Continuing the Cardano Stake Pool Use Case: Building on DMS v0.5.0
Greetings NuNetopians,
We are excited to announce the continuation of our work on deploying Cardano Stake Pool Operators (SPOs) on the NuNet decentralized compute network. Building on the momentum of the DMS v0.5.0 release, this project represents a significant step towards leveraging decentralized infrastructure for enhanced blockchain operations, ensuring greater security, flexibility, and scalability.
With the release of DMS v0.5.0, NuNet introduced a robust decentralized computing architecture, including the Device Management Service (DMS), Logical Orchestration Layer, and the NuActor system for decentralized security and trust management. These components lay the foundation for deploying and managing Cardano nodes securely and efficiently across a global, decentralized network of compute resources.
Why Cardano Nodes on NuNet?
Running Cardano nodes is essential for maintaining the integrity and decentralization of the Cardano blockchain. However, traditional deployment models require significant infrastructure investment, constant maintenance, and stringent security measures, especially for protecting private keys used in block production. By leveraging NuNet’s decentralized compute layer, Cardano Stake Pool Operators can reduce costs, increase operational flexibility, and maintain high security standards without reliance on centralized infrastructure.
NuNet’s decentralized network allows SPOs to utilize idle computing resources from around the world, dynamically scaling with network demand and ensuring optimal resource utilization through its Logical Orchestration Layer. This decentralized model not only enhances cost efficiency but also increases security by distributing workloads across multiple nodes without storing private keys on the block-producing nodes.
Architecture Design for Cardano Node Deployment
The proposed architecture for deploying Cardano nodes on NuNet involves launching at least two instances of one relay node and one block-producing node. These nodes communicate securely through an IP over libp2p private network, leveraging NuNet’s decentralized infrastructure for flexible and scalable deployment.
This approach maintains the integrity of the Cardano protocol by allowing the block producer node to operate as a standard Cardano node, generating and signing blocks securely. The architecture avoids storing sensitive keys on public-facing nodes by isolating key management within the block producer, thereby enhancing security.
Decentralized Security and Trust Management with NuActor
A key component of this deployment is ensuring robust security and trust management within a decentralized environment. NuNet’s NuActor system provides state-of-the-art, zero-trust security, authenticating each interaction individually. By using decentralized identifiers (DIDs) and capability tokens, NuActor ensures that only authorized nodes can deploy and manage Cardano workloads.
This decentralized authorization model is especially valuable for SPOs, who must trust the compute providers they collaborate with. Using NuActor, SPOs can define granular trust hierarchies and permissions, ensuring that only trusted nodes participate in their Cardano operations. This enhances security without the need for a central authority, maintaining the decentralized ethos of blockchain technology.
IP over libp2p Private Network and SSH Access
We have implemented IP over libp2p private networks, enabling seamless peer-to-peer communication for applications that traditionally rely on IP networking, such as SSH and other protocols. This advancement streamlines deployment orchestration while maintaining high-security standards, ensuring that even machines without public IP addresses can securely interact within the network. Ongoing improvements by Marten and Hamza are in progress and are expected to be merged soon, further enhancing functionality and performance.
In parallel, we are working on enabling the Orchestrator DMS to become part of the IP over libp2p subnet. This enhancement allows the SPO, acting as the orchestrator, to directly SSH into the container running a node for live configuration and monitoring. By joining the subnet with its own IP address, the orchestrator gains direct access to processes running on remote allocations, which is particularly useful for scenarios like the Cardano use case where SPOs need to configure nodes securely.
This capability also supports more complex deployment scenarios, such as migrating GPU-intensive processes to remote machines while keeping other tasks local to the orchestrator. This development enhances operational flexibility and security, further strengthening the decentralized deployment model.
For more details on this ongoing development, check out the related issue on GitLab and stay tuned for future updates.
Private Relay Nodes Layer and Network Configuration
To ensure secure and reliable block propagation, the architecture includes an option for a NuNet private relay nodes layer. This layer allows SPOs to create a private network of relay nodes on NuNet, securely connecting to public Cardano nodes. This configuration ensures efficient communication while maintaining the privacy and integrity of the block-producing nodes.
Alternatively, SPOs can choose to use NuNet-deployed relay nodes, leveraging the flexibility and scalability of NuNet’s orchestration layer. This approach provides SPOs with the freedom to customize their deployment according to their security and operational requirements.
Progress and Looking Forward
Since the release of DMS v0.5.0, we have made significant progress in designing the architecture for secure Cardano node deployment, integrating decentralized trust management using NuActor, and implementing observability for transparent resource usage tracking and accounting.
The delay in the deployment timeline was primarily due to our focus on making the NuNet platform use-case agnostic and secure. Initially, we had implementations specific to Cardano and other GPU/AI/ML use cases. However, to ensure broader applicability and security, we refactored the platform to support any type of deployment generically. This refactoring has now made the platform versatile enough to support Cardano nodes seamlessly, paving the way for a more flexible and scalable deployment model.
Next Steps and Future Plans
The next steps in the Cardano SPO use case include:
Open Development and Community Collaboration
True to our commitment to open development, this initiative is being developed in collaboration with the community. We invite SPOs, developers, and contributors to participate in the pilot testing, provide feedback, and contribute to the open-source development efforts.
The success of this use case is a collaborative effort, and we look forward to working with the Cardano community and beyond. As we advance this journey, we remain dedicated to pioneering decentralized blockchain infrastructure that empowers stakeholders with secure, flexible, and scalable solutions.
Final Thoughts
The integration of Cardano Stake Pool Operators on NuNet’s decentralized compute network not only strengthens the Cardano ecosystem but also showcases the versatility and potential of NuNet as a decentralized computing platform. By leveraging the advanced capabilities of DMS v0.5.0 and the NuActor system, we are setting new standards for decentralized orchestration, trust management, and open-source collaboration.
We are excited about the progress we have made and are optimistic about the impact this initiative will have on the blockchain ecosystem. As we move towards pilot deployments and public network integration, we will continue to provide updates, engage with the community, and pioneer the future of decentralized computing.
NuNet Is Hiring!
NuNet currently has a number of open positions for various roles within the team. If you have the skills and desire to join us in our journey, you can find more information and contact us through our career page.
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