Introduction

BitTorrent File System (BTFS) is a next-generation file-sharing protocol utilizing the TRON network and the BitTorrent ecosystem. Current mainstream public blockchain platforms focus on computational tasks but lack cost-effective, scalable, and high-performance file storage and sharing solutions. Meanwhile, centralized storage systems inherently contain many issues:

• Centralized trust
• Prone to censorship
• High maintenance costs
• Lock-in effect
• Low fault tolerance

BTFS is designed to address those issues. The integration with the BitTorrent and TRON networks will enable DApp developers to efficiently serve a wider market.

Architecture

The BTFS network architecture comprises of several micro-services to serve Renters (who consume BTFS network’s storage by paying BTT) and Hosts (who provide storage space to BTFS network and get BTT rewards). The following micro-services run in the BTFS network.

• Status-Server
• BTFS Hub
• BTFS Guard
• Escrow Service

Status Server

The status server stores network system metrics used to improve the BTFS network. This data powers the functionality of the other micro-services.

BTFS Hub

The BTFS Hub works to provide storage renters with the most reliable hosts on the BTFS network. The Hub achieves this by calculating a score for every BTFS host using vital metrics like available storage space, host uptime & age, and proximity to file storage renter, among other metrics. The Hub powers the host recommendation based on renter selected preferences and needs.

BTFS Guard

One of the core guarantees of any large scale file storage system is the availability of stored files. When a file is stored in the BTFS network, the file undergoes Reed-Solomon encoding and is then split into 30 shards, stored on 30 selected hosts. With BTFS Guard, hosts are regularly challenged with proof of storage to ensure file integrity and availability. Should the threshold of missing shards be reached due to hosts not being available on the network, BTFS Guard pro-actively performs the file repair process to ensure file integrity for all renters.

Escrow

The BTFS Escrow service ensures the safe and secure transaction of funds between renters and hosts per the storage contract agreements.

Pricing Structure (beta)

*Note: Renter uploading 1 TiB of data will actually generate 3 TiB of storage. BTFS pricing structure above is in the beta stage, and subject to change. More advanced pricing structures to be introduced in the near future.