Quick Take

  • Filecoin has launched a new data delivery network called Saturn.
  • Saturn will help retrieve content for decentralized storage apps.
  • It will also make it cheaper to run Filecoin nodes and contribute storage to the network.

The developers of decentralized storage project Filecoin have launched a content delivery network called Saturn. The goal is to help the network meet content bandwidth for decentralized apps and make it cheaper to run Filecoin nodes. 

Content delivery networks make up a substantial portion of the internet helping websites quickly retrieve information. Specifically, Saturn is a series of interlinked servers that will help in pulling or retrieving content for decentralized apps. It complements the main data storage layer on Filecoin, said Protocol Labs, the development firm behind Filecoin, which started building it in the first half of 2022.

With the launch of its Saturn, the firm has not just provided a content delivery layer, it’s also attempted to lower the cost of being a contributor to Filecoin. Protocol Labs says it’s made the network more accessible to public contributors.

Up until now, the only way to contribute to the Filecoin network was to become a Storage Provider (SP), a participant who provides their excess storage space to others. However, becoming an SP requires access to significant amounts of storage capacity and can be expensive, meaning the barrier to entry is high for individuals. Storage providers have to meet a minimum of 10 terabytes (TB) in committed storage to join the Filecoin Network. 

On the other hand, running a Saturn CDN node needs just 1 terabyte (TB) of storage; it’s less expensive than running a Filecoin Storage Provider node. It will let more people contribute to the network bandwidth and earn the protocol's native currency, which is also called filecoin, said Protocol Labs.

"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,” said Filecoin Saturn Lead Ansgar Grunseid. “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."

The Filecoin main data storage layer offers cheaper and censorship-resistant cloud storage with a capacity of 18.9 billion gigabytes (GB). It shares ideas from the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), also developed by Protocol Labs, and allows users to rent unused hard drive space. 

All three products from Protocol Labs: Filecoin, Saturn and IPFS offer a more censorship-resistant alternative to centralized cloud services offered by Google or Amazon. Protocol Labs claims that hundreds of projects use Filecoin, including Fleek, Web3.Storage, PowerLoom, Secured Finance, Ocean Protocol, LivePeer, NFT.storage, Voodfy, among others.

 

 

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.