Could IPFS Replace HTTP as the Protocol of Choice for a Decentralized Web?

IPFS, which stands for InterPlanetary File System, is a communication protocol that aims to replace HTTP as the standard Internet protocol for constructing distributed file systems. IPFS was developed by InterPlanetary File System.

The content that is hosted on IPFS is not stored on just one server but rather on numerous nodes throughout the network. IPFS is an essential infrastructure solution for Web3 that enables distributed data storage in a variety of distributed applications such as NFT, GameFi, and DeFi.

IPFS has the potential to revolutionize the way data is stored and accessed on the network in the future. This would eliminate the issue of censorship as well as the monopoly that is present in the most popular cloud platforms, which are provided by companies such as Google, Amazon, Alibaba, and Microsoft.

The Key Differences Between IPFS and HTTP

IPFS, which stands for InterPlanetary File System, is a hypermedia communication protocol that is available as open source software. It enables individual computer nodes to store and distribute data within a single distributed file system.

The most significant distinction between IPFS and the HTTP Internet protocol that is currently in use is that IPFS allows users to access material not based on the location of the site but rather directly by the address of the content (file, document, image, folder).

Because IPFS data storage is organized in a decentralized manner, the issue of censorship can be circumvented as a result. The creator of the solution, Juan Benet, who is also the founder and head of the American startup Protocol Labs, referred to IPFS as a “distributed perpetual web,” which means that a website hosted in the system can never be closed by anyone. Benet is the founder and head of Protocol Labs.

In IPFS, addresses point to files or data that are acquired either directly from the contents of the file itself or by the use of hashing on the data. This indicates that the content of websites that are hosted on the IPFS network can be moved and accessed in a decentralized manner through the use of a peer-to-peer network.

In layman’s terms, IPFS is analogous to a torrent tracker, in which a number of nodes (computers) freely share the files that are stored on them, thereby distributing them throughout the network with the possibility of obtaining free access. IPFS was developed by Internet Project File System (IPFS), which stands for Internet File Distributed File System.

IPFS eliminates the issues that are caused by HTTP because it does not direct all traffic through centralized servers. This results in increased expenses and increases the likelihood that widespread disruptions would occur as a result of issues with the servers. Nodes on an IPFS network are able to download and transfer files not only from a single server, as is the case with HTTP’s implementation, but also from a number of other nodes simultaneously. When a user on the IPFS network requests a file, the IPFS network searches for nodes that have the necessary hashes and then obtains the data from those nodes.

The Inner Algorithm of IPFS in Details

When content is uploaded to IPFS, the address for accessing an object, file, or user data in the system is formed not with reference to the server address, which is an IP address, but rather to its unique Content Identifier (CID) cryptographic hash identifier. This identifier is generated using a cryptographic hashing algorithm.

When a file is reloaded, the CID does not change; nevertheless, new hash IDs are given to updated versions of the file. A naming service known as the InterPlanetary Naming System (IPNS), which is analogous to the DNS registry, is utilized so that a previous version of the file can be accessed.

IPFS files that are larger than 256 KB are decompressed, hashed, and arranged into IPLD objects (InterPlanetary Linked Data). IPLD is made up of two parts: the data itself, as well as links to different sections of the file, which are related to one another via a directed acyclic Merkle tree graph (Merkle DAG).

After that, a specialized program known as IPFS-daemon (IPFS daemon) enters the picture. This program is in charge of all communications within the system. It stores the data in a cache for a short period of time or, at the user’s discretion, “attaches” it to itself and then makes it available to other nodes on demand. In the future, nodes with this capability can either serve as content providers or continue to function as content consumers.

After making a request for material in the system’s distributed hash table (also known as DHT), the system searches for the nodes that are geographically closest to the user and contain a copy of the information that is being requested. They provide certain portions of the file.

Where Can IPFS Be Used?

As of the 5th of October in 2022, the statistics provided by the BuiltWith service indicate that around 6,500 websites all across the world use IPFS. The United States of America is home to slightly less than a third of these locations. Decentralized cryptocurrency exchange Uniswap, decentralized application data service Dapp Radar, and cryptocurrency startup platform DAO Maker are some of the names on this list.

In 2015, the Neocities hosting service was the first online resource to offer compatibility for the IPFS file system. Cloudflare, the world’s largest network service provider, began adopting IPFS in 2018, then two years later, in 2022, it deployed its own gateway within the IPFS system. By publishing content on IPFS in March 2020, the Opera browser allowed users to access the distributed resources offered by the Unstoppable Domains service. The Brave crypto browser was included into the protocol in the early part of 2021.

The use of IPFS technology began as a direct reaction to the censorship carried out by various regulators. The very first illustration of this type of thing was when the Turkish Wikipedia was uploaded to IPFS. In the early months of 2019, in response to Assange’s detention, activists uploaded the WikiLeaks archive to the Internet Archive File System (IPFS).

Additionally, code can be stored on IPFS. This is something that is put into effect, for instance, by the decentralized exchange team behind Uniswap, which hosts IPFS.