github.com/sykesm/fabric@v1.1.0-preview.0.20200129034918-2aa12b1a0181/docs/source/functionalities.rst (about)

     1  Hyperledger Fabric Functionalities
     2  ==================================
     3  
     4  Hyperledger Fabric is an implementation of distributed ledger technology
     5  (DLT) that delivers enterprise-ready network security, scalability,
     6  confidentiality and performance, in a modular blockchain architecture.
     7  Hyperledger Fabric delivers the following blockchain network functionalities:
     8  
     9  Identity management
    10  -------------------
    11  
    12  To enable permissioned networks, Hyperledger Fabric provides a membership
    13  identity service that manages user IDs and authenticates all participants on
    14  the network. Access control lists can be used to provide additional layers of
    15  permission through authorization of specific network operations. For example, a
    16  specific user ID could be permitted to invoke a chaincode application, but
    17  be blocked from deploying new chaincode.
    18  
    19  Privacy and confidentiality
    20  ---------------------------
    21  
    22  Hyperledger Fabric enables competing business interests, and any groups that
    23  require private, confidential transactions, to coexist on the same permissioned
    24  network. Private **channels** are restricted messaging paths that can be used
    25  to provide transaction privacy and confidentiality for specific subsets of
    26  network members. All data, including transaction, member and channel
    27  information, on a channel are invisible and inaccessible to any network members
    28  not explicitly granted access to that channel.
    29  
    30  Efficient processing
    31  --------------------
    32  
    33  Hyperledger Fabric assigns network roles by node type. To provide concurrency
    34  and parallelism to the network, transaction execution is separated from
    35  transaction ordering and commitment. Executing transactions prior to
    36  ordering them enables each peer node to process multiple transactions
    37  simultaneously. This concurrent execution increases processing efficiency on
    38  each peer and accelerates delivery of transactions to the ordering service.
    39  
    40  In addition to enabling parallel processing, the division of labor unburdens
    41  ordering nodes from the demands of transaction execution and ledger
    42  maintenance, while peer nodes are freed from ordering (consensus) workloads.
    43  This bifurcation of roles also limits the processing required for authorization
    44  and authentication; all peer nodes do not have to trust all ordering nodes, and
    45  vice versa, so processes on one can run independently of verification by the
    46  other.
    47  
    48  Chaincode functionality
    49  -----------------------
    50  
    51  Chaincode applications encode logic that is
    52  invoked by specific types of transactions on the channel. Chaincode that
    53  defines parameters for a change of asset ownership, for example, ensures that
    54  all transactions that transfer ownership are subject to the same rules and
    55  requirements. **System chaincode** is distinguished as chaincode that defines
    56  operating parameters for the entire channel. Lifecycle and configuration system
    57  chaincode defines the rules for the channel; endorsement and validation system
    58  chaincode defines the requirements for endorsing and validating transactions.
    59  
    60  Modular design
    61  --------------
    62  
    63  Hyperledger Fabric implements a modular architecture to
    64  provide functional choice to network designers. Specific algorithms for
    65  identity, ordering (consensus) and encryption, for example, can be plugged in
    66  to any Hyperledger Fabric network. The result is a universal blockchain
    67  architecture that any industry or public domain can adopt, with the assurance
    68  that its networks will be interoperable across market, regulatory and
    69  geographic boundaries.
    70  
    71  .. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
    72     https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/