linux

A Simple Guide to IPFS

Simone Palazzin

15 Jun 2022 • 1 min read

Imagine the interwebs as a large container filled with a cornucopia of delicious content. The majority of this content — whether it's videos, images, text, or code — is transferred through HTTP (or HyperText Transport Protocol). But what's the point in having a container full of all these files if they never get accessed? How can we make sure the files are easily accessible whenever and wherever we need them? That's where IPFS (or Interplanetary File System) comes in.

IPFS, the InterPlanetary File System, is a new technology that is revolutionizing the way we share data. It works as an alternative to HTTP and allows us to transfer data via peer-to-peer (p2p) rather than traditional servers. Defined in three words, InterPlanetary File System is a "peer-to-peer distributed file system."

IPFS follows rules similar to BitTorrent in terms of how data and content move throughout the network. This file system layer has some unique features, such as webpages that are widely available, sites without an origin server, webpages that can only be accessed using client-side browsers, and websites with no servers to communicate with.

IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) is a synthesis of tried-and-true internet technologies such as DHTs, the Git versioning system, and BitTorrent. It produces a P2P swarm that allows IPFS items to be exchanged. The collection of IPFS items creates a Merkle DAG, a cryptographically verified data structure that may be used to model a variety of other data structures.

IPFS Gateway from Cloudflare is a simple way to access content from the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) without having to install or run any additional software on your computer. The cloudflare-ipfs.com gateway is anticipated to serve as the foundation for a slew of new extremely reliable and secure web applications.
IPFS is an exciting, new approach to data management that is tailor-made for a distributed internet. It's still in its infancy, but we fully expect this technology to change the way we store and manage data in the future.

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