We will build using Kubernetes instead of Flynn. This will somewhat increase the scope of our work (which we will absorb at our expense), however as a trade-off it will allow us to maintain a more unified development process of PaaS by coding it entirely on Rust (Kubernetes) vs switching to Go (Flynn).
This proposal features “Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) for Substrate Nodes”: inspired by Heroku, aiming to create a managed container system, with one-click services for deploying and running different parachain. The proposed system enables automatic updates and resource management for running nodes, additionally providing templates for launching parachains.
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Polkahub is a fast, scalable blockchain infrastructure component for Substrate parachains.
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Polkahub provides parachain developers with the ability to launch and manage network infrastructure using our command line utility and the ability to provide public node access
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PolkaHub gives users the opportunity to get free cloud access to the diverse Polkadot ecosystem
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The Polkahub Explorer (list of parachains) provides comprehensive information about each parachain, how it can be used (how to make transactions and other operations in it). Additionally, it provides information on how to use the public parachain’s API to create decentralized applications.
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Polkahub provides developers with a uniform standard for packaging and deploying applications to cloud infrastructure.
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Polkahub provides the functionality to track and control of the parachain’s versions. So in the event of critical bugs arising, developers can update or roll back the version of the parachain using simple commands (via running specific commands in a command line).
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Polkahub supports Node deployment to remote servers or cloud infrastructure via git.
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Polkahub infrastructure is based on Docker Container Services such as Kubernetes.
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Docker provides high-level interfaces for isolated environments within the node's execution. Easily scaled, managed and updated.
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No need to rely on DevOps and System Administration for managing parachain’s infrastructure - thanks to PolkaHub. You only git, command line and a simple web-interface.
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PolkaHub provides web interface containing description of existing parachains:
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What’s the purpose of this chain, what problems does it solve
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Documentation
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Configuration/Installation guides
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RPC link
- Sample basic scenario - node deployment infrastructure using PolkaHub:
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Download PolkaHub utility
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Get deployment token via PolkaHub utility
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Insert in command line “git push https://token.polkadhub.io master: development”, where master:development is an active branch of code.
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PolkaHub automatically creates images, installs all dependencies, sets needed settings and deploys application.
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When the process is completed the parachain will be accessible through a link https://testchain.polkahub.io/ wss://testchain.polkahub.io
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Also, the developer can publish his parachain on the PolkaHub Explorer. The description and documentation for the project will be automatically sourced from the Readme and Docs folder.
- Basic scenario for dapp developer:
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Select parachain, read its documentation.
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Copy RPC / Websocket links
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Build apps for this parachain
New languages, frameworks, version control systems, databases, architectures, and other bleeding-edge technologies are gaining ground in the space. Especially in fast changing environments as Web3. You need containers, microservices to support infrastructure work All of this should be updated regularly too. We want to create a platform like Heroku for Web3. IT teams can manage this platform instead of building everything from scratch.
Any developer of a decentralized application will be able to install the node he needs through our service in a command line. Our PaaS will not require any knowledge of DevOps from dApp developers.
For example, you have 2 nodes in your parachain. And you want to launch other 8 nodes. You run a command with parameters - parachain / number of nodes etc. The PaaS infrastructure ensures that everything will launch and work correctly.
Smart container
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Provide a balance of control that reduces the operational burden on developers and supports enterprise operators who manage apps at scale.
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Ensures that apps meet security and compliance requirements without developer intervention.
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Provides automated delivery of both OS-level and application-level dependency upgrades, efficiently handling day-2-day operations that are often difficult to manage with Dockerfiles.
Runtime
Your apps run inside smart containers in a fully managed runtime environment.
Scale
PaaS scales in an instant, both vertically and horizontally (look for an example above). You can elegantly run everything from dApps to parachains, manage the number of nodes in your network, and so on.
Sets of pre-built nodes
PaaS keeps buildpacks of different parachain nodes. You can select which node you need and install it.
Having launched our own parachain since February 2019 and seeing how rapidly the web3 infrastructure is changing - new versions / updates / patches are frequently being released - made us reach the following conclusion:
Keeping the infrastructure up to date becomes time-consuming and constantly requires attention. This delays the development. Creating this PaaS solution will allow developers to fully focus on the development of their own parachains or applications, rather than setting up and maintaining infrastructure.
Akropolis Decentralised Ltd , Suite 23 Portland House, Glacis Road, Gibraltar, GX11 1AA, company number: 116430
Akropolis.io
Recent team updates:
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IBM MoU signed, co-development partnership confirmed [press-release pending]
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Winner of a 0x+Coinlist DeFi Hackathon. Developed a new economic primitive "Committments to Future Cashflows"
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C2FC Implementation on Substrate, it’s telemetry and video screencast.
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Partnership with POA Network (xDAI chain), towards better UX standards for end-user adoption.
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Latest development update featuring work up-to-date, future plans and sneak peek of MVP
Alex Maz (CTO):
Blockchain engineer, educator and an active founding member of St.Petersburg Blockchain Association, Alex graduated with BSc Applied Mathematics and Computing Sciences and is a PhD (cand.) Machine Learning. Blockchain developer and miner since 2012, he has 16 scientific publications focussing on natural language recognition and 10 commercially implemented applications to his name. Alex has shipped products in fintech, banking, and gaming, and is passionate about educating the new generation of blockchain developers. Full-stack developer with over 15 years experience (C#/.NET, Golang, Java, Solidity).
Dmitriy Serdcev (Senior Frontend Developer)
Dmitriy is an experienced frontend developer with MSc in Computer Science. He has15 years of experience in the field, and has shipped over 8 commercial projects, including those using DLT technology.
Andrew Orlov
Andrew is a MSc Computer systems, Complexes and Networks. His skills include Rust, Erlang, Elixir, Python, Haskell, WASM, Polkadot/Substrate. He has 13+ years in commercial software development.
Alex Gnatovskyi
Alex is a BSc Electrical Engineering and Electrotechnologies. His skills include Rust, NodeJs, Python, React, Polkadot/Substrate. Alex has 2.5+ years of commercial development experience.
https://github.com/akropolisio https://github.com/akropolisio/akropolisOS-chain-node https://github.com/akropolisio/polkadai-bridge
https://github.com/AlexanderMazaletskiy
https://github.com/alekspickle
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-mazaletskiy/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmitriy-serdtsev-8307b617b/
Rust, Javascript (nodejs)
1 Milestone - Architecture & Tech design
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Technical and design Specs delivery
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AkropolisOSChain’s docker image
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Polkahub-cli functionality:
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Deploy existing image (we will use AkropolisOSChain as an demo) to Kubernetes
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PolkaHub version system (support different node versions) - ability to deploy different versions of node to Kubernetes
2 Milestone - Stable version of polkahub-cli
- Polkahub’s CLI (command line interface) for server management and Substrate Nodes:
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Authorisation functionality - ability to get auth token via PolkaHub CLI
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Working polkahub-cli using auth token: Insert in command line “git push https://token.polkadhub.io master: development”, where master:development is an active branch of code.
- Polkahub support of continuous integration/continuous deployment tools: PolkaHub automatically creates images, installs all dependencies, sets needed settings and deploys application. When the process is completed the parachain will be accessible through a link https://testchain.polkahub.io/
3 Milestone - Bug Fixing & Documentation
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Ready-for-deployment docker images for Kusama, Alexander
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Web portal with description of existing parachains:
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What’s the purpose of this chain, what problems does it solve
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Documentation
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Configuration/Installation guides
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RPC link
Are there any other projects similar to yours?
There is a project https://developers.validators.io/ that has some similarities, but they provide API services for dApp developers. To provide this service, they need to support scalable cloud infrastructure in cases of highload. Our solution can make it easier to support and maintain services like Validators.io.
Another one is https://github.com/w3f/polkadot-deployer that helps deploying Polkadot nodes. But this solution still requires knowledge of DevOps to do that.
How to check our deliverables
We provide the Polkahub PaaS infrastructure. Therefore, to test the functionalities of the solution, you do not need to compile or install anything. Anyone can deploy a node from any supported by PolkaHub parachains to our cloud.
Then you can check on http://telemetry.polkadot.io that a new node has appeared on the network and is working correctly.
Is it open source?
Our code will be fully open source. Anyone can independently install our solution on their server following our tutorial and provide PaaS to Web3.