Skynet, a content delivery network (CDN) and web hosting platform has been launched by Sia. It is powered by Sia’s blockchain-based, peer-to-peer file storage network. The users and developers can now upload files and applications to Skynet. The files will stay online till one peer pins the file. Thus the data is almost permanent and immutable.
Skynet service will be different from Sia’s main file hosting service that costs money and is intended as private cloud storage for individual users. Skynet is more of public web hosting. Visit this website to know more about hosting and good hosting plans in the world. All can upload a file to it through various web portals including Sia’s command-line client. Or even through web apps such as Pastebin-like text uploader.
Skynet takes $10 of additional transaction fees each month thus proving that network capacity is plentiful and not an immediate concern for the platform. Sia has mentioned that Skynet is entirely free for now but may eventually accept micro-transactions via the Lightning Network and other channels. They still do not have a plan in place to prevent spam by limiting uploads per user or restricting file sizes.
Like Sia’s Skynet, there is Filecoin’s IPFS in the market serving a similar purpose and is quite popular since it went live in 2015. There are two other decentralized, blockchain-integrated platforms aimed at web hosting and content delivery, TRON’s BitTorrent File System and NKN (New Kind of Network). All these services have great potential as there is lack of central control. Thus the data cannot be unilaterally censored or blocked.
