations:

• High hardware requirements: Due to the custom storage mechanism used by TON Storage, the cost of storing data may be higher. The hardware requirements are as follows:
  • At least 1 GHz and 2 cores CPU
  • At least 2 GB RAM
  • At least 2 GB SSD (excluding Torrent space)
  • Static IP with 10 Mb/s network bandwidth
• Storage capacity limitation: Due to the high cost of storing data, TON Storage may be limited by storage capacity.
• Data availability issues: The cost and capacity limitations of storing data may result in data availability issues. If a node cannot store all data copies or if some nodes are offline, users may not be able to access their stored data.
• Centralization risk: Despite the decentralized design of TON Storage, the involvement of third-party storage providers may lead to certain nodes concentrating a large amount of data, increasing the tendency towards centralization.

References

• TON Storage
• Storage daemon
• TON blockchain launches decentralized file-sharing solution
• Centralized vs Decentralized Storage Cost (2023)

We will continue to update Blocking; if you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us!