Scaling Filecoin
IPC is the next frontier in blockchain scalability, unlocking unmatched capacity and enabling new use cases.
Consensus poses a major scalability bottleneck in blockchain networks. This is particularly the case when all validators are required to process all transactions, as is the case for Filecoin, which renders the network unable to increase its performance by adding more participants (scale-out).
Moreover, not every application benefits from using the same consensus algorithm: different applications may have different performance and security requirements, making it difficult for a single blockchain network with a single consensus layer to accommodate any type of web3 application.
Interplanetary Consensus (IPC) is a framework to enable on-demand horizontal scalability of Filecoin by deploying subnets (self-governing chains) that spawn their own state, validate messages in parallel, and seamlessly interact with any network in the hierarchy, as well as with the Filecoin root network. Subnets can run different consensus algorithms, depending on application requirements.
IPC is complementary to the programmability introduced by FVM: it provides a framework to further program the Filecoin network, accommodating a variety of use cases while overcoming potential consensus bottlenecks, to load balance decentralised applications by spawning new blockchain substrates on-demand, and to tailor the system to better fit application needs.
Components
Interplanetary Consensus
Unlike traditional sharding designs, based on the explicit partitioning of the network’s state, our solution centres on the concept of subnets that can be spawned on-demand to manage new state. Subnets are organised in a hierarchy, in which parent subnets are firewalled from child subnets, have their own policies, and run a different consensus algorithm, increasing the network’s capacity and enabling new applications. Subnets leverage the security of parent subnets by periodically checkpointing state and include mechanisms to interact with other subnets in the system. IPC subnets can be configured to resemble different L2 platforms: from an optimistic or ZK-rollup, to a side-chain with a native communication bridge.
Mir and Trantor
Mir is a framework for implementing, debugging, and analyzing distributed protocols. We use Mir to implement Trantor, a state machine replication system that establishes a total order of client requests with typical liveness and safety properties. Trantor achieves scalability without requiring a primary node to periodically decide on the protocol configuration. It multiplexes multiple instances of a leader-driven consensus protocol which operate concurrently and almost independently.
Applications
Computation
Spawn ephemeral subnets to run distributed computation jobs.
Coordination
Assemble into smaller subnets for decentralised orchestration. Coordinate resources with high throughput and low fees.
Localisation
Leverage proximity to improve performance. Operate at very low latency in geographically constrained settings.
Partition tolerance
Deploy blockchain substrates in mobile settings or environments with limited connectivity.
Spacenet
An early builder testnet for Interplanetary Consensus, Mir, and Trantor. High throughput and lower latency with smart contract capabilities, powered by FVM. By bundling IPC and FVM support, Spacenet provides developers with a testbed to deploy FVM use cases that aren't supported by the Filecoin mainnet.
M3 performance targets
1 s
Subnet latency
1000
Subnet TPS
100
Subnets
Launch sequence
M0: Spacenet launches with Mir and Trantor
Spacenet launches as a long-running testnet with Mir and Trantor as its beating heart. Users can issue transactions and leverage the higher-frequency BFT consensus.
M1: IPC deployed onto Spacenet
Subnets support is added to Spacenet. Developers can now use Spacenet to test applications with custom requirements or generating high transaction volume.
M2: Spacenet docks with Filecoin mainnet
Spacenet anchors to Filecoin mainnet using FEVM Solidity actors, enabling early users to run applications with a subset of features and informing the development of user tooling.
M3: General availability on Filecoin mainnet
FVM Milestone 2.2 unlocks the ability to deploy Wasm actors on Filecoin mainnet. Wasm actors and user tooling enable seamless interaction with existing Filecoin storage and applications.