Hetu: A P2P Communication Layer With Causality Graphs

Summary

Jalen Lee, an assistant professor at NUS, introduces the HE2 protocol, a novel peer-to-peer communication layer designed for large-scale decentralized applications. HE2 offers a middle ground between traditional insecure P2P networks and secure but slow blockchains, providing trusted event ordering and verifiable logical clocks to ensure consistency and security without sacrificing scalability. The protocol leverages zero-knowledge proofs and incremental verifiable computation to create a community-driven platform with a flexible consistency model, suitable for various applications like social media, gaming, and decentralized infrastructure.

Takeaways

• 🎓 Jalen Lee, an assistant professor at NUS, is discussing the HAT2 protocol at V Labs.
• 🔗 HAT2 aims to generalize distributor consistency for large-scale decentralized applications.
• 📈 There's a spectrum of consistency levels and trust in peer-to-peer infrastructures, with limited options available.
• 🚀 Traditional TCP/IP and Li P2P offer fast communication but lack security and consistency.
• 🔒 Blockchains and permissioned BFT protocols provide strong security but are slow and don't scale well.
• 🌟 HAT2 offers a middle ground with low cost, high scalability, and various consistency levels.
• 🕒 The protocol leverages a novel verifiable logical clock for trusted event ordering.
• 🔄 HAT2 is a peer-to-peer communication layer that allows for building distributed applications with different consistency guarantees.
• 🔄 The verifiable logical clock uses zero-knowledge proofs and incrementally verifiable computation to ensure trust.
• 🛠️ HAT2 stack consists of a messaging layer, a shim layer, and an application layer for community-driven development.
• 📅 The HAT2 team plans to launch a testnet in mid-year and mainnet by the end of the year or early next year.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the HAT2 protocol?

The HAT2 protocol focuses on generalizing the notion of distributor consistency for building large-scale decentralized applications, providing a middle ground between traditional peer-to-peer networks and blockchain technology in terms of consistency and security.

What are the limitations of traditional TCP/IP stack or Li P2P in terms of security and consistency?

Traditional TCP/IP stack or Li P2P provides fast networking and communication between peers but lacks significant security and consistency, offering only basic security features like end-to-end encryption and message integrity.

How does the HAT2 protocol address the scalability issues of blockchain technology?

HAT2 protocol leverages a novel verifiable logical clock to provide trusted event ordering at a low cost and with high scalability, allowing for the development of distributed or decentralized applications without the scalability bottlenecks of blockchains.

What is the significance of the verifiable logical clock in the HAT2 protocol?

The verifiable logical clock is a key component of the HAT2 protocol that allows for the establishment of causal ordering of events in a distributed system without relying on physical clocks. It ensures that the logical causality can be verified by any third party, preventing malicious users from creating false causal dependencies.

How does the HAT2 stack structure its layers?

The HAT2 stack is structured into three layers: the messaging layer for creating and verifying proofs for logical clocks, the shim layer for building middleware like relay networks and sequencers, and the application layer where developers can propose and build various applications using the logical clocks.

What is the HAT Improvement Proposals (HIP) system?

The HAT Improvement Proposals (HIP) system is a community-driven approach that allows anyone, not just the core development team, to propose improvements or new components for the HAT2 protocol. It is similar to the EIP system used in Ethereum.

What are some potential applications of the HAT2 protocol?

Potential applications of the HAT2 protocol include decentralized mutual exclusion, causally and eventually consistent datastores, virtual machines, and shared sequencing layers. It can also be used for social applications, decentralized games, and other interactive applications requiring a balance between consistency and scalability.

What is the timeline for the HAT2 protocol development?

The current proof of concept (POC) is being developed, with plans to launch a testnet in the middle of the year, followed by a mainnet release by the end of the year or early next year.

How can developers contribute to the HAT2 protocol?

Developers can contribute by proposing improvements or new components through the HIP system. Once approved, their contributions can be merged into the HAT2 stack. They can also develop applications using the provided APIs and share their ideas with the community.

What are the challenges of maintaining a common physical clock in a distributed system?

In a distributed system, maintaining a common physical clock is challenging due to the absence of a shared reference frame, as different nodes may have different relative motions (time dilation) and clock drifts, making it difficult to synchronize clocks accurately.

How does the HAT2 protocol ensure consistency without a common physical clock?

The HAT2 protocol uses a logical clock based on causal ordering of events, which does not rely on physical time but instead tracks the causal dependencies between events. This allows for a consistent ordering of events without the need for a common physical clock.