137 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
137 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
Dagger Contracts
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================
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An experimental implementation of the contracts that underly the Dagger storage
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network. Its goal is to experiment with the rules around the bidding process,
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the storage contracts, the storage proofs and the host collateral. Neither
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completeness nor correctness are guaranteed at this moment in time.
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Running
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-------
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To run the tests, execute the following commands:
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npm install
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npm test
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To start a local Ethereum node with the contracts deployed, execute:
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npm start
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This will create a `deployment-localhost.json` file containing the addresses of
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the deployed contracts.
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Overview
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--------
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The Dagger storage network depends on hosts offering storage to clients of the
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network. The smart contracts in this repository handle interactions between
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client and host as they negotiate and fulfill a contract to store data for a
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certain amount of time.
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When all goes well, the client and host perform the following steps:
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Client Host Storage Contract
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| --- request (1) --> |
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| <----- bid (2) ---- |
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| ----------- create contract (3) ---------> |
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| ----- data (4) ---> | |
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| ---- start (5) ----> |
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| ---- proof (6) ----> |
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| ---- proof (6) ----> |
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| ---- proof (6) ----> |
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| <-- payment (7) ---- |
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1. Client broadcasts off-chain a request for storage, containing the size of
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the data that it wants to store and the length of time it wants to store it
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2. Several hosts reply off-chain with a bid containing a price
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3. The client selects a bid and uses it to create a new storage contract
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on-chain
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4. The client sends the data it wants to store to the host
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5. Once the host has received the data it starts the storage contract
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6. While the storage contract is active, the host proves that it is still
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storing the data by responding to frequent random challlenges
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7. At the end of the contract the host is paid
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Contracts
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---------
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A storage contract can be created on-chain from a signed request and bid. The
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request contains the size of the data and the length of time during which it
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needs to be stored. It also contains proof requirements such as how often a
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proof will need to be submitted by the host. A random nonce is included to
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ensure uniqueness among similar requests. A bid contains a reference to the
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request it pertains to, a price, and an expiry time.
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When a new storage contract is created the client immediately pays the entire
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price of the contract. The payment is only released to the host upon successful
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completion of the contract.
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Collateral
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------
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To motivate a host to remain honest, it must put up some collateral before it is
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allowed to participate in storage contracts. The collateral may not be withdrawn
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as long as a host is participating in an active storage contract.
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Should a host be misbehaving, then its collateral may be reduced by a certain
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percentage (slashed).
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Proofs
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------
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A host is required to submit frequent proofs while a contract is active. These
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proofs ensure with a high probability that the host is still holding on to the
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data that it was entrusted with.
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To ensure that a host is not able to predict and precalculate proofs, these
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proofs are based on a random challenge. Currently we use the ethereum block hash
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to determine two things: 1) whether or not a proof is required at this point in
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time, and 2) the random challenge for the proof. Although a host will not be
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able to predict the exact times at which a proof is required, the frequency of
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proofs averages out to once per proof period. This proof period was agreed upon
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by the client and host during the request/bid exchange.
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Hosts have a small period of time in which they are expected to submit a proof.
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When that time has expired without seeing a proof, validators are able to point
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out the lack of proof. If a host misses too many proofs, it results into a
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slashing of its collateral.
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To Do
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-----
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* Actual proofs
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Because the actual proof of retrievability algorithm hasn't been determined yet
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we're using a dummy algorithm for now.
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* Contract take-over
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Allow another host to take over a contract when the original host missed too
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many proofs.
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* Start failures
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When a contract fails to start it should be aborted after a timeout. A
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contract may fail to start because the client failed to send the data, or
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because the host failed to start the contract. To discourage this, a small
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portion of both the client and host money can be burned if the contract
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doesn't start within a certain amount of time.
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* Reward validators
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A validator that points out missed proofs should be compensated for its
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vigilance and for the gas costs of invoking the smart contract.
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* Analysis and optimization of gas usage
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