Overview of Blockchain Data Storage Process

Blockchain technology is entering various industries, and concepts such as blockchain and Web3 are becoming increasingly well-known. Blockchain has fundamentally changed the way we store information and data. In the past, data was typically stored in centralized databases, but now it can be distributed across thousands of nodes and can be verified by anyone who wants to validate the data. This makes data sharing easier and more secure than ever before.

However, new users still have many questions about how data is stored on the blockchain. Understanding how data is stored on the blockchain and why we need to store data on the blockchain is one of the key elements for gaining in-depth knowledge and exploration of the Web3 industry.

How is data stored on the blockchain?

First, let’s understand how data is stored on the blockchain. Data on the blockchain is typically not stored in the form of traditional databases. Instead, data is stored in an encrypted or anonymized manner. Blockchain data is stored on a decentralized public ledger. The data on the ledger is stored in blocks called blocks, which are linked together using cryptography. Encryption is one of the most common methods of data storage in blockchain. Data stored using encryption can be verified by anyone, as it is always distributed across thousands of nodes. The method of encryption can be chosen based on user preferences, such as one-time pads, public key cryptography, hash functions, and symmetric key cryptography.

Each block has a unique cryptographic hash as an identifier and the previous block in the blockchain. Each transaction within a block is timestamped and added to the ledger along with each block. Each new block records all transactions and adds them to the previous block. Data stored on the blockchain cannot be changed or deleted from the blockchain unless the cryptographic hash and all hashes in subsequent blocks are modified.

A hash value is like a fingerprint of the data, a sequence of hexadecimal numbers calculated through a mathematical algorithm. This algorithm generates a unique hash value (the fingerprint of the data) for each block. When adding a piece of data to the blockchain, it is first hashed (converted into a string of text), then encrypted using cryptographic techniques, and finally stored on the blockchain. When someone wants to access that data, they need to use the same hashing process to decrypt it in order to view the originally stored content. The close integration of cryptography and blockchain technology gives blockchain databases extremely high security.

Why do we need blockchain to store data?

The biggest drawback of cloud storage is that all data is centralized and is often not encrypted during transactions. Data is the most critical entity, and storing, processing, and analyzing data is an important task. By storing data on the blockchain, we can ensure the security and integrity of the data and provide better data management and interaction methods for various application scenarios. Specifically, storing data on the blockchain has the following advantages:

• The storage method of blockchain provides extremely high security for data.

Each block contains information about many transactions that have been verified and are difficult to tamper with. This is because many people can work together to verify the history of the information, ensuring its integrity. Additionally, the decentralized nature of blockchain makes data more secure, as there is no single centralized storage point, reducing the risk of attacks.

• The transparency and traceability of blockchain make data management more reliable.

Every piece of data stored on the blockchain can be publicly viewed, and anyone can verify its authenticity and integrity. This provides a better way for data auditing and regulation, reducing potential fraud and errors.

• The programmability of blockchain makes data storage more flexible and scalable.

Smart contracts on the blockchain can define the rules for data processing and access through programming, thus meeting the needs of different scenarios. This programmability makes blockchain suitable for various applications, such as supply chain management, financial transactions, the Internet of Things, and more.

Blockchain provides us with a secure, reliable, transparent, and programmable way to store data. The data storage solutions based on blockchain technology are also continuously evolving and improving. Cumulus Encrypted Storage System (CESS) is deeply engaged in providing a full-stack solution for decentralized cloud storage, building a decentralized distributed cloud storage based on blockchain technology that combines the storage efficiency and user experience of cloud storage while effectively addressing the issues of current centralized cloud storage.

Decentralized network supporting large-scale commercial storage: CESS's data storage process

Distributed storage has already seen mature practices and large-scale adoption in the centralized Web2 platform economy. However, decentralized distributed storage is still rapidly developing. CESS is the first blockchain network to achieve large-scale commercial storage, providing the best solution for storing and retrieving high-frequency dynamic data in Web3. CESS supports the monetization of data within the network and the free flow/sharing of data value, while achieving user data privacy protection and absolute data sovereignty in a trustless manner. Taking CESS's data storage process as an example, let’s uncover how data is stored in the decentralized cloud storage network.

• Data preprocessing and publishing

The CESS client preprocesses the data to be uploaded through its innovative multi-type data rights confirmation mechanism (MDRC), including metadata extraction and data fingerprint extraction, and publishes the data on the CESS blockchain. MDRC ensures data rights confirmation in the CESS network, returning data ownership to the data owner.

• Generation of multiple copies and data recoverability

Under CESS's innovative multiple copy recoverable storage proof mechanism (PoDR²), each piece of data will default to generate three data copies, and each of these copies will undergo data striping processing. Redundant coding will allow each piece of data to be recoverable in the event of damage. The CESS system will generate verification parameters for auxiliary later data storage proof for each data segment, primarily used for later replication proof, time-space proof, and multiple copy recoverable storage proof (PoDR2).

• Segmented data distributed to different nodes

Next, the scheduling nodes of the CESS system can evenly distribute each segmented data to each storage miner.

• Regular checks to ensure data availability

According to CESS's multiple copy recoverable storage proof (PoDR2), the CESS blockchain system will periodically check the data on storage miners to ensure data availability.

Conclusion

Storing data on the blockchain is a perfect combination of blockchain technology and encryption technology, and it represents a significant breakthrough in the field of blockchain storage. Exploring decentralized cloud storage solutions suitable for high-frequency dynamic data in Web3 is also an important infrastructure for transformation in the internet era and widespread adoption in the Web3 era.

As a decentralized cloud storage network based on blockchain technology, CESS addresses the demand for online storage of high-frequency dynamic data in Web3, providing a decentralized full-stack solution for different groups such as large institutions, enterprise-level commercial applications, and individual users, which will bring the next large-scale explosion to the Web3 and storage fields!