Spoiler Alert: This post Presents the opportunity of earning passive income using your computer and Internet.
Internet as we know it...
has come a long way from where it offered content that we could access using a dial up connection.
The speed was slow typically 14.4, 28.8, or 33.6 kbps.
At that point in time the content was mostly text and some pictures.
The evolution of internet was fast and with the advent of multimedia content there was a frenzy to get a faster internet to avoid any lag.
Today the internet speeds are must faster but the term faster is only relative.
Looking at the follow data one can see how the internet speeds vary across the globe.
The slow speeds cause bottlenecks and as a result the direct data transfers between end points located in different geographical locations results in a high degree of latency and slow speed of downloading as well as uploading.
A lot of the content that is sought after is audio, video high resolution images and live streaming of video, Audio broadcasts and podcasts.
To facilitate quick delivery of content via the internet, the concept of CDN (Content Delivery Network) has evolved.
How CDN's Operate
What these CDN's do is they create strategically located POP or points of presence in various demographies that cache the content and when a user that is closest to their location seeks the content, such content is provided to them from the POP nearest to them.
So the principal of fast delivery is geographical proximity between the point of consumption that is the user and the point of presence POP
In this methodology the cached content is provided to you as a user and this is emerged as the defacto mode of delivery.
A Wiki definition of CDN's
A content delivery network or content distribution network (CDN) is a geographically distributed network of proxy servers and their data centers. The goal is to distribute service spatially relative to end-users to provide high availability and high performance. CDNs serve a large portion of the Internet content today, including web objects (text, graphics and scripts), downloadable objects (media files, software, documents), applications (e-commerce, portals), live streaming media, on-demand streaming media, and social media sites.
CDNs are a layer in the internet ecosystem. Content owners such as media companies and e-commerce vendors pay CDN operators to deliver their content to their end users. In turn, a CDN pays ISPs, carriers, and network operators for hosting its servers in their data centers.
The CDN Effect
If we look at 25 Mbps as a benchmark speed for the internet this is where the world and the various countries stand today
The positive side of these figures is that a large part of the internet user community would have access to high speed internet access by 2021
Now this can be attributed to the growth of the CDN industry.
Based on the figures above the growth is quite evident. However these numbers also reveal another side of the story that is that not everyone in the world would have the access to the same internet speed.
Another aspect that would shape the CDN industry is the demand for high speed data which is evident by the increase in net enabled devices and IOT.
The Current demand for content
With so much content being delivered the demand is only rising.
The CDN business is expensive. The cost of setup and running is huge.
A centralized point of control makes it vulnerable to a single point of failure which has happened in the past. One would remember how 40% of the global Internet traffic suffered when google went down for just 2 minutes in 2013
This only points as to how depending on only one provider is a recipe for disaster.
For a CDN provider it is profitable to set up coverage areas in only those locations which have high population density and thus sparsely populated locations lack high speed coverage. The business cost make such areas unprofitable and this contributes to non uniform internet speeds on a global level.
The Consumer Perspective
Depending upon the plan a user opts for, he gets a limited or unlimited quota of bandwidth from his ISP (Internet Service Provider)
Invariably at the end of the billing cycle the unused data is lost.
The Site owners Predicament
There are plenty of sites competing for the users attention and they have to pay their hosting company a fee that includes hosting and a certain bandwidth
So if they want to ensure that there sites do not lag and the users remain loyal to the content put up by the them then they need the services of a CDN providers and this costs them money
The Big Picture with present CDN Business model
- CDN's are centralized thus making them susceptible to a single point of failure.
- CDN's are functional mainly in locations which have sufficient population therefore areas with sparse population are generally not in full coverage area of CDN's therefore they have poor and slow internet connectivity.
- CDN servers have set design structures with very little ability to innovate to meet changing requirements.
- Scaling of operations to meet the bandwidth is very expensive and at the end of the day such costs are passed on to the end user in one form or the other.
- Monopoly by a few players is not good for any business because they control the market pricing as well as the quality of service. The CDN business model is monopolized by big players like Amazon and Akamai. As they have 50% market share therefore they control the market dynamics. This restrained environment can be detrimental for the free growth of the industry.
With so much multimedia around and homes getting multiple devices all connected to the internet the bandwidth requirement of each household is increasing at an incredible pace.
With such increased demand there is going to be a mismatch between the bandwidth requirements and the CDN shortfall.
Meeting this demand supply gap is something which even the CDN bigwigs which cannot fulfill.
So would the world continue to suffer this disparity of internet speeds and reach or would there be a solution that could improve the situation?
NOIA has a solution to all these problems
In an innovative approach NOIA is creating a decentralized CDN network
When we use our computers and laptops and connect them to the internet they consume data.
NOIA takes it one step further and connects these computers enabling them to share their bandwidth and storage space.
This way each computer sharing its resources can become a POP or point of presence.
How does NOIA work?
The objective of NOIA network is to cache the websites across the decentralized network so that optimal performance can be delivered to the end consumer.
With this intent the website content gets cached and scaled across the NOIA network this is based on the location of the user and the traffic.
Unlike a conventional CDN which has a limited reach any computer with internet can become a NOIA node and acting as a POP it can extend the range of the NOIA network.
This way not only is the range of the NOIA network increased but at the same time there is cost saving as compared to what a typical CDN provider has to incur for extending its range of coverage. These costs can be of the order of $50,000 or more.
In addition the NOIA network fills in the gaps where it is not viable to put up a CDN server.
NOIA has a collaborative approach with CDN's and not a competing approach when it comes to CDN's or other projects in this space.
NOIA caches everything
It does not matter what is the type of content that uses the bandwidth. NOIA caches it all and delivers to the end consumer.
NOIA architecture makes it scalable and easy to use which the site owners can incorporate without any major code changes
Understanding the technology behind NOIA
The NOIA architecture consists of 2 elements the CSL layer and the Governance layer.
CSL Layer or Content Scaling layer is a combination of P2P or peer to peer sharing protocols, Artificial Intelligence AI and blockchain technology. Together they decide how the content is delivered across the network.
The CSL layer can be looked as how things work in the NOIA network.
The Governance Layer.
A set of Smart Contracts on Ethereum blockchain that define what NOIA tokens are and govern how NOIA tokens are transferred between nodes and the users in the content delivery ecosystem.
CSL and The Governance layer works hand in hand. The role of the CSL is more technical and it handles how content is delivered across the network.
The Governance Layer has more to do with the transfer of value that gets compensated by the NOIA economy money that is the “NOIA tokens”.
- Computers that give their bandwidth and storage space need to be paid in NOIA tokens in proportion to their contribution.
- Owners of website and application who buy NOIA network facilities paying in NOIA tokens. In either case there is exchange of value and this is enabled by the governance layer.
The Content Scaling Layer (CSL) uses propriety P2P content sharing that is derived from
- Relevant parts of Peer Exchange (PEX)
- Bittorrent
- Distributed Hash Table (DHT) and
- Websocket wire protocols
In addition it uses Artificial Intelligence (Machine Learning)
based mathematical algorithms and pattern recognition to handle requests
For this system to work efficiently it is important to control what to cache and keep it for how long before the cache is cleared and for this the content caching is base on smart caching, fastest route discovery and network traffic prediction and anticipation.
This is how the CSL Stack would work when fully functional
The CLS stack consists of different softwares that form the layers of the network itself. There are two
methods of how CSL can be implemented in NOIA:
CSL Cloud Controller Model - A single centralized point in NOIA Network which controls other CSL
system layersCSL DAO Concept Model - A fully decentralized organization with autonomous self-imposed
governance.
Currently due to technological limitations and safety issues a centralized model is being implemented however at a latter stage a fully decentralized model would become operational.
NOIA's shared economy
NOIA is creating a decentralized Shared economy where
- Individuals can contribute their spare resources by setting up a NOIA Node and earning NOIA tokens as a reward for the contribution of bandwidth and unused storage.
- Website operators that currently pay large sums to deliver their content globally through a centralized service will now be able to significantly reduce their expense while realizing more efficient content distribution through NOIA
The hallmark of this shared economy is that it is autonomous, scalable and governed by smartcontracts.
How does NOIA Content scaling works?
The interesting part is that using NOIA and implementing it is very simple.
For a website owner wanting to use NOIA requires incorporating a java script code that can be included in the website with very little technical help.
This is how the whole process works
The Main Features of this system are
CSL stores content for limited and optimal time. This way the contents moves across the NOIA network base on traffic variability. Scaling of content is done in different locations where the demand is about to peak.This way the bandwidth can be optimized in addition to content scaling.
CSL makes use of traffic prediction using machine learning.
If it is know or predictable what content would be needed then it can be cached and delivered in a timely manner.
Advanced machine learning is applied to determine this information.CSL Unlimited scalability with ease: When a site owner adds the CSL JS libraty it automatically enables the content caching across the network. The caching is based on location and requests.
However the site owner pays for only the delivered content.
NOIA roadmap
Going through the NOIA website I find the project to be well documented and the project objects are clearly defined.
The roadmap shows that it is well on track and the testnet is already operational.
Currently NOIA is inviting people to join and start earning NOIA tokens.
This is where NOIA network compares with conventional CDN projects and open source /decentralized projects in this domain
NOIA project offers distinct advantages when it comes to costing and use of technology
Join NOIA testnet and start earning
- Joining the NOIA testnet is a good opportunity to understand the working of the NOIA network first hand.
- Signing up for the testnet lets you run a node. This basically means you let a software run in the background. This software shares the bandwidth and storage space with NOIA.
- Joining NOIA and running the software is voluntary and free as there is no payment to be made.
- I am currently getting 200 NOIA tokens a week for runnig the software for 72+ hours every week.
Here is my proof of payment. Payment appears as airdrop and can be viewed from the NOIA account dashboard
I have been running it for a couple of weeks and find it has no effect on the day to day working of my computer.
At the time of writing this post I ran a virus scan of the NOIA testnet software available via github.com and it is free of any viruses. (View virusscan image below)
If you planning to run this software make sure you download the latest version available form the github link
Signing up for the NOIA testnet gives me the satisfaction of being part of a technology and project that I believe in.
It also lets me earn NOIA tokens which is a good way to get some crypto
I am using my spare bandwidth and storage and the money I earn with NOIA tokens can be used to pay for my internet bills. Though as a believer in the NOIA project I would like to HODL my tokens for a long time to come and build my relationship with the project.
Steps to Run the NOIA testnet and Earn a reward (airdrop) every week
Current reward 200 tokens a week for running the software for at least 72 hours
i) Sign up on NOIA Network here , login to your account
ii) Complete the KYC.
iii) Download NOIA Node Client from the official GitHub page
iv) Run the software.
v) Put the same ETH address as you put in the KYC application.(needs to be done only once)
Open both the 8058 UDP data port and 8048 TCP control port. The previous WS 7676 TCP port is now irrelevant and can be closed.
vi) Keep the Node Client software up and running for at least 72 hours a week. You can run the software few hours every day but make sure the time adds up to 72 hours.
The Timer resets every Friday 12pm utc.
You can start running your node today, even if your KYC application hasn’t yet been processed the time will be recorded and accounted for later.
Feel free to join the NOIA testnet by signing up here
In case you need any help do drop a comment and I would try to help you to the best of my ability.
Alternatively you could contact NOIA directly below from the following links