Lab Name

Weaver: DLT Interoperability

Short Description

A platform, a protocol suite, and a set of tools, to enable interoperation for data sharing and asset movements between independent networks built on heterogeneous blockchain, or more generally, distributed ledger, technologies, in a manner that preserves the core blockchain tenets of decentralization and security.

Scope of Lab

• We aim to provide a framework that allows two independent networks, typically (though not limited to) permissioned ones, to interoperate on a need basis.
• Interoperation does not rely on trusted mediators. Rules and requirements are framed using the networks’ internal governance mechanisms.
• Interoperation relies minimally on shared infrastructure, which may provide identity services but does not play a part in core request-response protocols.
• Interoperation occurs through protocols that derive their trust from the counterparty networks’ native consensus mechanisms.
• Core capabilities (or suported use cases) include data-sharing across ledgers with proof of authenticity and provenance, atomic asset transfers between networks, and atomic asset exchanges in multiple networks.
• We already support Hyperledger Fabric and Corda, and plan to extend support soon to Hyperledger Besu. We expect to build our framework in such a way that it can support any other arbitrary DLT with minimal effort.
• The key platform elements are:
  • Protocol units, namely request access control, and generation and verification of authenticity proofs. These leverage the networks’ native smart contract frameworks.
  • Generic and extensible patterns for ledger views and artifact addresses for seamless inter-network communication. Our goal is to provide a basis for an eventual standard that is not tied to a particular DLT implementation.
  • Generic (i.e., not DLT-specific) semi-trusted relay modules that mediate communication while acting on behalf of individual networks. They serve discovery and routing purposes akin to the routing and DNS infrastructure of the conventional internet.
  • DLT-specific plugins called drivers augment relay capabilities with query- and response-translation mechanisms.
• Apart from the core platform features listed above, we provide SDK extensions for network application users to adapt existing apps for interoperability.
• We will provide and maintain a basic testnet for rapid prototyping and testing.

Initial Committers

• Ramakrishna
• Ermyas Abebe
• Nick Waywood
• Dileban Karunamoorthy
• https://github.com/airvinv
• Ant
• https://github.com/sanvenDev
• Krishnasuri Narayanam
• Dhinakaran Vinayagamurthy
• Yining Hu
• Vinayaka Pandit
• Christian Vecchiola

Sponsor

• Arnaud J Le Hors - TSC Member

Former Members

• https://github.com/ChanderG
• https://github.com/dushyantbehl

Pre-existing repository

N/A