P2P CAS / Data Replication Solution
This solution facilitates decentralized P2P git repository synchronization with automatic peer discovery, requiring no server or service.
hbs2-git 0.24.1 is in master. Status => beta. Old hbs2-git is discontinued. Use the new one.
Data structures are incompatible between the old and the new versions, however, migrations is safe and all references remains the same (merely the type of the references are changed).
We have been using hbs2 and hbs2-git for approximately 13 months.
New version hbs2-git-0.24.1 is in TEST status. A lot of changes. Big repository support, new repository structure, new tools, simplier workflow. Release is scheduled to 2024-W12 (week 12).
Web publishing tools are almost ready and being tested as well.
As soon as they will be ready, web site hbs2.net is about to appear.
Right now TEST branch is lwwrepo. Tag: 0.24.1-rc1
Repository is available on:
- HBS2 hbs2://BTThPdHKF8XnEq4m6wzbKHKA6geLFK4ydYhBXAqBdHSP
- HTTPS https://git.hbs2.net/BTThPdHKF8XnEq4m6wzbKHKA6geLFK4ydYhBXAqBdHSP
- GitHub https://github.com/voidlizard/hbs2.git
It is an experimental distributed P2P content addressable storage with content distribution protocols and tools.
It may be used for storing and distributed syncronization of data.
HBS2 is aimed to take care of:
- NAT traversing
- Peer discovery
- Notification
- Distribution
- Encryption
- Validation (hashes checking, signatures checking)
- Storing and obtaining data
In short, you store data in this storage, and all subscribers are notified of it and receive a copy of the data.
It is a middleware for implementing distributed applications that shares data. Like a distributed git, for example. (What? git is already distributed and… No, it is not. Not really).
The idea of extracting the minimal sufficent set of primitives for distributed applications and APIs and let the side applications do the rest.
This is not a “blockchain”, but heavily uses the approaches that “blockchains” brought to the world.
Using this solution you may treat application data as local. HBS2 will syncronize all the data along the crowd of peers. The apps don’t need to bother where the other peers are located, where the hosts, ssh keys on thouse hosts, auth tokens on thouse hosts, etc. They only need to know the references and (optionally) have signing/encryption keys that are stored locally or distributed (public parts, of course) automatically like any other data.
What types of applications may be implemented on top of this?
For an instance:
- Distributed file sharing (wip)
- Distributed git (seems working)
- Distributed communications, like a chat or a “channel”
- Distibuted ledgers with different types of consensus protocols (we’re trying not to use “b” words)
- Actually, any sort of applications that require data and network
The whitepaper is in shortlist, watch the updates.
Why it is experimental ? Well, it’s on a quite early stage and some root data structures, protocols or API may change.
It also have some known issues with performance and might have some stability issues. We’re working hard to fix them.
Version 0.24.1-rc.
Means it’s mostly working. We’re using it about a year.
Encryption status: works.
Encryption for arbitrary merkle trees/blocks: implemented, works, being tested.
Encryption for protocols: implemented, turned on:
So right now it is useful for distributing any data.
We’re using it for our non-public projects.
Assuming you know what the Nix and Nix flakes are ( See nixos.org if you don’t )
and nix flake support is turned on on your system:
nix profile install github:voidlizard/hbs2/master
It will take time. Patience, we’re working on rolling out cachix, that will allow binary caches for the project.
Alternative option:
nix profile install git+http://git.hbs2.net/BTThPdHKF8XnEq4m6wzbKHKA6geLFK4ydYhBXAqBdHSP \
--substituters http://nix.hbs2.net:6000 \
--trusted-public-keys git.hbs2.net-1:HYIYU3xWetj0NasmHrxsWQTVzQUjawOE8ejZAW2xUS4=
hbs2 keyring-new > new-peer-key.key
hbs2-peer run [-c config]
config is a path to a directory with hbs2-peer config.
By default it is $HOME/.config/hbs-peer
There are quite a lot of options even for today and we denitely need staring work on a manual. But here is a minimal working example:
Typically hbs2-peer config is located at
$HOME/.config/hbs2-peer/config
; ip/port to for UDP
listen "0.0.0.0:7351"
; tcp
listen-tcp "0.0.0.0:10351"
; port for HTTP service.
; it's on you to pass it outside or not.
; optional
http-port 5001
; path to the peer's key
; used to identify peers
key "./key"
; path to storage. optional
; storage "/root/.local/share/hbs2"
; may be omitted, default location
; will be used then
accept-block-announce *
; accept blocks from everyone
; by default is disabled
; you may allow only a few peers
; to send announces like
; accept-block-announce "peer-public-key"
; peer-public-key may be obtained from keyring file:
; hbs2 keyring-list ./key
; [user@host:~/hbs2]# hbs2 keyring-list /etc/hbs2-peer/key
;
; sign-key: 4543L9D1rr8M8Zzgxc76fRGjUyWF8rdsmiUMfCwF1RnA
;
; it's a public information.
; but keep peer key file in private place!
; address for dns bootstrapping
bootstrap-dns "bootstrap.hbs2.net"
; just and example. it's my test container
; known-peer "10.250.0.1:7354"
; known-peer "10.250.0.1:7351"
; you may add own peers like this
; or use your own domains for dns bootstrapping
; poll certain reference
poll reflog 1 "BTThPdHKF8XnEq4m6wzbKHKA6geLFK4ydYhBXAqBdHSP"
- Create a new keyring
hbs2 keyring-new > new.key
- Watch it’s public key
hbs2 keyring-list new.key
Example:
[user@host:~/dir]$ hbs2 keyring-list ./new.key
sign-key: eq5ZFnB9HQTMTeYasYC3pSZLedcP7Zp2eDkJNdehVVk
- Export repo to the new reflog
git hbs2 export --public --new eq5ZFnB9HQTMTeYasYC3pSZLedcP7Zp2eDkJNdehVVk
- Add git remote and push
git remote add mynerepo hbs2://eq5ZFnB9HQTMTeYasYC3pSZLedcP7Zp2eDkJNdehVVk
git push mynerepo
-
Wait some time
-
Work with git as usual
Example:
hbs2-peer run
keyring-new > kr
keyring-list kr
; create a file with a list of public keys
; copy the lines from the output of the keyring-list command
groupkey-new path/to/file/with/list/of/pubkeys > groupkey
store --groupkey groupkey file/to/store
; get the hash
cat --keyring kr <hash>
Reason 1. Because they don’t have any content distribution mechanism.
Common practice right now is using centralized services, which are:
- Censored
- Faulty
- Not transparent and irresponsible (For customers. They are responsible as hell for any sort of goverment-alike structures before they even asked for something).
- Tracking users
- May use their code regardless of license agreement
- Giving up the network neutrality in a sake of <skipped*> anyone but customers who pay
There are registered examples, how one most popular git service droppped repositoties because they contain some words in README file.
And banned accounts for visiting the service from wrong IP address.
And data loss in a cloud storage services because they located all replicas in a single data centre which was destroyed by the fire or a canalization breakthrough. They even don’t tell you how many replicas do they have for your data. Why? Because fuck you, that’s why.
Setting own hosts/services for dvcs data hosting.
Yeah, it’s the way. But they are
- Obviously centralized
and also:
- Domain name system is compromised
- Certificate system is compromised by so many ways.
Why? Because they are ruled by commercial companies working in certaing jurisdictions.
What else. Sending patches by email.
- Looks more like anecdote today (but still used by someone)
- Email right now is a centralized service with all the consequences (see above)
Okay, ley’s bring the overlay network (VPN), place all our hosts and resources there and will use own DNS.
Yeap, it will work. But it will cost you. It is acceptable for an organisation, but hardly for a group of random people.
What else.
Imagine, you generate a couple of cryptographic keys, drop the repo to a folder and it distributes by torrents as easy as any other torrents. Fully encrypted and only certain subscribers could decrypt and use the data.
Well, torrent are brilliant, but they not just not designed to do things like this easily.
Also they require trackers, that are centralized web resources.
Things like Syncthing don’t scales, in fact event if you will use git repo in syncthing dir, you will face file modification conflicts even if you use them alone.
So that’s why HBS2 came to light. Trust me, if I could use some decentralized solution normally for this I’d never start this project.
Is’s a mirror for the really distributed repository:
hbs2://BTThPdHKF8XnEq4m6wzbKHKA6geLFK4ydYhBXAqBdHSP
So far we were able to run the hbs2-peer on:
- NixOS ( x86_64-linux )
- Windows WSL+Ubuntu
- Debian/rasberri-pi (aarch64-linux)
Probably it will work on MacOS - but we need someone to check.
Reflog is an implementation of a permanent mutable reference. It has a permanent ID that corresponds to a public signing cryptographic key, and the value, that is calculated from the “state”, where the state is a set of all “reference update” transactions.
Each transaction is cryptographically signed by the sender, for current reflog implementation sender must be an owner of the private key of the public key.
For this type of references, only transactions that are properly signed by the mentioned private key are accepted at the moment.
Therefore, reflog is a log of signed transactions. Content of thouse transaction is up to an application.
For the hbs2-git it is an reference to a merkle tree, that contains the state of repository ( branches + all objects accessible from thouse branches ).
So, reflog is a sort of reference which state is defined by the set of signed binary transactions. The payload of the transactions mauy be arbitrary and application-dependent, but they must be properly signed by the owner of the private key.
As there is only one valid writer for this type of reference, all transactions are assigned a Sequential Number that establishes their order. Applications may use this order to determine the sequence of transactions.
Should be all reflogs on all hosts have the same value?
Well. It would be nice, but not nesessary. But eventually yes, they will. If there is really only one writer and it is not writing all the time.
telegram: @voidlizard
hbs2://BTThPdHKF8XnEq4m6wzbKHKA6geLFK4ydYhBXAqBdHSP
Note! This is not a bitcoin address. If you want a bitcoin address to donate, use the other one (TBD).
Contribute! Code or ideas or share the experience or any suggestions.