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1 | 1 | The Case for Fabric |
2 | 2 | =================== |
3 | 3 |
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4 | | -Hyperledger Fabric is a social innovation that is about to free innovators in startups, |
5 | | -enterprises and government to transform and radically reduce the cost of working together |
6 | | -across organizations. By the end of this section, you should have the essential understanding |
| 4 | +Hyperledger Fabric is a social innovation that is about to free innovators in startups, |
| 5 | +enterprises and government to transform and radically reduce the cost of working together |
| 6 | +across organizations. By the end of this section, you should have the essential understanding |
7 | 7 | of Fabric you need to start *knitting* together a great business network. |
8 | 8 |
|
9 | | -Fabric is a network of networks, like the Internet itself. An application can use one or more |
10 | | -networks, each managing different :ref:`Assets`, Agreements and Transactions between different |
11 | | -sets of :ref:`Member` s. In Fabric, the Ordering Service is the foundation of each network. |
12 | | -The founder of a network selects an Ordering Service (or creates a new one) and passes in a |
13 | | -config file with the rules (usually called Policies) that govern it. Examples of these rules |
14 | | -include setting/defining which Members can join the network, how Members can be added or removed, |
15 | | -and configuration details like block size. While it is possible for one company to set and control |
16 | | -these rules as a "dictator," typically these rules will also include policies that make changing |
17 | | -the rules a matter of consensus among the members of the network. Fabric also requires some level of |
18 | | -"endorsement" in order to transact. Check out the power and intricacy of :doc:`endorsement-policies` |
19 | | -, which are used across the Fabric landscape - from a consortium's network configuration to a simple |
| 9 | +Fabric is a network of networks, like the Internet itself. An application can use one or more |
| 10 | +networks, each managing different :ref:`Assets`, Agreements and Transactions between different |
| 11 | +sets of :ref:`Member` s. In Fabric, the Ordering Service is the foundation of each network. |
| 12 | +The founder of a network selects an Ordering Service (or creates a new one) and passes in a |
| 13 | +config file with the rules (usually called Policies) that govern it. Examples of these rules |
| 14 | +include setting/defining which Members can join the network, how Members can be added or removed, |
| 15 | +and configuration details like block size. While it is possible for one company to set and control |
| 16 | +these rules as a "dictator," typically these rules will also include policies that make changing |
| 17 | +the rules a matter of consensus among the members of the network. Fabric also requires some level of |
| 18 | +"endorsement" in order to transact. Check out the power and intricacy of :doc:`endorsement-policies` |
| 19 | +, which are used across the Fabric landscape - from a consortium's network configuration to a simple |
20 | 20 | read operation. |
21 | 21 |
|
22 | | -We mentioned that the Ordering Service (OS) is the foundation of the network, and you're probably |
23 | | -thinking, "It must do something beyond just ordering." Well you're right! All members and entities |
24 | | -in the network will be tied to a higher level certificate authority, and this authority is defined |
25 | | -within the configuration of the Ordering Service. As a result, the OS can verify and authenticate |
26 | | -transactions arriving from any corner of the network. The OS plays a central and critical role in |
27 | | -the functionality and integrity of the network, and skeptics might fear too much centralization of |
28 | | -power and responsibility. After all, that's a principal feature of shared ledger technology - to |
29 | | -decentralize the control and provide a foundation of trust with entities who you CAN'T wholeheartedly |
30 | | -trust. Well let's assuage that fear. The OS is agnostic to transaction details; it simply orders on |
31 | | -a first-come-first-serve basis and returns blocks to their corresponding channels. Perhaps more |
32 | | -importantly though, control of the ordering service can be shared and co-administered by the |
33 | | -participating members in the network. OR, if even that solution is untenable, then the OS can be |
34 | | -hosted and maintained by a trusted third-party. Fabric is built upon a modular and pluggable |
35 | | -architecture, so the only real decision for business networks is how to configure an OS to meet |
36 | | -their requirements. |
| 22 | +We mentioned that the Ordering Service (OS) is the foundation of the network, and you're probably |
| 23 | +thinking, "It must do something beyond just ordering." Well you're right! All members and entities |
| 24 | +in the network will be tied to a higher level certificate authority, and this authority is defined |
| 25 | +within the configuration of the Ordering Service. As a result, the OS can verify and authenticate |
| 26 | +transactions arriving from any corner of the network. The OS plays a central and critical role in |
| 27 | +the functionality and integrity of the network, and skeptics might fear too much centralization of |
| 28 | +power and responsibility. After all, that's a principal feature of shared ledger technology - to |
| 29 | +decentralize the control and provide a foundation of trust with entities who you CAN'T wholeheartedly |
| 30 | +trust. Well let's assuage that fear. The OS is agnostic to transaction details; it simply orders on |
| 31 | +a first-come-first-serve basis and returns blocks to their corresponding channels. Perhaps more |
| 32 | +importantly though, control of the ordering service can be shared and co-administered by the |
| 33 | +participating members in the network. OR, if even that solution is untenable, then the OS can be |
| 34 | +hosted and maintained by a trusted third-party. Fabric is built upon a modular and pluggable |
| 35 | +architecture, so the only real decision for business networks is how to configure an OS to meet |
| 36 | +their requirements. |
37 | 37 |
|
38 | | -(This notion of the OS as a pluggable component also opens the door to exciting opportunities for |
39 | | -innovative teams and individuals. Currently there are only a few OS orchestrations - Solo and Kafka. |
40 | | -However, other options such as Intel's PoET or BFT flavors could be powerful supplementaries to Fabric, |
| 38 | +(This notion of the OS as a pluggable component also opens the door to exciting opportunities for |
| 39 | +innovative teams and individuals. Currently there are only a few OS orchestrations - Solo and Kafka. |
| 40 | +However, other options such as Intel's PoET or BFT flavors could be powerful supplementaries to Fabric, |
41 | 41 | and help solve challenging use cases.) |
42 | 42 |
|
43 | | -To participate in the Network, each Organization maintains a runtime called a :ref:`Peer`, which will |
44 | | -allow an application to participate in Transactions, interact with the Ordering Service, and maintain |
45 | | -a set of ledgers. Notice we said a set of ledgers. One of Fabric's key innovations is the ability to |
46 | | -run multiple :ref:`Channel` s on each network. This is how a network can conduct both highly confidential |
47 | | -bilateral transactions and multilateral, or even public, transactions in the same solution without |
48 | | -everyone having a copy of every transaction or run the code in every agreement. Watch how Fabric is |
| 43 | +To participate in the Network, each Organization maintains a runtime called a :ref:`Peer`, which will |
| 44 | +allow an application to participate in Transactions, interact with the Ordering Service, and maintain |
| 45 | +a set of ledgers. Notice we said a set of ledgers. One of Fabric's key innovations is the ability to |
| 46 | +run multiple :ref:`Channel` s on each network. This is how a network can conduct both highly confidential |
| 47 | +bilateral transactions and multilateral, or even public, transactions in the same solution without |
| 48 | +everyone having a copy of every transaction or run the code in every agreement. Watch how Fabric is |
49 | 49 | Building a Blockchain for Business . |
50 | 50 |
|
51 | | -If you're still reading, you clearly have some knowledge and an interest in distributed ledger |
52 | | -technology, AND you probably think a key piece is missing. Where is consensus in all of this? Well, |
53 | | -it's embedded in the entire life cycle of a transaction. Transactions come into the network, and the |
54 | | -submitting client's identity is verified and consented upon. Transactions then get executed and endorsed, |
55 | | -and these endorsements are consented upon. Transactions get ordered, and the validity of this order is |
56 | | -consented upon. Finally, transactions get committed to a shared ledger, and each transaction's subsequent |
57 | | -impact on the state of the involved asset(s) is consented upon. Consensus isn't pigeonholed into one |
58 | | -module or one function. It lives and exists throughout the entire DNA of Fabric. Fabric is built |
59 | | -with security at the forefront, not as an afterthought. Members and participating entities operate with |
60 | | -known identities, no action on the network circumvents the sign/verify/authenticate mandate. Requirements |
61 | | -such as security, privacy and confidentiality are paramount in some manner to nearly all business dealings, |
62 | | -and they, like consensus, are stitched into the very essence of Fabric. |
| 51 | +If you're still reading, you clearly have some knowledge and an interest in distributed ledger |
| 52 | +technology, AND you probably think a key piece is missing. Where is consensus in all of this? Well, |
| 53 | +it's embedded in the entire life cycle of a transaction. Transactions come into the network, and the |
| 54 | +submitting client's identity is verified and consented upon. Transactions then get executed and endorsed, |
| 55 | +and these endorsements are consented upon. Transactions get ordered, and the validity of this order is |
| 56 | +consented upon. Finally, transactions get committed to a shared ledger, and each transaction's subsequent |
| 57 | +impact on the state of the involved asset(s) is consented upon. Consensus isn't pigeonholed into one |
| 58 | +module or one function. It lives and exists throughout the entire DNA of Fabric. Fabric is built |
| 59 | +with security at the forefront, not as an afterthought. Members and participating entities operate with |
| 60 | +known identities, no action on the network circumvents the sign/verify/authenticate mandate. Requirements |
| 61 | +such as security, privacy and confidentiality are paramount in some manner to nearly all business dealings, |
| 62 | +and they, like consensus, are stitched into the very essence of Fabric. |
63 | 63 |
|
64 | | -So what problem do you want to solve? What assets are at stake? Who are the players? What levels of |
65 | | -security and encryption do you need? Fabric is designed to provide an answer and solution to this |
66 | | -challenging collective of questions and beyond. Just like fabric - in the literal sense of the word - is |
67 | | -used in everything from airplane seats to bespoke suits, solutions built on Hyperledger Fabric can range |
68 | | -from diamond provenance to equities trading. Explore the documentation and see how you can leverage Fabric |
| 64 | +So what problem do you want to solve? What assets are at stake? Who are the players? What levels of |
| 65 | +security and encryption do you need? Fabric is designed to provide an answer and solution to this |
| 66 | +challenging collective of questions and beyond. Just like fabric - in the literal sense of the word - is |
| 67 | +used in everything from airplane seats to bespoke suits, solutions built on Hyperledger Fabric can range |
| 68 | +from diamond provenance to equities trading. Explore the documentation and see how you can leverage Fabric |
69 | 69 | to craft a PoC for your own business network. |
70 | 70 |
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