Changing the Data Storage Game with Blockchain
In the Digital Age, data is the coin of the realm. It powers — and empowers — virtually every element of modern business.
Research suggests that the digital universe will reach 44 zettabytes by 2020, which, if correct, means there are 40 times more bytes than there are stars in the actual observable universe. But data is only valuable if it’s securely stored and accessible only by authorized users. And as the demand for storage capacity grows to house more potentially transformational data and intelligence, so do the costs of adding and the risks of maintaining it.
“The data backup solutions introduced in the last decade have provided a cost-effective alternative to expensive on-premises data management,” says 0Chain Founder and CEO, Saswata Basu. “Our mission is to take those capabilities to the next level with an efficient storage architecture that adds a layer of breach protection using the blockchain.”
Poor ol’ POR
Conventional data backup — plain old replication (POR) — copies data from one database to another. While doing so enables users to share the same data without inconsistency, it also requires timely batch processing of data snapshots and costly data transmission to deliver them to the backup target database.
Not only do these transmissions eat up bandwidth and incur additional expenses, but moving data sequentially from Point A to Point B and eventually to Point C increases the risk of security concerns dramatically by adding potential points of failure or breach, while also promoting data decay and service degradation. In addition, having multiple unsecured copies means there are that many vulnerability points, allowing hackers several options to break in.
Instead, 0Chain’s blockchain storage solution splits data files into multiple shards that are individually encrypted and striped across different storage servers housed in one or multiple CoreSite data centers. In particular, storage servers will have separate cryptographic keys that can only be accessed by individuals responsible for those servers, making it nearly impossible for would-be hackers to access sensitive information and reconstitute the data into something meaningful or valuable.
CoreSite: 0Chain’s Great Enabler
Belying 0Chain’s innovative approach to data storage and security is the adaptive hybrid infrastructure provided by CoreSite. Basu says that 0Chain chose CoreSite as its data center solutions partner because of the company’s reputation for white-glove service, high-density modern data centers, and expansive customer and partner ecosystems courtesy of its innovative Marketplace and Open Cloud Exchange®.
From its on-site office in CoreSite’s San Jose (SV1) data center, the 0Chain team can custom-configure the various servers in its cabinet colocation, effortlessly adding needed capacity within a secure building and taking advantage of easy cross connects and peering options to access hundreds of other global networks and clouds.
The data center connectivity helps 0Chain plan which facilities will house its expanded infrastructure now and in the future while enabling the strategic location of its core storage hardware physically closer to its customers’ primary data storage for lower latency connections and faster data transmission. According to Basu, the rapid data transmission means 0Chain can store more data shards in a greater number of servers and disparate locations to create a breach-proof business continuity plan that can withstand several simultaneous server failures because data is so widely distributed.
“CoreSite’s seamless connectivity to different networks and its various locations allow us to stream data in parallel from any cloud-native SaaS application in AWS, Azure and Oracle instances,” Basu says. “We’ve found that this approach accelerates data transmission two or even three times as fast as transporting large snapshot files and enables data expansion for resilience that’s far more efficient and cost-effective than anything else on the market.”
As 0Chain’s solutions gain a broader audience, Basu anticipates expanding into larger storage arrays — perhaps a cage rather than a cabinet — and into other CoreSite locations across the country. "We know we're changing the data storage and security game, but we can't do it alone," he says. "From the beginning, CoreSite has proven through its people and its future-proof infrastructure not just to be the type of partner we want, but really the type of partner we need.”
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