An Overview of Data Storage Networks and an Introduction to BNB Greenfield

BNB Greenfield is decentralized storage infrastructure within the broader BNB Chain ecosystem where users and dApps can create, store and exchange data with full ownership to form a new data economy.

Before we dive in and explain how BNB Greenfield is an innovative step forward in blockchain data storage, it is first useful to understand how data is currently stored, both traditionally and in a decentralized ecosystem.

A Primer on Data Storage Networks

Centralized Data Storage Networks

While most internet users may not be aware, the data they interact with when they browse the web is stored in, and sent from, centralized servers – large brick and mortar buildings housing tens of thousands of computers that are specifically designed to store and deliver data. For example, if you uploaded a new profile picture for your favorite social media site, that picture would be stored in one of these servers. The next time you open your web browser and load that social media page, your picture, along with all the other elements of the page, would be delivered from these servers, assembled by your browser and delivered to your screen as a complete page all in a few milliseconds.

However, there are a number of issues with both the design and operations of a centralized data storage network that make it suboptimal.

Similar to the criticism of many centralized entities and systems, a centralized data storage network is a single point of failure with respect to data delivery. If the central server goes down, the entire network becomes inaccessible. From a security perspective, centralized servers are a prime target for hackers and cybercriminals and a security breach can result in the loss of sensitive data. Users of centralized data storage networks face additional challenges with respect to control, access and pricing: they have limited control over their data and are subject to that central server's policies and terms of service, as well as the potential censorship outside the scope of those guidelines; they may experience slow data transfer speeds or difficulty accessing their data if they are not physically located near the central server; and they are subject to pricing models imposed by centralized data storage networks that have a near monopoly over the data storage market.

Decentralized Data Storage Networks

A decentralized data storage network is a system in which data is stored across a network of nodes, rather than in a centralized location. This structure has a number of important benefits compared to centralized data storage networks.

In a decentralized network, data is distributed across multiple nodes so there is no single point of failure when it comes to data reliability and accessibility, making these systems much more resilient than their centralized counterparts. Decentralized data storage network networks are not controlled by a single entity making censorship and removal of data much more difficult, if not impossible. The pseudonymous nature of blockchain technology makes decentralized data storage networks far more private with respect to data storage and usage. And, because these systems use open-source technology, they are highly accessible to both users and data storage providers, making them far more cost efficient and scalable than centralized networks.

While already a significant improvement over centralized data storage networks with respect to design, censorship, privacy, cost and accessibility, decentralized data storage networks still face several challenges.

Retrieving data from a decentralized network can be slower than retrieving data from a centralized system, as data spread out across multiple locations may take longer to access, assemble and deliver when requested. Upload and download times for data may also be impacted as the number of users and the amount of data stored on decentralized data storage networks increases, causing network congestion. Compatibility and interoperability become an issue when users or applications want to leverage data stored across decentralized networks that use walled-garden technology and systems. And, finally, the adoption and growth of decentralized data storage networks is reliant on a high quality user experience and attractive economic incentives, both of which have yet to be achieved in today’s decentralized data storage network landscape.

Evolving Decentralized Data Storage, Ownership, and Utility With BNB Greenfield

BNB Greenfield is a novel decentralized data storage network that builds upon the many advantages these systems have to offer and is designed to transform the way every-day users interact with their own data.

Users create an account on BNB Greenfield and deposit BNB tokens that will be used to pay Storage Providers (SPs) for their storage services. They then review SP’s service level agreements – which include information relating to storage costs, data configuration and usage, and that SP’s reputation score – and choose a storage provider. At this stage, users can upload their data to BNB Greenfield and set their desired permissions on their data, the “buckets” in which their data is stored and the payment mechanisms associated with their data. Storage providers then take that data, break it down into many small pieces, and leverage a network of Secondary Storage Providers to store it on nodes off-chain. These nodes can range from small teams running data storage services all the way to large centralized data storage providers. SPs provide APIs that allow users or other permissioned entities, such as dApps, to access this data directly. The BNB Greenfield system automatically links users’ and other permissioned entities’ necessary accounts to the billing mechanism for storage services on-chain. This ensures that all parties involved in the data storage process receive the appropriate compensation for their roles. Payments are made using the subscription-like constant flow agreement model. Furthermore, any participant in the BNB Greenfield ecosystem can initiate a Proof-of-Challenge check to verify that data is being stored and used according to the SP’s service level agreement and the permissions set by the user.

BNB Greenfield has a native programmable layer between BNB Smart Chain that allows existing BNB Chain dApps to leverage appropriately permissioned data, and give rise to a new generation of BNB Greenfield dApps built on BNB Smart Chain that will either help users interact with the BNB Greenfield ecosystem or become data products or services in their own right – managing, configuring and composing data stored by SPs at scale. The ability to uniquely configure permissions on data in a native smart-contract-enabled environment is the main logic that enables myriad potential business models on BNB Greenfield.

Individual users can use BNB Greenfield as a personal cloud storage service or publishing platform – and anyone can now easily host and deploy their websites via BNB Greenfield – all conveniently managing payments for these services with BNB token. BNB Greenfield infrastructure can be used to create an entirely new social media model, where users can directly own and monetize their content. And, it can be used to offload terabytes of historic data from BNB Smart Chain for storage on BNB Greenfield. It can also be used for storing Layer2 rollup transaction data. BNB Greenfield can give rise to dynamically updated NFTs based on user behavior, AI-powered smart contract storage systems, pay-to-research data markets, and even self-oriented, permission-based behavioral analytics data markets. The possibilities are endless.

The conceptualization of BNB Greenfield introduces an entirely new economic paradigm for data in the Web3 era – one that takes direct aim at addressing one of the largest weaknesses in existing decentralized data storage networks today: unique data utility that yields equitable and attractive financial incentives. It also opens the door for talented developers that build BNB Greenfield dApps to address another major shortcoming of decentralized data storage networks: a low quality user experience. With one stroke, BNB Greenfield has written an exciting new chapter in the evolution of decentralized data storage networks.

Learn More About BNB Greenfield

Read the BNB Greenfield Whitepaper and stay informed on BNB Greenfield's product development, shape the future of decentralized storage and get early access to the BNB Greenfield ecosystem.

• Build N' Build Forum: Deep dive into BNB Greenfield's protocol and platform level design with other devs.
• GitHub: Review BNB Greenfield's codebase, SDK, API specs and more.
• Discord: Join our community and discuss BNB Greenfield's architecture and use cases

Follow us to stay updated on everything BNB Chain!

Website | Twitter | Twitter (Devs) | Telegram | dApp Store | YouTube | Discord | LinkedIn | Build N' Build Forum | Dev Community|