Understanding XBY's Proof-Of-Signature (PoSign) Consensus Method. (Trump-Russia analogy in comments :D)
First off, I am not an expert and everything in this post is a product of my own research and should not be taken as fact! I am just intrigued by this new consensus mechanism being developed for the XtraBytes blockchain and am interested in a productive discussion about the potential merits of such a consensus method. If there are any errors in my assessment, please let me know. Also, enjoy my attempt at a Trump-Russia analogy in comments :)
- PoSign (Proof-of-Signature)
- STATIC (Services Transactions and Trusted in Control) node network
- PULSE (Ping Unified Ledger Synchronization Equalizer)
- VITALS (Virtual Information Transmissions Aligning STATICS)
PROOF-OF-SIGNATURE is a new consensus method (developed by Borzalom) that utilizes a network of registered STATIC nodes. STATIC nodes must be registered and active in order to participate in consensus. STATIC node registration status is verified using Proof-of-Signature, as all node are registered and known.
STATIC NODES are the physical nodes that verify transaction blocks in order to achieve consensus with the rest of the nodes via Proof-of-Signature. Since the total (and max) # of nodes is defined and tracked dynamically, and all nodes (and their addresses) will be registered and known, their signature is all that is necessary to prove that they are, in fact, the registered node they claim to be.
This is in contrast to many POW and POS structures which allow for anyone to set up and activate as many nodes as they want without registration. Defining a set # of nodes and requiring that all nodes register with the community, disincentivizes bad actors, as any nodes that are bad actors (within the network) can be easily identified and blacklisted automatically.
Additionally, only registered nodes can participate in consensus, eliminating any kind of attack from outside of the network of registered STATIC nodes.
PULSE is a notification/alert apparatus between the network of nodes. Whereas STATIC nodes are the registered entities that do the work of verifying blocks, PULSE serves to notify and communicate the transaction data that needs verified to all the nodes.
From what I understand, this can be seen as a type of notification/alert mechanism that notifies every STATIC node of the transaction data received, that they still need to verify in order to achieve consensus.
PULSE ensures that all STATIC nodes receive the unverified transaction data for every transaction that is created, and requires every node to verify every transaction in order to maintain active status.
If a STATIC node goes offline, or does not verify transaction data (for whatever reason), the node is immediately deactivated. The node is only reactivated once it has verified all transaction data that it has missed and comes into full consensus with the rest of the active network of nodes.
If a STATIC node goes offline, as soon as it tries to come back online PULSE will inform the node that it must still come into consensus with the other nodes on everything it missed.
This arrangement ensures that 100% of all active nodes reach 100% consensus, for 100% of all blocks confirmed.
VITALS - If PULSE is the way STATIC nodes are notified/alerted of transaction data that needs to be verified, VITALS serves as the mechanism that nodes use to communicate the results of their verification with each other.
Nodes need to be able to communicate the data they are verifying to the rest of the network, such as when, how much and what addresses were involved in a transaction. This type of communication between nodes is necessary to achieve consensus that all nodes agree on what actually happened.
XBY does this using their VITALS apparatus, which functions like a virtual private network, which uses fixed virtual (non-physical) nodes to facilitate secure and direct communication between nodes.
The virtual nodes correspond with and are controlled by one or more STATIC nodes, so that if a STATIC node goes offline (or is deactivated), a different STATIC node will take control (automatically) and keep the virtual node online and active.
Whereas PULSE communicates notifications and alerts to every STATIC node, VITALS allows STATIC nodes to communicate their individual data (such as when and whether or not they verified an individual tx, and the details of that tx) for each transaction in a way that can easily be distributed to the rest of the network.
IMPLICATIONS?
At first glance, this system may seem a bit convoluted, but having a separate interconnected system of non-physical virtual nodes allows the STATIC nodes to focus on verifying transaction data, and dedicate less time and resources to communicating their results with every other node and achieving consensus.
Instead, STATICs would relay their info to their corresponding VITALS virtual node, which will do the work of grouping blocks and achieving consensus. From what I understand, the virtual nodes share minimal processing power from, and are controlled by, one or more STATICs, so that if one STATIC goes offline, another STATIC will automatically take control over the virtual node, ensuring it stays active.
Similarly, having an automated and synchronized PULSE notification system can reduce conflicts and congestion among internode traffic.
TLDR;
When a transaction is created, PUSLE notifies all the STATIC nodes, which then all verify the transaction data individually and relay that data to their VITALS virtual node. Once transactions have been completely validated by all STATIC nodes, the VITALS network aggregates a group of transactions that have all been validated by 100% of the active STATIC nodes into a block and requires that 100% of the STATIC nodes validate the newly minted block using their node's registered signature.
These are complex sub-structures that I don't pretend to fully understand, but with the hope of making these relationships a little easier to digest I decided to try applying the concept to an analogy many of us can now unfortunately relate to.
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