The Scalable Technology Behind Oasis Network: Consensus and Paratime Layer

Helen Imah
6 min readSep 26, 2021

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Have you ever wondered why Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other brilliant blockchain-based initiatives have experienced such widespread adoption? The global economy is undergoing a technological transformation. Blockchain technology and cryptocurrency are without a doubt the way of the future in finance. However, people’s conventional attitudes toward the economy are still prevalent. People would prefer to adopt a scalable economy over one with no future possibilities. In this vein, the scalability of a network dictates how widely it will be adopted and how long it will be able to sustain a huge population.

The Internet is a fantastic platform for creativity, innovation, and free speech. However, its transformative design components, such as the end-to-end concept and global interoperability, must be fully realized.

Hence, Oasis is committed to developing innovative technology that will improve our Internet experience. One that turns “users” into “edge clients,” allowing them to reclaim control over their data and digital experiences. One that respects individual privacy and liberty while still allowing access to fantastic apps and services.

The network’s cutting-edge technological features may be able to assist in unclogging Defi as it now exists, addressing the high transaction fees and poor throughput that plague existing networks. Oasis is predicted to be the premier platform for unlocking the next generation of Defi markets and use cases due to its unique ability to enable scalable, private Defi.

To get there, the Oasis’s network is built around two main components responsible for its high scalability and the construction and expansion of a privacy-first, decentralized computational network. With a vibrant community of developers, thinkers, and leaders, Oasis is certain to grow and adapt. The Oasis Protocol Foundation seeks to fund projects aimed at achieving a privacy-first Internet. From developing privacy-preserving applications to creating more powerful network tools to enhancing how the network works, there’s a lot to do.

The focus of this piece is on two technologies that provide easy scaling and provide a solution to the prior Layer 1 networks’ excessive transaction fees.

Why Oasis Network?

There are many reasons why the Oasis Network is one of the best blockchain-based projects. The Network, developed for the successive epoch of blockchain, is the first blockchain that has enabled privacy in its platform for open finance and a credible data economy. The Oasis Network can enable private, scalable Defi, reinventing Open Finance and pushing it beyond traders and early adopters to a broad market, thanks to its high throughput and safe architecture. Oasis has a distinct privacy elements that have the possibility to not only to give new look to Defi but also to build a modern kind of digital asset known as Tokenized Data, which will allow users to take control of the data they generate and earn rewards for staking it with applications, ushering in the first-ever responsible data economy.

The Oasis Network is a Layer 1 blockchain technology that uses a proof-of-stake consensus system based on the BFT algorithm. We can scale the network without requiring side-chains thanks to the network’s revolutionary ParaTime architecture and The Consensus Layer, both fundamental components of the Oasis Network’s design.

The Consensus Layer

The modularity idea is at the heart of Oasis Core. The consensus layer is an interface that connects other components of the Oasis Core and offers them a variety of functions. In theory, this permits the consensus backend to be altered. The various backends may be found in go/consensus, whereas the basic interfaces can be found in go/consensus/API. Outside of a single consensus backend package, the basic rule is that everything should be consensus backend agnostic.

Tendermint is the BFT consensus protocol used by the Oasis Network. The Oasis Network provides instant finality because the consensus layer uses the BFT protocol. This means that once a block is finalized, it cannot be reversed (at least not for full nodes). When a ParaTime commitment is placed in a block, the ParaTime state is also finalized, and it cannot be reversed once the block has been completed.

Since Tendermint, a BFT consensus protocol, is presently the only consensus backend supported, some APIs may not be completely consensus backend agnostic.

The following services must be provided by each consensus backend:

● Committee Scheduler is a service that helps you organize your meetings.

● Epoch Time is a timekeeping service based on epochs.

● Random Beacon is a randomness generator for other services.

● Staking is a set of actions required to run a Proof-of-Stake blockchain.

● The metadata registry service includes a registry and entity/node/runtime public key.

● Root Hash, runtime commitment processing, and a minimum runtime state maintaining service are all available.

● Keeping the policy state of Key Manager is a service provided by Key Manager.

All the services listed above have the means for obtaining information about its current condition. Each operation must be wrapped into a consensus transaction and sent to the consensus layer for processing to change the existing state.

All concrete service implementations live together with the consensus backend implementation in Oasis Core, which defines an interface for each type of service (in go/service>/API). The transaction format for changing state, as well as any query methods, are defined in the service API (both are consensus backend agnostic).

The ParaTime Layer

Many parallel runtimes — ParaTimes- are hosted by the ParaTime Layer, each representing a duplicated compute environment with a shared state.

A ParaTime, unlike a parachain, does not require consensus, making it easier to design and integrate into the network as a whole. ParaTimes handle computation, and discrepancy detection is utilized to assure execution accuracy and integrity, making it more productive than Parachains and other sharding-based chain designs.

In this way, the network is agnostic. A ParaTime can be used by anyone. It is entirely up to the developers and users to determine which ones deliver the functionality they require. Since its design is individualistic, (1) The Oasis Labs Data Sovereignty ParaTime (2) the Second State Virtual Machine (an EVM compatible Runtime) are two cases of ParaTimes in development.

As completely decentralized, it certifies anybody to create and maintain their ParaTime system. Each ParaTime can be customized to fulfill the requirements of a specific application, such as secure computing, open or closed committees, and more. The Oasis ParaTime architecture is particularly efficient due to the network’s verifiable computing mechanism with discrepancy detection, which requires a lower replication factor than sharding and parachains for the same level of security.

The amazing scalability of the Oasis Network is enabled through a cutting-edge combination of technologies that provide faster transaction rates and better throughput than competing networks. The network’s top-tier performance is partly owing to the Consensus Layer and ParaTime Layer’s separation of compute and consensus operations. Because of this separation, many ParaTimes can execute transactions in parallel, which means that complex workloads on one ParaTime won’t slow down faster, simpler operations on another. Furthermore, what makes Oasis more valuable than sharding and parachains due to the network’s intricate discrepancy detection, which necessitates a lower replication factor for the same level of security.

Four Significant Reasons For Oasis Dual-layer Architecture

  • Trustworthiness - With each ParaTime ability to be audited and assessed alone, the form and execution of ParaTimes are not only trusted but embraced by the public. Hence, its state of being shared publicly becomes an impossibility.
  • Confidentiality - Oasis’ ParaTimes support key management and TEEs such as Intel SGX to ensure end-to-end network confidentiality and data ownership.
  • Versatility and Resilience - Oasis can handle a wide range of use cases without requiring hard forks or major updates.
  • Performance - Throughput issues are reduced or avoided, resulting in a faster, less congested network.

Conclusion

Thanks to the technology underpinning that allows the Oasis Network to scale, they’ve amassed a blazing community of outstanding individuals. With members from all over the world, the Oasis Network is a dynamic community. The Oasis Ambassador program, which involves volunteers who are passionate about the Oasis Network running meetups, writing and translating content, answering developer concerns, managing online communities, stress testing the Oasis Network, and more, is a big element of this. With over twenty-five major university departments, blockchain clubs, and others spread across five continents, the Oasis Network boasts the largest University Program of any Layer-1 blockchain. Members of the program are responsible for running nodes, developing apps, and more.

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Helen Imah
Helen Imah

Written by Helen Imah

I’m a TECH Lover, Blockchain Enthusiast, Strategic Digital Marketer, Data Scientist, Crypto Investor & Trader…

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