HTTP is the backbone of data transfer and works through a centralized approach. HTTP provides an untrusted medium for data transfer which can possibly be a harmful choice for most of the users. Also, it is a well-known fact that HTTP has leverage on the actions of both servers and browsers.
It is becoming a digestible fact that HTTP is fading and becoming less reliable for websites to run. Well, if you want to get into the nitty-gritty details about HTTP, then it is an application protocol used for supporting data communication over the internet. Before tagging HTTP as unreliable, let us go to the reason behind it. We all know that applications are run through servers, suppose these servers are removed or go down permanently, and then what happens to these applications?
A robust application in use from billions of users, suppose removed, think what will be the impact? Maybe the workflow will be affected; the business ventures depending on applications may be disturbed. IPFS the new kid on the block is ready to corner these issues systematically.
IPFS, a Peer-to-Peer Distributed File System
IPFS, which stands for InterPlanetary File System is an open source protocol and used for dealing with data across the network. Unlike HTTP, IPFS uses distributed approach to deal with the plethora of data, so any glitch in between, all the information will not be vulnerable to any kind of loss. For much better understanding, let us differentiate between these two protocols in detail.
- Network Architecture– HTTP supports client-server communication, while IPFS is for peer-to-peer. One of the main differences between these two architectures is, under peer-to-peer communication, there is no centralization, so the data will be equally accessed across all the nodes.
Also, through peer-to-peer approach, it is possible to create multiple network points, so in the possibility of server failure, data will not be lost at any cost.
- Bandwidth & Throughput– HTTP allows downloading only through an individual system, so, the chances of consuming more bandwidth is definite. But on the latter side, if we come to IPFS, Similar to BitTorrent, it supports file download from multiple sources, thus consuming lower bandwidth.
- Security– Ah, now we came to the most important aspect of our conversation. We all know that HTTP has a centralized system and offers the most unreliable path for data communication. And there is no second thought about it unless it is converted to HTTPS.IPFS, with its decentralized approach or multiple peer concepts, is secure from DDoS style attacks. Web hosting server easily gets affected, but in the serverless course, the chances are null.
- Hashing– It is not a concept that we can find under HTTP, but, in IPFS every file would be represented through these hashes. The best thing about hashes are they are friendly to caching. So any access to resources, the action will be simplified through a hash table.
IPFS can be the future or the replacement for HTTP. Due to the adoption with P2P network, the data distribution is more secure and reliable than the traditional centralized concept.
