S3-Compatible Object Storage Powered by Blockchain/Web3

More businesses are moving their operations online. This shift has caused an increase in demand for cloud-based storage solutions, as companies look to reduce or eliminate the need for physical infrastructure.

I just met with Joshua Noble, co-founder, and CEO of Filebase to learn how the platform unifies multiple networks under a single S3-compatible API to make decentralized storage accessible and easy to use for everyone. Decentralized storage is a vital piece of the decentralized web. Filebase has plans to power decentralized exchanges, marketplaces, and social media networks with their technology.

The Filebase platform is powered by blockchain/Web technologies and allows users to interact with decentralized applications (DApps) without having to download any software or use special hardware. This makes it easy for people to get started using decentralized applications and could help spur widespread adoption of these technologies.

Filebase accesses multiple decentralized networks via a single API. This results in a 90% reduction in storage costs compared to incumbent cloud suppliers. It is Amazon S3 compatible and functions as a drop-in replacement for S3.

What It Does

Filebase provides a single, unified platform and interface to make it easier for developers to access decentralized storage. It reduces developer complexity and overhead by using the same familiar API across multiple decentralized networks. Change networks by specifying a different configuration option or with a single click. No code changes are required.

How It Works

Unlike traditional storage providers, Filebase does not operate storage servers. Instead, they maintain clusters of application servers connected to multiple decentralized networks. This results in lower overhead and capital expense since there are fewer servers. Customers can upload data to Filebase using the browser-based interface or the S3-compatible API. 99% of traffic is served by the S3 API.

Deployment Model

Filebase simplifies the traditional cloud deployment model by replacing personnel. data centers, and physical storage hardware with decentralized storage networks.  This helps reduce the time and cost to deploy decentralized applications.

Key Benefits

• Secure by default
• Geo-redundant
• S3 compatible API
• No minimum retention fees
• File packing

Filebase objects are stored with 3X redundancy overhead across thousands of servers globally making Filebase an ideal geographic disaster recovery endpoint. 

Filebase allows for an easy onramp to decentralized networks. No acquiring cryptocurrency or maintaining complex blockchain contracts.

By standardizing around the S3 API, Filebase allows for easy portability and turnkey configuration when migrating data to Filebase from other cloud providers.

File Packing

Decentralized storage networks use large sector sizes:

• Sia = 40 MB
• Storj = 64 MB
• Filecoin = 32 GB

If you upload a 1 MB file to Sia, you're stuck paying for 39 MB of padding -- aka wasted space.

Filebase gateway technology can transparently pack multiple files together into a single sector allowing for more efficient space utilization. Packed files are isolated on a per-customer, per-bucket basis.

Pricing

The cost to store and download 1 TB on AWS S3 standard with matching #X regional replication is $111 per month, $203 with egress. The cost to store the same 1 TB on Filebase with native 3X redundancy is $5.99/TB -- 94% less.

Data Protection

Decentralized storage networks leverage erasure coding. This functionality is native and enabled for all users of the Filebase platform. The scheme changes based on the selected network.

Platform Security

Data stored on Filebase is always encrypted during transit and at rest. The S3 API supports HTTP/2 and HTTPS. Server-side encryption is native and enabled for all users by default. Objects on the Filebase platform inherit the ACL of the parent bucket. For example, the GetObjectAcl and GetBucketAcl methods will function as expected, but the GetObjectAcl response will return the ACL of the bucket that the object is contained in. This helps to prevent scenarios where a user can accidentally make an object public within a private bucket. 

Performance

Filebase edge caching technology allows for ultra-fast reads and writes. On the ingress side, data is written to a caching layer. A backend data pipeline then propagates data out to networks. On the egress side, data is streamed directly from the networks. Recently and frequently accessed objects are cached to maximize performance. Filebase does not charge for outbound downloads that are cached. This significantly lowers costs for bandwidth-heavy customers. Performance is benchmarked against AWS, Wasabi, and B2. Filebase matches AWS and Wasabi and is often faster than B2.

Filebase does anticipate offering CDN and object storage together later in the year.