Filecoin Launches Content Delivery Network - Saturn

Table of Contents

• Filecoin Launches Saturn
• Increasing Accessibility To Contributors
• Alternative To Centralized Cloud Services 

The new Saturn data delivery network launched by Filecoin will help increase accessibility for public contributors to the Filecoin network. 

Filecoin Launches Saturn

Decentralized storage project Filecoin has launched a new content delivery network. The new network, which has been dubbed Saturn, will work on making the network meet content bandwidth for decentralized apps by contributing storage to the network. 

According to the Filecoin website, 

“Filecoin Saturn is an open-source, community-run Content Delivery Network (CDN) built on Filecoin. Join the network, run a node, and earn Filecoin for accelerating the decentralized web.”

The website announcement has revealed that Saturn will make it cheaper to run Filecoin nodes. The Saturn network works through a series of interlinked servers that will help to retrieve content for decentralized apps by complementing the main data storage layer on Filecoin. Protocol Labs, which is the development team behind Filecoin, started working on this project in the first half of 2022. 

Increasing Accessibility To Contributors

Till now, only Storage Providers (SP) could contribute to the Filecoin network. An SP is a participant who provides excess storage space to others. In order to become an SP, one needs to hold significant amounts of storage capacity, which could be a highly expensive process. SPs required a minimum of 10 terabytes of committed storage to join the Filecoin network. As a result, becoming a contributor to the network was not an option that was easily accessible to all. However, the Saturn project will not only add a content delivery layer but will also lower the cost of contributing to Filecoin. Contributors would require only 1 TB of storage space to run a Saturn CDN node, which is much less expensive than a Filecoin SP node.  As a result, the entire network will become more accessible to public contributors, and more people will be able to earn the protocol’s native token, FIL. 

Alternative To Centralized Cloud Services 

Protocol Labs is also responsible for developing the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), which allows users to rent unused hard drive space for a censorship-resistant alternative to centralized cloud storage. 

The Saturn project lead Ansgar Grunseid spoke at length on the topic, saying, 

"The launch of Saturn, Filecoin's content delivery network delivers on two key goals of Filecoin: fast, open access to humanity's most important information and to let anyone, anywhere participate in Filecoin's ecosystem. And with a lower barrier of entry for network participants and faster, more robust retrievals from IPFS and Filecoin, Saturn unlocks the next generation of Filecoin's growth and impact."

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.