Crypto Academy Week 13 - Homework Post for Professor @alphafx - Topic: Consensus Algorithms.

Greetings everyone it's has been an amazing journey although no easy but God has been faithful and we made it to week 13, I will quickly dive into the homework post by @alphafx

INTRODUCTION

The concept of Concensus algorithm brings us down to the types of it which was discussed in the lesson by @alphafx and to that effect, I will be discussing on one of the types below .

We understand this consensus algorithm to be a limited pattern of properly understood and system recognizable orders initiated to perform a solution or analyse a particular data. From here we can deduce that these consensus algorithms are unified in the sense that they work together in performing any data analysis as complex instruction for better data base management. So therefore Out of the outlisted types of algorithm in the lesson, I'll be talking on the STELLAR CONCENSUS PROTOCOL

THE STELLAR CONCENSUS PROTOCOL

source

The Stellar Consensus Protocol could be firstly explained as a delegated concurrence platform that uses non centralized or minor working websites to competently work out Consensus outputs on digital decisions
Just like we were taught in some lessons ago we see this network being structured on a white paper ie it's structure composition....by Mazieres David in 2015
Further more the Stellar Consensus could be seen as a network measure aimed at getting consensus of transactions without depending wholely on closed systems for accuracy

HOW THE STELLAR CONCENSUS ALGORITHM Works

This algorithm works by using federated voting , in the same vein ensuring security and buoyancy that is to make allow several federal votes on various values until one of them prevails through the voting phases.
This system too involves a very important aspect which is the agreement of the systems and nodes in the STELLAR CONCENSUS PROTOCOL since in every crypto currency network , the nodes have the power to determine what the record history would be . The system too would be very tolerant of mistakes and flaws since there would be network problems like slow communication strength and non receptive nodes

For example ; A girl by name Sammy who needs a pair of shoes but is owing a Withdrawal agency 2000 Naira and has exactly the sum of 2000 to choose between to buy a shoe or to repay the agency but with fraudulent thinking , she might like to pay both with the same coin that is, the shoe seller and the agency but she would need to convince the both system that the money was never paid to other system
This system too records an implementation of a consensus protocol known as the Federal Byzantine Agreement which gives a no-restrictional policy as as anyone could be a holder.

FEDERAL BYZANTINE AGREEMENT

the system identifies each update by a unique slot and also gives permmision for the introduction of inter-updates. It runs in a format ensuring that all nodes agree on the updates being made also a point to not is that the federal Byzantine agreement could be prone to hackers

So therefore the system also allows consensus to be gotten in a very little time with heavy digital securities involved in the process.

There are moreso sets of nodes involved in the process known as QUORUM since they are able to reach agreements . even with their subsets known as the QUORUMSLICES since they are mostly able to convince the nodes to making an agreement

FEDERAL VOTING

It is important to note that for the federal voting to be carried out effectively, the quorum intersection must be in place so therefore inorder for us to really understand how the voting works I will be deviating a bit to talk on what a quorum and it's intersection means

WHAT IS A QUORUM AND ITS INTERSECTION
A Quorum is a subset of a node , with the formulae
Q ⊆ V
Whew Q= quorum and V= node
The smallest form of a quorum is called a Singleton which consists of only one server

Aside a Singleton, for every two(2) quorums there will always be an overlapping of the quorums over a node which is called the Intersection

VOTING, ACCEPTANCE AND CONFIRMATION

• The First voting ; This is a time when they vote for a particular statement that they consider valid and they wont vote for the opposite aspects leaving the nodes with options to change choices even if they want to or don't trust the statement

• Acceptance :This is the stage where the nodes are welcomed based on decision makings or if a statement has been Verified which gives it allowance in the quorum

• Ratification ; This is the level where all the units of the quorum accept and finally agree to the statement for example if a quorum of nodes do not trust price alerts,then it shares the acceptance which is ratified in the node

• Confirmation ; this is the last part of the Federal voting which involves a network large acceptance or agreement of a statement when a particular group of messages are processed over the Network

NOMINATION PROTOCOL

Let's say for instance we are to nominate a consensus value of y, the nodes are permitted to vote multiple times but as soon as any nodes confirmes a nomination statement value of y, it stops the nomination and voting

In this system because the node selects a leader inorder to reduce the different number of nominated statements only a leader who hasn't voted can introduce a new value of y in the vote

Then announcement of acceptance messages are spread to confirm the decision and the votings are concluded

One of the projects using the Stellar Consensus Protocol ;
The( XLM) ie the Lumen with it's block time being 5 seconds

LIMITATIONS OF SCP

• There is no channel for minting of coins

• Not totally secured as nodes can't detect good or bad nodes

CONCLUSION

The STELLAR CONSENSUS PROTOCOL is a very broad topic that goes beyond the block chain it is an implementation of the federal Byzantine protocol although it doesn't provide us with a communication mechanism so in that case it uses what we can call the epidemic or gossip protocol for communication which is a computer peer to peer system of communication which spreads as fast as a virus

Cc
@alphafx