Enterprise Blockchain: How to Choose a Hyperledger Framework

Thanks to the invention of self-executing smart contracts and decentralized applications, blockchain became a technology that allows us to securely store data of any kind and to eliminate third parties in numerous operations that used to be based on trust. As big companies like Facebook, Amazon, and Walmart start to explore the advantages of blockchain, business owners from all over the world do the same. Therefore, choosing the right blockchain platform that would fit your business objectives becomes a very important issue.

Considering Using Blockchain in Enterprises

Enterprises looking at implementing blockchain should consider a number of important factors:

• Type of network – There are public, private, and permissioned blockchain platforms.
• Activity – You should choose a platform that has active development projects. An inactive, “dead” platform is almost useless.
• Supported languages – No matter what language you speak, you should think of the programming language supported by a certain blockchain platform before using it.
• Cost – If you’re a small business owner or if you have a limited budget, this factor might be especially important. Some development platforms have monthly pricing plans, while others are free.
• Popularity – It’s good to check a platform’s popularity and GitHub ratings before choosing it for development purposes.
• Support – Technical support is also important. If a platform has a team of support experts, it’s certainly more popular and reliable than others.

Looking at Hyperledger in 2020

Hyperledger is a project created by Linux Foundation. It includes numerous frameworks.

Hyperledger Iroha

Iroha is a permissioned blockchain that can be used to manage identity, digital assets of different kinds, and serialized data. This blockchain can find its applications in payment systems, interbank settlements, logistics, and other areas.

Iroha is permissioned, so only certain people are able to access the system and interact with it. Queries are also permissioned, allowing you to control access to the data. Hyperledger Iroha is also different from Ethereum because it has a set of prebuilt commands. Thanks to this feature, users don’t need to write smart contracts from scratch to perform some common functions, such as transferring digital assets.

Another advantage of Iroha is its crash fault tolerant consensus algorithm that ensures the completeness of transactions with low latency. Besides, this blockchain allows you to set permissions for all queries and commands, as well as for accessing the network.

Hyperledger Fabric

Fabric is also a permissioned network where users are controlled by the network authority. To become a part of the network, users need to obtain a certificate from the organization. The main difference between Fabric and public blockchains like Ethereum is that it relies on proof of authority instead of proof of work as a consensus algorithm. After a Membership Service Provider gives users certificates, they don’t have to pay any transaction fees.

Fabric is more than just a private blockchain framework. It’s a network of many business networks created to help businesses collaborate. The network can include any number of companies, with at least one peer in each organization. Organizations can communicate via channels that are formed by the ledger, anchor peer, and chaincode. Once two organizations form a channel, they can use the same ledger, sharing confidential and private business processes.

Chaincode works like smart contracts in Ethereum. It can be implemented in Java, Node.js, or Go. The container environment depends on the method of implementation. Transactions determined by chaincode can be used by clients to manage the ledger.

Hyperledger Sawtooth

Sawtooth is another open-source network created by Linux Foundation. This is a permissioned blockchain platform that enables users to create, run, and deploy applications that are based on decentralized ledgers. One of the main advantages of this platform is that users can change consensus on the go. Companies can also choose their own rules for transactions and permissions.

This is a very flexible platform because its application domain and core system are separated. Therefore, users can make numerous adjustments to their applications and choose any language they want, with no need to know the design of the core system. This flexibility creates countless opportunities for effective decision-making, which is the main reason why Hyperledger Sawtooth is so popular among enterprises.

Every application defines its own transaction processors depending on its unique requirements. Sawtooth also has sample transaction families that can serve as templates for low-level functions, such as storing permissions or maintaining settings for the entire chain, as well as for specific tasks like performance analysis. Transaction processor SDKs are available in different languages, including C++, Python, Go, Rust, JavaScript, and Java.

Wrapping Up

Choosing the right blockchain for your organization can be a tricky task. Now you can choose different blockchains that are based on different principles of operation. They can be public or permissioned, and they can rely on different consensus algorithms.

You can choose a blockchain depending on your objectives, using it to develop DApps or to securely store and manage data. It’s important to choose active and reliable networks. Today, Hyperledger offers the best options that will be appreciated by organizations of any kind.