Scaling Proof-of-Replication for Filecoin Mining | Protocol Labs Research
Scaling proof-of-replication for Filecoin mining
Authors: Ben Fisch, Joseph Bonneau, Nicola Greco, Juan Benet
Group: Cryptonet
Areas: Cryptography, Distributed systems
Abstract
A proof-of-replication (PoRep) is a proof system that a server can use to demonstrate to a network in a publicly verifiable way that it is dedicating unique resources to storing one or more replicas of a data file. While it is not possible for PoReps to guarantee cryptographically that the prover’s storage format is redundant, PoReps do guarantee that:
(a) The prover must be using as much space to produce the proof as replicas it claims to store (it is a proof of space)
(b) The prover can retrieve a committed data file (it is a proof of retrievability)
(c) The prover can use the space to store this file without any overhead
In this sense a PoRep is a useful proof of space. It is uniquely suited to replace proof-of-work in Nakamoto consensus as a Sybil resistance mechanism, while simultaneously incentivizing and subsidizing the cost of file storage. Technical report This is a short technical report on our constructions. A more detailed paper is forthcoming with information about our prototype implementation of PoReps.