A blockchain platform called Hyperledger Iroha is intended to be quickly integrated into various business applications that call for distributed ledger technology (DLT). One of the projects hosted by the Linux Foundation and launched in May two thousand and nineteen under the Hyperledger umbrella is Hyperledger Iroha. The Japanese fintech company, Soramitsu Co. Ltd. has open-sourced the code for Iroha, which was initially contributed by Colu, Soramitsu, Hitachi, and NTT Data.
What is Hyperledger Iroha?
Iroha is a business blockchain framework that is designed for infrastructure projects that need DLT. For example, the platform can help enterprises as well as government institutions with identity management, including creating national IDs and helping the financial services industry with bank-to-bank transfers.
- According to the Hyperledger website, it seeks to develop DLT that enables enterprises to execute reliable, industry-specific applications, platforms, and hardware systems to support their business transactions.
- Blockchain of Iroha is being used to establish insurance contracts such as weather derivatives, which are financial contracts designed to safeguard the insurer from losses caused by weather.
Features of Hyperledger Iroha
Iroha allows quick and easy deployment and maintenance, provides developers with a wide variety of code libraries to make it easy to create applications, secure control, and permissions over user roles and activities, simple asset management, participant identification, and a modular design architecture to support the entire blockchain ecosystem.
- Plugin-based: Hyperledger Iroha is a plugin-based, modular architecture to get a blockchain up and running.
- Multiple platform support: Hyperledger Iroha supports writing applications on different platforms, including Java, JS, Python, and iOS.
- Multi-signature functionality: Iroha has multi-signature functionalities for transactions.
- Compatible with different operating systems: Iroha is compatible with various operating systems, such as Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Hyperledger Iroha Consensus Algorithms
Hyperledger Iroha uses a Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus algorithm to ensure that all nodes in the network have the same view of the ledger. BFT algorithms are designed to work in environments where some nodes may be unreliable or may act maliciously.
In Iroha, the consensus algorithm is based on a round-based voting process.
- In each round, a node is chosen as a leader, and it proposes a block of transactions to be added to the ledger.
- The other nodes in the network then vote on whether to accept or reject the proposed block.
- If a quorum of nodes (2/3 or more) votes to accept the block, it is added to the ledger, and the leader proposes the next block.
The consensus algorithm used by Iroha is built to offer high levels of security and fault tolerance. The algorithm makes sure that no single node can take over the ledger or tamper with the data because it requires a quorum of nodes to vote on each block. Additionally, the algorithm makes sure that the network can function even if certain nodes fail or disconnect.
This consensus algorithm is called “YAC” (Yet Another Consensus) which is a variant of the BFT algorithm, it uses a round-based voting process, where each node has a chance to propose a block and the other nodes will vote for it.
Why Hyperledger Iroha is a Permissioned Blockchain?
In contrast to public blockchains like Bitcoin, which are open to anybody, Hyperledger Iroha restricts access to the network infrastructure. Iroha, on the other hand, and its activities are permissioned, which implies that only users with access are permitted to use it and make contributions.
- Users are able to share data within a strong and secure blockchain thanks to a permissioned network.
- Issues are handled more quickly in a permissioned network like Iroha than they are on a public blockchain because the network is not slowed down by proof-of-work (PoW) consensus processes.
- However, because not everyone is permitted to see and verify the data on the blockchain, data querying may be limited on Iroha. Iroha lacks a native digital currency, but it can be created by a participant if needed for his or her own business purposes.
Modular Architecture of Hyperledger Iroha
Hyperledger Iroha has a modular architecture that consists of several components, including:
- Ledger: The ledger is a distributed database that stores transactions and state data. It uses a Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus algorithm to ensure that all nodes have the same view of the ledger.
- Command Service: Processing transactions and maintaining the ledger’s status are tasks that fall under the purview of the command service. Access control and user authentication are also managed by it.
- Peer nodes: Peer nodes are the servers that run the Iroha software. They are responsible for validating transactions, maintaining the state of the ledger, and communicating with other nodes in the network.
- Client: The client is the interface that users interact with to submit transactions and query the state of the ledger. The client can interact with the ledger through a command-line interface (CLI) or through a RESTful API.
- Block Store: The block store is a key-value storage that holds the blocks of the ledger.
- P2P: P2P is a peer-to-peer communication protocol that allows nodes to discover and communicate with each other.
- Ordering Service: Gathering transactions from peer nodes and organizing them into blocks is the responsibility of the ordering service. It also gives each block a special identification number known as a block hash.
- Object Store: The object store is a key-value storage that holds the objects of the ledger, such as accounts and assets.
- Event Service: The event service is responsible for emitting events that are triggered by certain transactions, allowing external systems to listen and respond to the changes on the ledger.
Use Case of Hyperledger Iroha
1. Education and Healthcare
Numerous certifying organizations, including academic institutions and healthcare facilities, are incorporated into the Hyperledger Iroha system. Hyperledger Iroha’s adaptable authorization architecture makes it feasible to create identities and provide certificates. Numerous identification and reputation systems can be created because of the ability of user accounts to retain explicit and implicit data. Hyperledger Iroha can be used to verify the certifying authority for each educational or medical credential. Transparency in health and education is made feasible by immutability and unambiguous validation standards, which significantly reduces the use of fake certificates.
2. Cross-Border Asset Transfers
Using multi-signature accounts and atomic exchange, Hyperledger Iroha offers trade and settlement processes that are speedy and transparent. While offering the required security guarantees, asset management is just as straightforward as in centralized systems. By simplifying the procedures needed to create and transfer assets, Hyperledger Iroha lowers entrance barriers while maintaining strong security assurances.
3. Financial Applications
The auditing procedure can benefit greatly from the use of Hyperledger Iroha. Each piece of information is validated using business rules, which are continuously updated by various network participants. The desired level of privacy is kept up via access control rules and some encryption. Different levels, including user, domain, and system levels, can define access control rules.
The user level is where the privacy guidelines for a specific person are set. If access rules are established at the domain level or system level, then all users inside the domain will be impacted. Iroha provides usable role-based access control rules where each role has unique permissions, so to speak.
4. Identity Management
Identity management is also supported by Hyperledger Iroha. Each transaction is signed by and associated with a particular user, and every user in the system has a personal account that can be recognized uniquely. The KYC functionalities of Iroha are therefore perfect for a wide range of applications.
5. Supply Chain
Any supply chain system must combine decentralized system governance with the representation of legal rules in the system’s code. Physical items can be tokenized and embedded into the system using the Hyperledger Iroha certification mechanism. Information about “what, when, where, and why” is included with each item.
6. Fund Management
Multiple managers can maintain a fund with the help of multi-signature transactions. In that system, investments can only be made if a quorum of participants approves them.